Auralic ALTAIR G2.1 Digital Audio Streamer

Description

Designed to Innovate, Engineered to Perform

The G2.1 Series signifies the next logical step in AURALiC’s in-house product development —the result of an incremental ongoing development process to improve upon the performance of the original G2 series. At AURALiC, we always work to create new and innovative approaches to digital music playback, pushing the boundaries of audio quality. Incorporating state-of-the-art technologies and delivering them with innovative features, G2.1 is built for ultimate levels of sonic performance.
ALTAIR G2.1 sports an all-new industrial design engineered to set a new standard for sound quality, enhance the user experience, and look every bit as good as it sounds, with a contemporary, understated aesthetic. A copper sub-enclosure, high-mass base, and an enhanced suspension system fully optimize the sound of ALTAIR G2.1, ensuring it is the most capable and feature-rich way to introduce streaming to your audio system that we have ever created in one component.

Unity Chassis II

The ALTAIR G2.1 chassis has been designed as a double enclosure, where an outer case made from high-grade aluminum is supplemented with an inner layer of copper. A high-mass base and enhanced four-foot multi-spring suspension system complete the quiet, noise defeating performance of the ALTAIR G2.1’s Unity Chassis II.

Perfectly Balanced

ALTAIR G2.1 internal circuits are physically distributed to enhance overall balance. And with specially designed foot spikes that dampen and absorb vibrations, the ALTAIR G2.1 is always rock-steady, for ultra-smooth signal delivery.

Next Level Processing

In facilitating the ALTAIR G2.1’s substantial and powerful processing capability, it should come as no surprise that the processor at the heart of this system would need to act as a next-level solution. As a result, the product harnesses the power of a Tesla G2 processor. No task will be too difficult, be it serving, streaming, decoding or playback. DXD upsampling features as standard and an extensive range of DSP filters provide broad choices to suit personal preferences. The network streaming functionality is well-proven in terms of ease of operation and excellent sound quality. Networking capability operates at up to 32-bit, 384khz and DSD512, supporting all major lossless codecs, DSD in DoP format and native DSD.

37,500MIPS

Processing Speed

CPU performance that’s 50% faster than the original Tesla G1 processor.

200%

Memory & Storage

Twice the system memory and data storage means fluid audio signal processing and support for advanced features.

1GB

Memory Cache

An enormous memory cache means reduced network noise and dramatically reduced open circuit time for improved sound quality.

Fully Passive Volume Control

Precise control, distortion free, noise free. The only way to get all three is to painstakingly construct a R-2R resistor ladder network — and that’s exactly what we’ve done for the ALTAIR G2.1.

Invisible

Eight coil-latch relays remain entirely passive when not in use, drawing no power and producing exactly zero EMI noise. Once set, the ALTAIR G2.1’s volume control system remains electronically invisible — one more detail that helps the ALTAIR G2.1 push the boundaries of sonic performance.

Turn Your Wi-Fi into a Music Streaming Ecosystem.

We developed Lightning OS to be the highest-quality streaming environment you’ve ever heard. A meticulously-crafted software architecture designed specifically to work hand-in-hand with the powerful Tesla hardware platform found in AURALiC streaming products, Lightning OS is full of cutting-edge innovations that bring your music to life like never before. Connect to all your of high-resolution sources, take control with user apps like Lightning DS or Roon, and meet true audiophile streaming.

Display Brilliance

A 4.0-inch true color in-plane switching display with a resolution of over 300ppi provides complete operational feedback: playback status, configuration settings, and a full library view for browsing your collection.

Flexibility to Explore

The ALTAIR G2.1 offers nearly universal connectivity for access to all your digital sources. Most advanced Wi-Fi and Ethernet open your system to UPnP/DLNA media servers, shared network folders, high-resolution Internet Services, and Internet Radio, as well as RoonReady, Bluetooth, AirPlay, and SongCast control.

CD Playback and Ripping

Still have some love for your old CDs? Not to worry; you can plug a generic USB CD drive into your ALTAIR G1 then choose to play a CD, rip a CD while playing, or just rip.

As with AURALiC’s Lightning file streaming, our unique CD playback feature uses the same advanced, jitter-reducing Memory Playback technology. CD data is first read, and compared several times for accuracy into the system cache before playing. The result is elimination of potentially induced jitter from the transport, canceling any negative effects from the quality of your chosen CD drive, potentially improving performance beyond what’s offered from competitors’ CD players.

Dual 72fs Femto Clock

With a dedicated, low-noise 3uV power supply to minimize phase noise and keep it as quiet as it is accurate, our 72 Femto Master Clock is amazingly precise for less jitter, and immaculate sound. Its 72 femtosecond cycles — that’s 72 quadrillionths of a second — set a new standard for signal timing. Temperature-regulated for consistent performance, this clock is always there to keep things rock-steady.

1GB Memory Cache

Open network connections and data fetching are prone to noise that can hurt the quality of your audio signal. The Tesla G2 hardware platform dedicates a whopping 1GB of RAM to the task of caching, lowering the frequency of open circuits and helping your music sound better.

Flexible Filter Mode

Flexible Filter Mode gives you a nuanced level of control over your audio output. Its various modes were developed using a combination of objective data models and subjective testing, with each mode offering a unique array of filters to match the sonic quality of the source. Whether it’s modes to tweak in-band ripple, out-band attenuation, ultrasonic filtering and more, you’ve always got the power to dial in the performance you want.

ORFEO Class-A Module

Inspired by classic analog circuit designs, ORFEO is capable of driving an array of loads to match the characteristics of a variety of amplifiers. Using small signal components with excellent linear qualities, thermally balanced and biased into Class-A, ORFEO has the power to drive loads as low as 600 ohms while keeping noise low — open loop distortion comes in at less than 0.001%.

Smart-IR Control

Smart-IR Remote Control lets your AURALiC device map its functionality onto any remote you’d like. Just let the device know which remote you prefer, and all of its operations (play/pause, volume control, track select, etc.) can be assigned to buttons just the way you like them.

Dual Purer-Power

The Purer-Power linear power supply reduces DC current noise by as much as 90dB with its power purification module. Using a specially designed transformer and unique wiring that minimizes vibration, noise from Purer-Power is kept below 1uV across the audible spectrum, leaving you to discover the details in your music, down to the last bit.