WiFi & Bluetooth Music Streamer Receiver | Arylic S10 | Airplay DLNA UPnP | Multi-Room Sync | Spotify, Tidal, TuneInRadio, iHeartRadio, Deezer etc | LAN Connection | 24bit 192kHz Decoding

Product Information

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Arylic. I’d like to thank Arylic for providing the sample for this review. This review reflects my personal experience with Arylic S10. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it. The purpose of this review is to help those interested in Arylic S10 find their next music companion. The integrated DSP is a powerful tool to tune your sound: crossover, BSC, EQ, virtual bass, stereo widening, etc

The S10 is a WiFi and LAN based streamer with Bluetooth, which is principally designed as a pre-amp streamer by virtue of the remote control included, so you can connect it to a power amplifier for onward connection of speakers, or maybe a pair of active (powered) speakers – for instance Acoustic Energy’s AE1’s

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Generally speaking, the AUX input does not sound as good as the Ethernet or the Wifi input. S10 supports inputs from Bluetooth 5.0, RJ45 Ethernet up to 100M, as well as Wireless signals from the 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz networks. The Bluetooth distance is quoted to be about 30 Meters, but I found it to be roughly 15 meters with no obstacles for a good , reliable signal. The SNR is 91dB, which on paper is actually pretty humble, paired with a THD of about 0.03%, which on paper also sounds pretty meager. On the front, there are the Aux In, Network, Bluetooth, and USB lights which appear according to the source you’re using.

What really bugged me, though, was the absence of an LCD display to show the volume level. You can only see it on the app, but thankfully it “remembers” the last volume used for each input, so you don’t get any sudden surprises when switching. The S10 features a bank of four coloured LCDs to indicate the function, but on the S50 Pro, there’s a single dot matrix cluster that changes colour to show the input. I wanted to see if I could use it as a DAC for a separate amplifier, but I haven’t been successful thus far. Front Panel Just make sure you use the supplied RCA to 3.5mm cable and connect it to some active speakers using the S10’s “Aux Out” port. The S10 essentially takes a digital signal from Bluetooth, WiFi, or direct from USB, and converts it into audio into an active speaker, an older receiver, or an older analog-only preamp.

Summary

Sound-wise, there’s not much to say about the S10 other than it works exactly as it should. To be frank, it’s hard to see audiophiles getting excited over this except for the fact that it “gives the smarts” to the hi-fi rig. I couldn’t afford the bluesound but I could afford this and I’m over the moon. It’s worth a try at that price especially when you can use it elsewhere in your house to access your music. Arylic S10 vs Triangle AIO Connect (79 USD vs 150 USD) – We have two very different Streamers here today. The biggest difference is that while S10 cannot do any kind of digital output, AIO Connect has a really noisy analogue output and using it via its line out was almost impossible, the noise floor being generally very audible. This is why direct comparisons would be complicated, AIO has the advantage of using an external DAC which may be more potent than S10, but it also has a starting price of double that of S10, where S10 replaces the DAC in a system. I would recommend considering AIO Triangle as a Streamer for more expensive setups, and S10 for entry-level, bedroom, or bedside setups where having a simple DAC with a simple AMP or even active speakers is fun and feasible. The RCAs on the S50 Pro, however, speak of its audiophile aspirations, added to the fact that it features an ESS Sabre DAC and AKM ADC chips within.