Arylic has offered Up2Stream audio receiver modules for DIY wireless speakers since 2018, and their latest module, the Up2Stream HD DAC board supports modern audio features such as Qualcomm aptX HD and Apple Airplay 2.
Equipped with a high-performance ESS 9038Q2M audio codec, the wireless audio streaming board delivers 1:1 high-fidelity lossless 192khz/24bits audio output, offers dual-band WiFi, a range of audio input & output ports, and supports services such as Spotify Connect & Tidal Connect making Arylic’s 4Stream app optional.
Up2Stream HD DAC board specifications:
- Analog Audio
- DAC – ESS 9038Q2M
- Stereo RCA output
- AUX input header
- Digital Audio
- Optical S/PDIF output, coaxial S/PDIF output, 1:1 up to 24bit / 192kHz
- Digital input header
- AUX input header
- Audio formats – FLAC, MP3, AAC/AAC+, ALAC, APE, WAV
- Connectivity
- Ethernet port
- Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4
- Bluetooth 5.0 with support for aptX HD
- Streaming Protocols – AirPlay 2, DLNA, UPnP, Spotify Connect & Qplay
- Expansion headers
- Display Panel header
- 2x MCU GPIO headers
- Rotary encoder header
- Misc
- 3x LEDs for source status (WiFi, Bluetooth, audio input)
- Multifunction button
- Short press to change the input mode
- Press 2 times to reset WiFi/BT
- Press 3 times to restore factory settings
- Long press to turn off
- IR Receiver for remote control
- Power Supply – 5V/2A via USB Type-C port
- Dimensions – 110 x 74mm
The board works with a range of online services including Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Tidal, Qobuz, Napster, iHeartRadio, QQ Music, QQFM, but you can also play audio from local storage in your mobile phone or a NAS thanks to Foobar2000 or other programs with UPnP or DLNA supports for Mac or Windows PC. On mobile, 4Stream app is available for Android and iOS but as mentioned in the introduction, is optional, and your other audio equipment can also be used as a source through the digital and analog audio input headers.
The Up2Stream HD DAC and other Up2Stream boards are small enough to fit in all sorts of audio projects so users can add an amplified streamer inside speaker boxes, or tiny receiver boards inside home theater amplifiers. Also worth noting is that all Arylic products are compatible with each other for multiroom installations.
The Up2Stream HD DAC is sold for $249 plus shipping with the package including two internal antennas for WiFi & Bluetooth, a user manual, and a 3-pin PH2.0 aux cable. The company ships from local warehouses in the US, Europe, or Russia, and offers 30-day free returns plus a one-year warranty for the board.
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$250? What market are they targeting?
Maybe it is the consumer “brand ecosystem hostage” market considering that the Arylic system center piece unit — a Class D 50W amplifier in a metal case and as far as I can tell includes all, if not more of the features of this board, is only EUR 239,99 on Amazon DE.
According to various audio web site reviews the base unit is good value for money and produces high quality audio through the amplifier when connected to suitably good quality bookshelf speakers.
This unit has a DAC ESS 9038Q2M (better quality than the one in the above amplifier), but this cannot be the item pushing the price up to excessive levels, since the price is only EUR 19,20 on Mouser and not some high end expensive audophile price (more than EUR 100) one might have expected.
And Arylic only offer clear plexiglass cases for their add on board products.