But why would you think that the Aries sounds any better than the MS200 or MS600??... to imply that this device is comparable to the 818, without even hearing it, is ambitious at best.

And as the owner of the 818, you would know that.

And just on your point of the Auralic being capable of streaming "every available format"... as you're likely aware, the Meridian is capable of playing most of the available file types as well, including MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, WAV, 24/88, 24/96, 24/172, 24/192 and probably several others that I've forgotten about.

Just about the only files that it doesn't play are DSD files ... and that comes from a fundamental belief within the very knowledgeable minds within Meridian, that this file format is compromised to start with.

And lastly, I'll repeat what I've said above... an 818 with Digital Out only would not be any cheaper than the current 818.

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