iFi Audio Unveils Aurora All-In-One System

iFi Audio is one of my personal favorite manufacturers. they; ve released numerous fantastic products like the iDSD-line, the iTube series of preamps / buffers, as well as their more recent xDSD and xCAN offerings. However, every now and then they’ve produced a complete all-in-one system, and the most recent product they’ve unveiled is called the Aurora.

The Aurora is a somewhat unique all-in-one system which offers wireless connectivity, and, according to iFi Audio, a sonic experience unlike any other tabletop all-in-one.
The design alone is enough to turn heads as the exterior features a really intriguing design made out of separate bamboo slats as well as a very industrial-looking frame which elevates the entire Aurora system. It is very striking to say the least, and is sure to make for an interesting conversation-piece. According to iFi Audio, apparently the design was “created by French product designer Julien Haziza, inspired by the architecture in Tokyo’s Omotesandō and Harajuku districts.”
Behind the bamboo exterior are a total of six driver units as well as an addition two passive bass radiators which are situated underneath the main unit.
In the centre is where you’ll find the system’s control panel which consists of various touch-sensitive controls and an OLED display which is inlaid with a few more bamboo pieces.

iFi Audio have stated that the name – Aurora – was inspired by the very sound characteristics of the product, which iFi has described as being able to “deliver a remarkably expansive soundstage, tailored to the space in which it sits”. They went further to say that the Aurora “fills the room with sound as the Aurora Borealis fills the sky with light, electrifying your music and immersing you in the performance of your favorite artists”. Well, that certainly is a lot of marketing talk, but iFi are not known for blowing hot air, and so it seems very unlikely that the Aurora won’t live up to iFi’s word.

The Aurora packs in several other features, which iFi have documented as such:

The Aurora connects to a home Wi-Fi network, enabling users to stream music via their favourite apps, or play audio files stored on networked devices such as computers and NAS drives. Bluetooth is also included, so that users may stream directly from any smart device.

The Aurora is hi-res audio enabled, supporting data up to 32-bit/192kHz without conversion or down-sampling via Wi-Fi, USB or Ethernet cable. Bluetooth streaming also delivers much better sound quality than is typically the case, engineered by iFi to be less ‘lossy’ than off-the-shelf Bluetooth solutions. The latest high-quality Bluetooth codecs are supported, including aptX HD, LDAC and LDHC, as well as AAC.

Connecting to a Wi-Fi network couldn’t be simpler, with push-button WPS set-up. Linkplay’s MUZO Player app – or any UPnP/DLNA streaming app – may be used to configure the system and control music. AirPlay and Spotify Connect are also supported.

Several Auroras may be linked together on a Wi-Fi network to make a seamless multi-room system, playing in sync or controlled individually. Whether streaming music from services such as Spotify or Tidal, or surfing the thousands of internet radio stations available from an app such as TuneIn, the Aurora has your digital audio lifestyle covered.

The decision to build the Aurora’s cabinet from bamboo was not simply based on its aesthetic properties and environmental sustainability, although these are important considerations. It is also a natural sound absorber, which brings significant acoustic benefits. The cabinet is stiff and well-braced, with strategically placed damping material to ensure the speaker drivers operate without vibrations and other forms of distortion sullying the sound.

There are eight custom-made drive units in total. Four main drivers with 130mm cones are deployed in a wide-bandwidth role to cover the vast majority of the audible frequency spectrum, rolling off towards very low and very high frequencies. This enables an impressively flat frequency response and excellent phase response through the midrange – a key contributor to the Aurora’s clear and expressive sound.

These four main drivers are joined by two 28mm silk-dome tweeters to handle very high frequencies, and two passive bass drivers that fire downwards from the underside of the cabinet. The net result is a seamlessly coherent performance with silky-smooth frequency response, an out-of-the box soundstage and bass that delves far deeper than most all-in-one systems can muster.

The Aurora incorporates four core audio technologies, all of proprietary design, which combine to deliver its extraordinary sonic performance:

• PureEmotion

At the Aurora’s heart lies PureEmotion amplification – a hybrid design incorporating classic
valve-based preamplification and advanced solid-state power amplification with ultra-fast switching. This ingenious fusion of amp technologies enables a sound combining purity of tone with a high level of engagement, speed and dynamic gusto, capturing the emotive quality of music in full effect.

• SoundSpace

The Aurora’s custom-made driver array combines with iFi’s SoundSpace matrix, which adjusts the output from specific drivers at certain frequencies. SoundSpace is fundamental to the Aurora’s immersive, room-filling performance, enabling the soundstage to extend beyond the confines of the cabinet with expansive width, height and depth. This gives music a palpable sense of scale and space you simply wouldn’t expect from an all-in-one music system.

• ART (Automatic Room Tailoring)

The Aurora incorporates a ‘room correction’ system called ART (Automatic Room Tailoring). At the press of a button, six ultrasonic sensors measure the distance to the surrounding walls using ultrasound. Then, a 32-bit ARM Cortex microprocessor adjusts the output from the driver array to precisely tailor Aurora’s performance. Wherever the Aurora is placed – in a large room or a smaller one, in a corner, against a wall or in free space – it always performs at its best.

• TrueBass

The depth and quality of bass supplied by all-in-one lifestyle systems often leaves a lot to be desired. iFi’s TrueBass system, incorporating the two downward-firing bass radiators, ensures the Aurora delivers genuine bass with realistic depth and definition. Dual-level depth control means you can adjust the bass response according to taste – down to a deeply impressive 27Hz – so that everything from timpani, to a bass guitar, to an electronic bassline is conveyed with power and poise.

All of the above technologies operate entirely in the analogue domain to ensure maximum fidelity, without resorting to DSP (Digital Signal Processing) which can have an adverse effect on the purity and resolution of sound.

The Aurora is expected to be released with a price-tag of roughly $ 1299 (excluding applicable taxes and / or shipping).