• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

YULONG DA-ART Aurora Desktop DAC/Preamp/Amplifier

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,610 (0.96/day)
YULONG is an established audio brand focused on bringing DAC/amp sources with a musical touch. Today we examine the desktop class DA-ART Aurora DAC/preamp/headphone amplifier that features MQA support, Class A amplification, up to 4 W of power, and plenty of I/O options in a compact, well-built form factor.

Show full review
 
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
8,508 (1.87/day)
Location
Ovronnaz, Wallis, Switzerland
System Name main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory 64gb Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600mhz DDR4/8gb DDR3 1600/2gb LPDDR3/8gb LPDDR5x 4200/16gb LPDDR5
Video Card(s) Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/RDNA3 768 core
Storage 250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/2tb SN770M
Display(s) X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/FHD 120hz
Case Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/back/back-front Gorilla Glass Victus 2+ UAG Monarch Carbon
Audio Device(s) Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Moondrop Chu II + TRN BT20S
Power Supply Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/4Smart Voltplug PD 30W/Asus USB-C 65W
Mouse Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard Endorfy Thock 75% <3/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD Medion Erazer
Software Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 13/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o
urgh MQA ... aka gimped stream/file if not paying a license or having a MQA capable DAC, ok the smaller footprint is good for "Hi-Fi" streaming, although not a huge fan of Tidal high res subscription ... double the price of the normal sub and double the price of the 320kbps from Spotify (tho Tidal has a better artist margin .... )

if i want high-res, i play locally (mostly FLAC ... not nut enough for DSD on my phone :laugh: )
Screenshot_2022-09-06-00-06-14-085_com.fiio.music.jpg
(the whole album is around 1.75gb, freshly ripped from my collection )

ah, derp my Fiio Ka1 is MQA 16x unfold capable ... (well at 49chf it's not really showing but if i want MQA on Fiio Music app it seems there is a subscriptions... yeah ... another "customer milking scam" )
since it use a ESS Sabre ES 9281AC Pro DAC chip

ah i really want to test if that liliputian dongle can drive a BeyerDynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm :laugh: (i am almost 100% positive it can )

although for a desktop DAC at 520$ that one has some good specs and I/O
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,602 (6.53/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
2,671 (1.00/day)
Kudos to YULONG for providing a review sample! I wish more companies do this.

Also, I am not a fan of ESS for their sound but that is more of a personal preference. DSD512 is a hard no-no in my book, however. Many tracks I listen to are exactly in DSD512 and there is no way in hell I convert those just for a given DAC.

As for the MQA, guys above said it - industry was better off without it.

Edit: and kudos to our resident squirrel guy for the review. I see some nice gear on your hands there.
IDK, there is something about long, exhaustive reviews of audio gear where no stone is left unturned. I just enjoy reading them. Just pour some 18 yrs old one (or a fat cup of coffe, depending on the mood) and slowly absorb each and every word, sentence and line of thought.
Maybe that's why I'm so harsh on @VSG and other audio reviewers?
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
8,508 (1.87/day)
Location
Ovronnaz, Wallis, Switzerland
System Name main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory 64gb Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600mhz DDR4/8gb DDR3 1600/2gb LPDDR3/8gb LPDDR5x 4200/16gb LPDDR5
Video Card(s) Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/RDNA3 768 core
Storage 250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/2tb SN770M
Display(s) X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/FHD 120hz
Case Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/back/back-front Gorilla Glass Victus 2+ UAG Monarch Carbon
Audio Device(s) Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Moondrop Chu II + TRN BT20S
Power Supply Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/4Smart Voltplug PD 30W/Asus USB-C 65W
Mouse Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard Endorfy Thock 75% <3/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD Medion Erazer
Software Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 13/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o
ok the smaller footprint is good for "Hi-Fi" streaming,
ah ... i forgot about that video ahah ... nope, it does not even have the smaller footprint advantage ...

i know why i am off Tidal too and either use Qobuz for loseless FLAC or just go into 320kbps Spotify premium for casual listening

MQA: snakeoil, lossy format, the MQA guys do not provide counter to questions asked and just claim that MQA format is not "analysable" with the current methodology yaddah yaddah
FLAC/DSD: real loseless open source already more than enough for high res streaming(FLAC)/local playing(FLAC/DSD)

actually i almost recalled my order on the Fiio KA1 to get the KA3, nonetheless the KA1 is an awesome ultra portable DAC-AMP and the fact that is has MQA validation does not alter that and the same goes for tthe Yulong Da-art DAC-Preamp-Amp. (and i confess i like the ESS ES9281AC Pro Dac chip in the KA1 compared to the AK4452 from my previous Q1 Mark II, although signature wise i prefer Cirrus Logic chips )

that being said, i love @VSG reviews (mostly those about audio and keyboards. ) :lovetpu:
 
Last edited:

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,610 (0.96/day)
I couldn't care less about MQA either and you can probably see that I just mention it as a matter of fact in the review and leave it at that. But I also acknowledge that many people still use it, so I will let readers decide one way or another.
 
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
8,508 (1.87/day)
Location
Ovronnaz, Wallis, Switzerland
System Name main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory 64gb Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600mhz DDR4/8gb DDR3 1600/2gb LPDDR3/8gb LPDDR5x 4200/16gb LPDDR5
Video Card(s) Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/RDNA3 768 core
Storage 250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/2tb SN770M
Display(s) X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/FHD 120hz
Case Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/back/back-front Gorilla Glass Victus 2+ UAG Monarch Carbon
Audio Device(s) Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Moondrop Chu II + TRN BT20S
Power Supply Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/4Smart Voltplug PD 30W/Asus USB-C 65W
Mouse Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard Endorfy Thock 75% <3/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD Medion Erazer
Software Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 13/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o
I couldn't care less about MQA either and you can probably see that I just mention it as a matter of fact in the review and leave it at that. But I also acknowledge that many people still use it, so I will let readers decide one way or another.
yeah, i am also a kind of live and let live and after the KA1 test, a MQA certification and branding on a device will not pull me back, tho i would be glad that less and less people use MQA and more realise the scheme behind that .... thing :laugh:

man i hate placebo effect :oops: a friend swear only by Tidal MQA :rolleyes:
 
Top