Setup, Customization, and Performance

Desktop Setup

I suspect most readers of this review will be using the YULONG Aurora primarily as a USB DAC for input, although the other inputs can be quite handy with non-desktop sources, such as a CD player, a phono stage, or even a TV. I personally sought the USB DAC application mostly, this also showcases the previously mentioned issue whereby it can be hard to access that small switch on the back between the two cables to actually turn the device on or off. When you do get it on, the LEDs on the front will light depending on the input source as well as the playback type. The toggle switch allows you to choose between the various inputs allowed, all of which can be connected physically at the same time, once again it doesn't feel like a premium experience to press down a springy switch up to five times, to reach the input of your choice. Once done though, it's mostly a set and forget experience, the only thing to be concerned about is connecting the headphones to the output on the front, you can see above how the YULONG Aurora looks next to some full-size headphones for visual context. I appreciated the use of the increasingly popular 4.4 mm balanced output, and some headphones such as the recently tested Sivga SV023 default to it, whereas others such as the HIFIMAN HE1000se and the HarmonicDyne G200 go the XLR route. You can also use the YULONG Aurora as a dedicated preamp if using the line outputs on the back, and this helps with active speakers or even another amplifier of your preference.


Using the YULONG Aurora with Windows 10 or 11 doesn't require any additional drivers, with Windows recognizing the device automatically and providing all the playback options the average end user will ever need—including up to 24-bit, 384 kHz playback. The XMOS XU216 USB encoder microcontroller comes in handy here, and all your favorite players will recognize the device in WASAPI (Windows Audio Session API) mode accordingly. There should be equivalent drivers pre-configured in newer macOS builds too, but I am not familiar enough to speak on this front.


If you have a device that doesn't accept UAC 2.0, or even if you simply want to try other options, then the YULONG Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) drivers will be of interest to you. You can find the installer on this page, with the latest version at the time of testing being 5.27.0. Installation is trivial as seen above, and these drivers now allow you to make the most of the YULONG Aurora with Windows OS.



What these drivers do is create a new output device in Windows, also providing access to the YULONG DSD DAC Control Panel, with DSD being a key term here too. Just be sure to set the format to 24-bit and choose the ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) buffer size that suits your latency requirements—that's about it. With that done, go to your media player of choice. I demonstrated above with JRiver again and set the audio player to the same output. At this point, you can implement further tweaks, but those are player dependent.

Audio Performance

This is a good segue to summarize the capabilities of the YULONG Aurora with its ES9068AS DAC, and all the branding on the device would have also prepared you to deal with the MQA support that YULONG is proud to market. This is the company's first device with MQA support so, whether you like it or not, the option remains to try it out. This time around, we only get up to 8x on-device rendering as opposed to the full 16x. This is no big loss to me (get it?), but the 32-bit, 768 KHz PCM and DSD512 playback (over USB) will be more relevant in both usage and also simply to tick off a feature list when comparing against others in the price range of the Aurora. The max PCM playback rates are really not very practical here, but if you do go the DSD route, then I can see DSD256 and higher being valid enough reasons to consider this. While I am here, the THD+N is rated for under 0.0001% at unspecified testing conditions, with a crosstalk of -120 dB and line level of 2 Vrms, SNR of -125 dBA, and DAC output impedance of 20 Ω, with these all corresponding directly to the analog outputs. The specification sheets on page one have more of the relevant parameters for the SE and balanced outputs, but of practical interest is the power output of each, courtesy the discrete Class-A topology employed - providing some highly impressive numbers for a device this compact.

The 1/4" SE headphone jack on the front itself can provide up to 1.6 W at 32 Ω which tapers down to 180 mW at 300 Ω. The balanced XLR or 4.4 mm connections bump things up to 4 W at 32 Ω going down to 375 mW at 300 Ω, all with a rated THD+N of 0.0005%. It's also at this point where I realized there is actually no gain switch at all, this means using the YULONG Aurora with more sensitive audio devices—IEMs in particular—is not a good idea given the limited range of volume control afforded before becoming too loud. This is a big shortcoming to be aware of, I don't understand why YULONG placed a powered Class-A amplifier without any gain controls whatsoever. On the other hand, the unit pairs well with more demanding headphones that require more voltage than current. For example, the YULONG Aurora drives the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 6XX and Sivga SV023 easily. But those necessitating more current via lower sensitivity, such as the notoriously hard-to-drive HIFIMAN Susvara, might benefit from a more suitable source unless all you care about is getting it loud enough. The output impedance of the headphone connectors is immaterial at this point thus, so let me go ahead to the preamp parameters and mention you get a 3 Vrms/6 Vrms from the SE and balanced analog outputs, respectively. I recommending going with the balanced XLR outputs here, and I did find it handy when pairing the Aurora with an e-stat amplifier accordingly.


I spent a few weeks using the YULONG DA-ART Aurora with a variety of headphones, having eliminated feasibility with IEMs early on in the testing process. The line out features worked very well, I have no complaints on that front. I will also mention that the YULONG Aurora is not going to be for those who simply want the best possible numbers out of an audio analyzer, although I'll be extremely skeptical if anyone can tell the difference without using one. Indeed, the reported numbers, also shown with first-party results, are still extremely good and would be considered flagship-class an year ago even. I discussed this briefly in the introduction whereby Yulong works with music artists and target customers to put out a sound signature more pleasing to human ears. This is honestly welcome in a world dominated by the sterile-but-clean ESS Sabre DAC sound, and also by DACs that report numbers at 1 kHz by specifically engineering performance at that metric. The YULONG Aurora meets all my requirements in that regard in providing a dark background, not affecting the tonality of the headphones being connected to, and simply being a clean source of power too. Instead, the deliberate engineering done here combined with the up to 3 W of Class A power (the rest being hybrid Class AB) makes for a more engaging presentation to vocals and instruments if you pay careful attention. I am not sure the difference is enough to pass an ABX test, but I at least noted enough here to mention it over pretty much any other ESS implementation which was same-y. Otherwise, I can't really tell you whether the YULONG Aurora "opens up the soundstage" as some claim it to do. It does play well with higher impedance headphones more than lower sensitivity ones though, and of course higher sensitivity IEMs are out of the question.