NAD M50.2

When you hook up the M50.2, I would think about using the 12V trigger in to turn it on and off. There is no remote control button for power on/off (or rather, no programmable setting...the M50.2 doesn’t come with a remote, you program in your own codes to it, and I didn’t see a power on/off programmable setting) so you can either turn it on and off by pressing the button or by setting up a trigger for the input you want to use (I went with AES) on your DAC and activating the M50.2 with that. When you turn off your trigger, the M50.2 turns off automatically as well. Pretty useful.

With regards to sound quality, I can make the following comments:
1) I'm getting excellent frequency response ("loudness" setting is off on my processor/DAC) from the low range to the high.  Everything sounds crystal clear.
2) My wife remarked last night that when she closes her eyes, she really feels like she's sitting in the recording studio.  She's not as into the audio *equipment* as I am, but she appreciates good sound.  She likes this network device.
3) I've put about 20 CDs through this thing, and some were, to say the least, banged up.  I was embarrassed at the condition of some of the discs.  That being said, this device ripped them all cleanly (I didn't hear any weird audio pops or anything like bad data) and encoded them without difficulty.  Haven't had any software hangups with the M50.2...it just works.

For the OP, if you can demo this device, I think you want to demo it and play around with it.  Mine is not going back.

I just returned from Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver. Great experience. Unfortunately, the NAD room didn't have a 50.2 on display.

I spoke with the Aurender folks and they said they would have a new transport/memory device available within 6 months specifically for ripping CDs to an Aurender digital player. 

With this relatively new territory including MQA with streamers, etc, I think I will spin CDs for another 6 months or a year, and see what's on the market then.

Very cool. Aurender makes good gear. 

Best of luck!

Just a quick note: according to the Nov 28 Stereophile review of the Nad M50.2, DSD support will be made available before the end of the year. 

Nice!