Source: Press Release, Last Accessed: 2016/09/11

AURALiC released Version 4.0 of their Lightning device firmware for Aries, Aries LE and Aries Mini, a version which utilizes AURALiC’s latest Lightning Playback Engine V2, introduces several new features and a major improvement in sound quality.
The new version introduces a Memory Cache function which allows the streaming device to pre-load the music track into the system memory to achieve better sound quality. It also helps to improve streaming stability under less ideal network environment. AURALiC streaming products with this new firmware 4.0 will cache the on-playing file data into system memory rather than internal storage (SSD) for maximum sound quality consideration: device will disable most of idle hardware and software during playback to reduce EMI noise generated by digital circuit. The size of Memory Cache for Aries and Aries LE is 512MB, enough to cache most High-Res music files in regular length at one time. The Aries Mini has a reduced Memory Cache size of 64MB due to smaller hardware memory. Music files with bigger size will be cached in several segments based on playback progress.
The Memory Cache function will be enabled automatically when Lightning device plays music through Lightning DS and any other UPnP based control software. This feature is however not working under Internet Radio, AirPlay, Songcast, Bluetooth and RoonReady input circumstances. Instead, the music file will be played as a live stream from host device or computer, which is not cache-able.
Another function included in Lightning V4.0 is the Bit-Perfect Group Play. This is a “Party Mode" which allows the user to create a playback zone and play same music tracks on selected devices simultaneously. According to the press release, this is the first time in the industry that such a function supports sample rates up to DXD (PCM in 32bit/384kHz) and DSD256 in bit-perfect way without a down-sampling process.
Finally, firmware 4.0 comes with the High Quality Re-sampler which will firstly up-sample 1bit/2.8224MHz DSD signal to 24bit/2.8224MHz then convert to 24bit/88.2kHz, minimizing sound quality loss during the conversion. In future version of Lightning DS, user will be able to fully utilize the Resampler by converting between any PCM sampling rate, the company says.
Aries firmware 4.0 is available for update free of charge for all existing Aries, Aries LE and Aries Mini customers through AURALiC’s automatic online update. For a complete release notice of this update, please follow this URL.

For more information: http://www.auralic.com/

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