Upstream Bottlenecks, Experience, Opinions, Meitner Dac

Do you mean Meitner MA3 ? I play files on NAS and Tidal using ROON with MA3 connected to the home Netgear switch with 70 feet of CAT5. I have had in the system for two years an Uptone Audio EtherRegen and an EMM Labs NS1 (Toslink to MA3).  Both now sold as not needed with the MA3. 

Hi Delma, yes sorry ma3. Your experience is what I was hoping to hear. The Meitner gear removes some or all of the Ethernet noise tweaks. Have you changed the ps cable from stock? Thank you 

I would start with a better power cable. Especially with digital sources and DACs, well grounded cables with noise-reducing shielding will set you up with the right foundation. The Ethernet switch & cables and all will only be worth it once your streamer / server is at more of a reference stage.

If you do consider upgrading the streamer/server, consider one with a good clock and AES output. I believe EMM tends to work very well with AES vs USB, but YMMV. If keeping the Mac mini for a while, you can upgrade the USB cable if you haven’t already. That should yield just as big of results as the power cable.

Thanks bliss, makes sense. Yes, I have been using the original usb curious  cable for some time now. Along with Liederman USBe Perfect for jitter reduction. The sound is extraordinary. Will insert the Meitner tomorrow. I’ll investigate EMM.