USB SQ, what can one expect

Um. I use the DH Labs Mirage USB cable. Beat the Wireworld platinum IMHO.

The USB cable was a modestly priced mapleshade one, but it certainly surpassed the generic cable by a good margin.

Red,

Is your Dell dedicated to playing audio? Having a dedicated computer can make a significant difference as you can get rid of multiple programs running in the background (including anti-virus).

Is it a 64-bit computer? If so, I've had very good results installing Windows Server 2012 as operating system, and once that was done, outstanding results using the Audiophile Optimizer (software) and turning WS2012 into core mode. All this with JRiver.

Then of course you can build a purpose-designed PC, but I would suggest you do that later.

I'm 100% PC based these days. I ended up selling my CD player as I was not using it anymore. Computer audio can sound very, very good.

Enjoy the journey!

Thanks Lew for the info. My Dell is far from optimized. I was just trying it out. Over the course of the next couple of months I will set up a "music" server and see how that works. Thanks.

Just to mention, USB cables behave differently between different components.. I recently auditioned several and none sounded to me the way reviewers and other users described them. Unless someone has the exact same output and input devices their opinion as it relates to your setup will be pretty much worlthless.