USB to Dual Coax Bridge for Qutest DAC

@drlou77  I have a Netgear Orbi mesh system. It utilizes a main router which is connected to my cable modem in a different room which holds a separate home theater system. The main router feeds a satellite router using a 866 Mbps wireless signal. The satellite router provides Internet connection to my Aurender N150 streamer. I consistently get 275 Mbps download speeds throughout the entire house. 

My Ethernet cable upgrade saga began with a frequently recommended Generic Cat, 8 cable from Amazon as I wasn’t really a believer that an Ethernet cable could make a difference. I thought the treble improved but later learned this was likely noise that is frequently mistaken for improved high frequency response. So I bought AQ Cinnamon Ethernet cables. I started with the cable modem to main router and in the HT system another to the Apple TV 4K set-top box and another from the HT receiver to the TV.  The difference was noticeable on video so I bought them for the audio system as well. I immediately heard less high frequency hash and as they burned in I could hear more natural sound.

MScaler to the Qutest brought refinement and later the Denali brought more noise reduction which resulted in more cable purchases. This time because I have all Shunyata power cables, I decided to go big and bought Shunyata Alpha v2 Ethernet cables. Same order as the last time in separate purchases except that I bought a Shunyata Alpha USB cable with the streamer feed Ethernet cable.  These much better cables provided improved imaging, soundstage depth and tonal accuracy. The imaging improvement is incredible! 

I don’t know your equipment or cables but I would recommend a better Ethernet cable on your streamer. Use a retailer with a long (e.g., 60 day) evaluation period because all digital cables require burn-in IMO.  I’ve experienced digital cable burn-in many times now and the cables that aren’t pre-sale burned-in by the manufacturer tend to sound extremely closed-in or even harsh sometimes.

Happy journey!

@audphile1 I agree with you. But I consider the MScaler to be a component rather than an add-on. I’ve communicated with several Dave and TT2 owners who also have an MScaler. The Qutest and MScaler together and their cables require only one shelf in my audio rack. Same as a Bricasti M3 or Mola Mola or Rockna or most other high-end DACs. My goal is to buy a Dave when the “new Dave” is released. Hopefully the old Dave will go on sale!

if I didn’t have a DAC and was building a nice high-end digital streaming system I too would probably choose a Bricasti M3 over purchasing both a Chord Qutest and a Chord MScaler. But when you already own a Qutest for two years and like it, the MScaler brings it to a much higher level of performance. There’s really no comparison.

And the Qutest-MScaler combination pairs well with my all tube amplification. System synergy strikes again.

P.S. For future readers. Both the Qutest and the MScaler require a significant amount of burn-in. Don’t judge them too early in your evaluation regardless whether purchased individually or together.  And leave them powered up 24x7. 

@drlou77   Did you ever purchase an AudioWise SRC-DX?

@txp1 I did not.

I am still awaiting the delivery of the Audience Studio One USB cable.  I tested a sampler and had to return it.

I just got a UPS Tracking # sent tonight, so I should have it very soon.

Once I'm back on-line with streaming, I am going to test a higher quality ethernet cable, as others have suggested, and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks.

Audience Studio One USB in back in my system and it sounds fabulous.

Last matter: ethernet cable up grade.  I'm considering upgrading the one from my router to my mesh router.  I'm thinking that a modest upgrade will be fine here.

The other would be from my plain vanilla ethernet switch to my streamer.  Here's what I have to choose from that I can borrow and return from the Cable Company:

https://www.thecableco.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?q=Ethernet&product_list_order=price_asc
 

Any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks.