Thank you all for the precious input. A very interesting discussion for me, and I'm humbled by the fact this is/was one of the most popular threads on Audiogon. I never expected that. If I buy an expensive digital coax (Metronome seems to favour coax), I will certainly add an honest opinion on whether this has been a change for the better, or for the worse. I'm tempted by the digital cable upgrades for two reasons, to be honest. Of course, I have some hopes of adding some sophistication to the sound of my digital setup, which doesn't really need adjustment sound-wide (and my other cables are already "hi-end" price wise and offering improvement, or at least not making things worse..). Here this stems from my belief (and intuition! ) that the digital link is really important and still not appreciated enough. The second thing... is my desire to own something special people rave about ;-) The second point might come to you as a surprising confession. I live in Poland, where money has always been an issue more than in most other places. As a student, I read about all those expensive brands people own, dreaming that one day I might also be able to afford it. Now I know the price is not indicative of quality, but I guess I still have this desire to own something I could not afford in the past, even if this defies logic... And I always wanted the best ;-) I'm currently considering Transparent Digital Link XL or Siltech Golden Eagle Double Crown, both of wich I can get at nearly half the retail price. Admittedly, it's an effect of audiophilia nervosa... I am aware of it. Somebody suggested Audioquest Carbon as a good choice - I had this cable once and it was a really good cable, but I used it only to connect my Mac to the DAC in Metronome CD8. Not sure what I'm going to opt for in the end, but I will certainly let you know. It's quite likely I will victim of my "being-poor-in the-past" dreams... I hope this is legible, because English is my only second language.