Asynch USB or super clock thru S/PDIF for $3.5k?

Lewinskih01, After owning or listening to a long list of earlier generation DACs and CD systems, I currently own the Bel Canto 3.0 and Ayre QB-9 (192Hz version). I prefer the versatility of the Bel Canto and use it sans preamp, w/balanced ic into a Jeff Rowland amp for my second system.

But I can summarize my impressions of the Ayre by saying that short of something like the Playback Designs DACs at $5-7K or perhaps the ARC-8, it is the most analog-sounding and yet revealing digital device I've ever owned or heard, even better than the Ayre CX-7E in my system.

If RFI/EMI is reasonably low, using RCA outs doesn't seem to be a significant issue for my playback of the Ayre, though others may wish to comment. Mine isn't a fair A-B, since my (Cerious)XLR cables are much better. I did observe minor but noticeable effects across USB cables during high-resolution(24/192) playback. Belkin Gold or Cardas Clear both seem to work fine for me.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

I just replaced my SB Touch with CI power supply going into an esoteric G25U clock/upsampler (touch upsampled to 176k and reclocked) into berkeley dac direct into amps. I was thrilled with the sound until I put an ESI Juli@ sound card into my PC. I have a 10 meter aopgee BNC cable sending the Juli@ into the G25/berkeley (next room) and it totally blew away the touch. (Using JRiver 16). I loved my touch and thought it sounded great. I'm still blown away.

Cerrot: Thanks for the input. Very good to know this. I wonder how your system would perform with an asynch USB to S/PDIF converter with a super clock vs. the Juli@ + G25 feeding the Alpha.
BTW, you mentioned your PC is next room. How do you control it from your seat?

Sandstone: Thanks for the clarifications. As you said in your first reply, it looks like I cannot go wrong. Yet there is certainly one option that would provide the best bang for the buck, but without auditioning it's all but imposible to say which one it is. Maybe the real question behind this is whether I can live without a CD player.

Lewinskih01,
"Maybe the real question behind this is whether I can live without a CD player."
I noticed an interesting factoid on an audio trade news blog yesterday, to the effect that upwards of 80% of CDs now sold in the USA are thought to be played only once - ripped to other media and then reproduced from electronic storage.
The figure sounds high, but whether accurate or not, we seem to have reached a level in audio quality and convenience that renders CD players much less important.
In any event, my CD player is not improved by routing it through my DAC, and I almost never use mine anymore (esp. since discovering the Theater View mode in JRiver Media 15!).
Other issues aside, the simple fact is that it's now easier to extract bit-perfect (e.g.,amplitude perfect) data away from the EMI/RFI nightmare known as a PC box, with advanced clocking to eliminate virtually ALL jitter in the time domain.

If you need multiple I/O options, suggest you also consider the Antelope Zodiac Plus as a design that includes world-class clock, DAC and analog stages. It seems to make sense that eliminating extra cabling and boxes, and positioning of the clock as close as possible to the DAC stages are all worthy features.

Lewinskih, I wouldn't be trying a usb interface anytime soon. The interface is inherently flawed. Always has been, always will be. I think PC audo is best in its purest form, through a sound card via an spdif 75 ohm output. Converting the usb to audio is just too messy to sound "right". As for controlling J River, I did install Rivermote to use off my iPad. It's okay, but looking for better. I am looking into something more versatile, which may be via DLNA.