Computer Audio..Stream or download?

Latlik- In case no one else mentioned it, you might also want to try spending some time at computeraudiophile.com.

Hey Lalick,

No prob - glad to help. If you are going apple which is great to use and I agree for the reasons you stated and Jriver works well with them as well but there are other solutions that the apple folks like better than Jriver and others can speak to it but even with Apple I would go Jriver.

JCAT is part of JPlay which when I used a pc for source was great but it was pc based and not for Apple. The JCAT cable is made to go with their matching pc usb card pc which can be battery power driven which is good stuff for a pc source. If you are going to use a usb cable between aurender and modright Dac their are much better options IMO. I use a Tellarium Q Black Diamond USB cable I bought off the U.S. Distributor Fidelis in NH they are also US distributor for Harbeth speakers and Palmer tables. Great stuff. The Tellarium Q is more money but so much better than the JCAT cable. I like it better than the Locas Design Group Cynosure and the Light Harmonic Light speed single headed cable. I think of all the light harmonic is best if you go with double headed and have battery power to drive the power leg but for plug and the Tellurium is my choice. All of them will crush the JCAT but cost more but worth it. Thought to throw some ideas for you. The Wirewold Platinum and the Audioquest Diamond are common and more money and also better than the JCAT.

Fsmithjack,

My entire rig is on Audience Au24SE cables. I find their cables very neutral, transparent and frill free. Their newest entry, Au24 USB got a steller review from Robert Harley recently. I will check out Tellurium Q as well (and i heard of the brand before). Since I bought Audience cables, i never had the need to look at another brand (trust me they are that good).

Thank you,

Lalitk, don't try High Fidelity Cables or even read any reviews.

Lalitk,

Audience Au24SE cables are outstanding and you can't go wrong with that hi-fi staple of a brand.

I am sure their USB Cable is solid. They are solid and their audio cable design and manufacturing track record speaks for itself.

I could be wrong but I am of the opinion that the USB Digital Cable is very different than the rest of the analogue cable loom... They are a sort of a lone wolf cable that is unique and it takes a ton of focus, energy and commitment to really get it right. Many of the top cable OEM's make decent/solid USB cables but only a few have really nailed it.

It's just too different and presents numerous specific R&D challenges due to it's unique application and this does't allow the name sake OEM's to leverage their traditional economies of scale advantages they typically enjoy as it relates all their other analog cables in their looms.

I think some of the name sake OEM's are offering decent / competent USB cables just to fill out their line's but its not comparable to other top USB cables or even the rest of the loom. Cardas Clear comes to mind. Very nice high performing cable and a very good loom but the their USB cables although competent / decent is no where near the performer of their analog brethren in the line. Should really not have the Clear branding but to their credit its price is consumer-ate with its performance.

I have not heard the Audience AU24 USB Cable but the one's I mentioned above I personally know are outstanding but with some luck you can hear the AU24 or any others in your system before having to commit. If not I would go with one of the proven leaders. They have earned their status based in their USB cable performance and not based on their analog cable historical performance which in this case is outstanding.

I myself am close toward having the entire HiDiamond cable loom but I have never even considered switching to the HiDiamond USB Cable. The Terrarium Q Black Diamond is just too dam good.

Fsmithjack,

I will give it a shout to tellarium Q Black U.S. Distributor for a home audition. Audience cable already come with 30 day home trial.

Thanks again for a candid feedback.

Fidelis in Nashua NH ask for Bill. Tell him Frank sent you.

They are the best and he's great to deal with. I bought mine off them and like a year or so later maybe longer I changed DAC's and went from a PS Audio DirectStream to a Bricasti M1 and for some odd reason my USB cable wasn't being read by my Bricasti M1. The Fidelis guys are good friends with Brian from Bricasti.

So anyways I called Bill and told him my situation and he didn't bat an eye lash sent me right out another Brand New Tellurium Q Black Diamond no questions asked and I sent him mine back. That's the type of service we all want and deserve from our Hi-End dealers / distributors.

They regularly share audio show rooms with my bud and neighbor Vinnie Rossi from Red Wine Audio which is now Vinnie Rossi Audio with his amazing new LIO product line. If you haven't heard of his new line you should read about. Anyways just wanted you to know how awesome the Fidelis guys are... good luck keep us posted on how you make out...

I don’t stream myself, but I have just set up some Kef LSXs for my mom. As I had a sub I have tried a few lossless pieces but was not impressed.

After much fooling around I can tell you the best digital player for any digital file you might have is a RAM Disk.

A lossless player playing from one, is nicer than off my NVMe SSD, which is substantially nicer than my HDD drives. I used to play music from them, as that was better than a CD player. ;)
Not surprising when you think about it.