*DAC

@theeraser I have heard good things about Audio Note as well.

@daledeee1 Could you elaborate on the EMI/RFI filters and how to hook them up please?

@anzaanimalclinic Drastic!

@axeis1 Same as the Audio Note, hears the TT2 and MScaler were a great match up. but pricey!

@liquidsound Good common-sense advice, thank you.

@jji666 Did I say common sense? Well said sir!

@navyachts

I tried low cost options. Until recently, there were so many people who said it doesnt matter, so I wanted to try the low cost option in case these changes didn’t work.You could spend multiple times more. I think noise is a really big deal when it comes to streaming sound quality.

It all started when my cable company gave me a 1 piece router and modem. It came with a LPS, and one less connection. Hmm, that might have helped. Cost: free

I also purchased ethernet filters from DX Engineering. They are inserted at each end of the line. My ethernet line is about 40 ft. Definite improvement Cost: $50

I have a BJC Cat 6 or 6a. Lots of debate here about what to use. This one cost $40.

I have a Bluesound Node 2i. I added a new power supply, not "the best" but it made a big improvement in weight and clarity. Cost: 130. Even Lumin has companies making aftermarket power supplies, so check this out.

My crossover is old. It is DIY. My friend built it using Marchand boards. It says 1986 on the boards. I sent it in and had good jacks and volume controls replaced. RCA connectors can allow noise in. Volume controls can dull the sound.  The old ones got dirty and had to be cleaned. The new volume controls have gold contacts. works great. This was a marked sound improvement. I was shocked when I thought about the cumulative improvements. My latest thinking is Rhodium coated RCA plugs with Carbon covers.Cost 250

I kept saying " I’ve got to get some surge protection.  I had read some opinions that power conditioners actually degrading the sound. Based on advise here, once again I went for a low cost yet helpful option. I purchased a Firman Elite 15i. I plugged in everything . It is debated about plugging amps into a power conditioner. Pass Labs: "if you have dirty power, you can plug into a conditioner " once again, more improvement. How much more can I improve? It is getting addicting!

I have read that our house electrical wiring is actually a grid that allows interference to travel every direction, so the next thing was look around for wall warts, small switching power supplies, very noisy. Cell phone chargers, lamps, computer equipment, many of them all over the place. I purchased Furman Ss6B. These are not as good for electrical interference but do clean up the power. They would lower the contamination and it would be cleaned further by the Furman 15i. Small improvement. SS6B was 30 each.

I try to keep power cords at a right angle. Insulation on interconnects, speaker cable and power cords is important.

So as you can see EMI RFI sneaks in everywhere. Contact enhancer, tight connections, quality connectors, filters. I read alot to sort out the advise. I will continue to search for improvements. Meanwhile my system is not fatiguing, very clear, lots more music is there. Everything sounds full yet neutral. Bass articulation was a surprising benefit. Quieter listening levels sound good while maintaining bass presence. I had to figure out this since I basically had a cobbled together system with no local help. Four years into this, it has been very encouraging to find these low cost improvements.I have an ADD,-POWER Symphony IO that also changed the sound for the better. At this point, all I know is the sum of improvements sound improvements make friends say WTF when they listen! Good luck, I hope this made sense.

Hello all.  Im in a similar situation.  Would upgrading to a preamp solve the issue and take the DAC out of the equation.  

@redphu72 I am not sure I understand the question, which I see you have also posted in another DAC discussion. It might be best to start a new post as many here have moved on.

my 2 cents

the r26 is really excellent, one would truly need a mega system to hear significant sonic benefit to pricier dacs - i feel it strikes a wonderful balance between uber clarity and musicality, and it has very good spatial qualities

i would work on getting the feed into the r26 is clean and pure as possible to let it be at its best before getting on the dac merry go round (the front end improvements would benefit most other more expensive dac choices as well)

i use the r26 in a roon based system, it is truly excellent