Small Green Computer ultraRendu elevates the performance of my Gold Note DAC

I recently purchased a Gold Note 10 DS-plus to replace my Chord Qutest DAC. I still have a Qutest in my other system which has monitor speakers and short cable runs, but wanted balanced outputs for longer cable runs in a full-range system in a larger space.

I played the Gold Note for a couple of weeks as a streamer/Roon End Point with DAC using the Ethernet feed (taking out the ultraRendu from the chain) and it was noticeably more resolving and got me closer to the performance than the Chord Qutest with ultraRendu. It was no longer fatiguing as the balanced preamp inputs were so quiet.

I then added back the UltraRendu into the mix and noticed the sound was even more relaxed and open. This now feeds feeds the Gold Note via a high quality USB cable - the Gold Note running in DAC mode. The level of noise and digital harshness was reduced so much that I could listen at louder levels in the full basement with full range Tekton speakers and a Plinius Amp and Hegel preamp. My take-home from this is that Small Green Computer’s systems do really belong in higher quality digital systems and that the best sound is still found with separates and not all-in-ones.

It is worth noting that Andrew Gillis at Small Green Computer was really helpful in answering my questions before and after purchasing the Sonic Transporter/ ultraRendu system.

System

Premier Server & Player Bundle - SonicTransporter i5, ultraRendu, SGC 7v Linear Power Supply - 4TB SSD Storage (pull out drive) / 110VAC

Gold Note DS-10 plus, Hegel P4A Mkii preamp, 20 ft Balanced XLRs, Plinius Amp, Tekton DI SE.

Roon, Qobuz, Tidal, Flac files, DSD vinyl rips.