Streamers: Lumin U2 vrs Aurender N200

Thanks @dolfan . Juan at Bliss suggested I try that as well. I had done previously with USB cables. Tried with power cords this morning, though due to a very limited selection of quality spares I had to swap from one unit to another. So robbing Peter to pay Paul. I was able to improve things a bit, but since it is a cumulative effect it is hard to say if I am hurting the performance of another piece of gear. By that I mean perhaps I am not getting as much as I could out of the system as a whole by (perhaps) not optimizing the performance of each individual piece. No way to know without having some quality spares so only one unit is changed at a time. Guess I better buy some. 

@audphile1 1 month on the U2, mostly running 24/7. Should be stable by now. 

Currently an Audio Envy USB and power cord on the U2. I was using a DH Labs USB. And I have an older USB that came with an Orchid DAC I had a few years ago, but haven't tried it yet. 

PS Audio DSD Mk2. I reloaded the original firmware but have reverted back to the current firmware. Synergistic Blue power cord.

I switched back to my Lumin U2 Mini. While there is slightly less detail and spaciousness than the U2, it does not have that annoying and almost painful upper midrange sharpness that I would describe as a clanging that appears, for example, in the upper middle register of the piano. 

Ahh... first world problems. We are so fortunate.

I’m feeding it fiber. Clean as a whistle. Cat 8 to converter, then fiber to the unit. All LPS. 

No, scratch that last comment about jriver.

Thanks @audphile1 . I’ll give it a try. One thing I did try this evening is to use jriver instead of the Lumin app. Listening now. Not night and day, but so far it is a more robust presentation with better inner detail. Surprise! But I think there might be some trade offs in the HF. Not sure yet.

@audphile1 Thanks. I am not upsampling. Will try a straight copper feed today. 

@audphile1 OK, switched to a straight copper feed. There is a difference. A little more apparent detail, but also more edge to the sound, particularly in the presence region. Precisely the opposite of what I want. I think with a less revealing system this would be a good thing. At this point I don't know what else to do beside replacing it with the Aurender. 

Thank you, everyone, for your comments.

@dolfan  Let me know what you think of the results. I have been sending native resolution to my DAC because the DAC uprezes to some ridiculous multiple of DSD then processes as a DSD file. 

I’m sending the U2 back. No silver or rhodium. I did try a number of different usb and power cables.

@audphile1 

Maybe. Also thinking about replacing my AGD amps with a Coda S5.5. 

@dwest1023  Sounds like the old Cardas Golden Cross XLR cables. I had two pairs of them and sold them a couple of years ago for peanuts. Boy, that was dumb. 

Thanks for the heads up. Will check them out. 

@dwest1023 There is a Clear USB and a Clear High Speed USB. Which do you have? The HS has silver plated conductors so I would expect it to be brighter, more detailed. Everything else being the same. 

@audphile1 Maybe so. I admit to being surprised. I really enjoy the Mini. I was simply expecting more detail and depth. But instead the sonic picture is quite different. I put the Mini back in using the same cables, and there it is. I haven't winced yet. And more importantly I am enjoying the music.