an egg now and then isn't an altogether bad thing and I've managed to wipe most of it off my face now.....
Although Im not actually from Missouri when I am shown something is audibly better than something else Ive grown accustomed too, Im fine with it
especially if the new item is a gizmo I can actually acquire.
Using the M2Tech Hiface briefly in house showed me it was a substantial gain over a modestly priced sound card of proportedly identical output capacities.
Past the more obvious traits of heightened cleanliness and clarity within the scope of the music, it was portrayed with greater fidelity and naturalness in 16/44 & 24/96 FLAC using both J River MC & Fubar 102. the latter player was the better sounding experience IMHO in conjunction with the Hiface Kernal Streaming mode. Even AAC (m4a) files seemed better overall, as did several other file types.
Small, lightweight, Plug N Play, self powered, exceptionally lowered jitter (presumably), external application, and most importantly
affordable!!
Now, where it stacks up against a true high end sound card or another likewise adapter, I can not say. For now however at < $200, its a true no brainer of a decision if youre aim is to use a pc as a source.
This should be interesting now
seeing how it stands up against more higher costing devices. It stopped me for a time, from investing in a Lynx or further upscale interface, as Ive found it a bona fide step up in overall audio performance, yielding a more naturally accurate insight to the musical presentation.
The hidden bonus of it working best with a free media player was just icing. ;-))