USB to Dual Coax Bridge for Qutest DAC

@drlou77 phew I was beginning to worry :)

glad you like the Audience! It’s amazing an improvement a good USB cable can make. 

The two sites I use exclusively to buy/sell equipment are this site and the US Audio Mart. Good luck! And enjoy the upgrades!

@audphile1 @adasdad @drlou77  I’ve followed this thread with interest and I’m glad everything worked out for the OP.  I’d like to add that it’s not really a valid comparison to compare a Qutest DAC to a Qutest and MScaler combination like @adasdad is using.  The MScaler takes the Qutest to a far superior level.  And it takes time for the MScaler to burn-in, partly due to the stock SMPS supplied with it. 

The improvement is profound. Detailed and smooth/natural.  I also found myself stretching to buy $1000+ cables because I could now hear the improvement they make.  I was already set for power cables. These new ones were USB and Ethernet cables!  With each one I could hear the improvement in my system.  The Qutest and MScaler combination made that possible.  Well, in addition to a Shunyata Denali 6000 v2 that helped get noise out.  In general, 24/44 and 24/48 music sounds much better than 16/44. With the Qutest alone and prior to the upgrades I couldn’t hear any difference.  

@txp1 Thanks for sharing your story.  I am very interested in the SQ improvement you realized from upgrading your ethernet cable.

My set up uses wifi to send the signal to a ASUS mesh system.  I am unable to run an ethernet cable from my router to my generic ethernet switch.  My download speed is consistently 180 Mbs, so it's been working for a year without any dropouts.
 

From the switch, I'm using a 1M plain vanilla ethernet cable to my Innuos Zenith mk3 streamer, a .75 M Curious Cable Evolved USB cable to my Innuos Phoenix USB reclocker, and then a 2 M Audience Studio One USB to the Bricasti M3 DAC.

Everything sounds superb, but I am wondering if I swap out the 1 M generic ethernet cable for something more exotic, can I squeeze an improvement in SQ worthy of the added investment for a new cable.

I'm guessing the answer is, "try it and see for yourself."  In either case, which ethernet cable would you recommend?

Thanks.

@drlou77 I run EERO mesh. I clearly hear differences between Ethernet cables connecting the access point to my streamer. I don’t use a switch. 
My approach is to use a decent Ethernet cable (currently using Purist Audio) and worry about components and speakers first. When I’m sitting here scratching my head about future upgrades to components, speakers and cables, and there’s nowhere to go in that space, I’d play with audiophile switches. 
 

In the post above by @txp1 , I respect his choices but we can debate what would be a bigger ROI, Qutest being a centerpiece with all the attachments to it, or having a clean DAC only approach with Chord DAVE, Tambaqui Mola Mola or some other high end DAC without all the accessories and clutter around the Qutest. 
As i said I respect choices made by others, but my approach is components first, accessories later. Right, wrong or different, that’s how I tackle it. 

@drlou77  I have a Netgear Orbi mesh system. It utilizes a main router which is connected to my cable modem in a different room which holds a separate home theater system. The main router feeds a satellite router using a 866 Mbps wireless signal. The satellite router provides Internet connection to my Aurender N150 streamer. I consistently get 275 Mbps download speeds throughout the entire house. 

My Ethernet cable upgrade saga began with a frequently recommended Generic Cat, 8 cable from Amazon as I wasn’t really a believer that an Ethernet cable could make a difference. I thought the treble improved but later learned this was likely noise that is frequently mistaken for improved high frequency response. So I bought AQ Cinnamon Ethernet cables. I started with the cable modem to main router and in the HT system another to the Apple TV 4K set-top box and another from the HT receiver to the TV.  The difference was noticeable on video so I bought them for the audio system as well. I immediately heard less high frequency hash and as they burned in I could hear more natural sound.

MScaler to the Qutest brought refinement and later the Denali brought more noise reduction which resulted in more cable purchases. This time because I have all Shunyata power cables, I decided to go big and bought Shunyata Alpha v2 Ethernet cables. Same order as the last time in separate purchases except that I bought a Shunyata Alpha USB cable with the streamer feed Ethernet cable.  These much better cables provided improved imaging, soundstage depth and tonal accuracy. The imaging improvement is incredible! 

I don’t know your equipment or cables but I would recommend a better Ethernet cable on your streamer. Use a retailer with a long (e.g., 60 day) evaluation period because all digital cables require burn-in IMO.  I’ve experienced digital cable burn-in many times now and the cables that aren’t pre-sale burned-in by the manufacturer tend to sound extremely closed-in or even harsh sometimes.

Happy journey!