Streamers: Lumin U2 vrs Aurender N200

@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.

@markmuse I’m familiar with DH Labs USB. It’s not bad but isn’t on the level of your front end. I’m using AQ Diamond and preciously had Audience AU24se+ and both are far superior to DH Labs. More refined and spacious sound with better bass and dynamics. Something to keep in back pocket for the next item to try of copper Ethernet doesn’t cure the issue. 

@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. 

@markmuse let it run for few days. If the streamer is new and was never used with Ethernet cable, that part of the unit needs to settle/break in. I wouldn’t dismiss that right out of the gate. Feed it some music 24/7, re-evaluate after 100hrs. 
Few other things I can think of, USB cable - DH Labs is not bad but it isn’t very refined up top. Not sure about your power cord. That’s easy to eliminate as a culprit - swap back to stock cord and see what that does. Get a baseline then see what the next steps would potentially look like. Don’t give up on it. Lumin U2 is a very nice streamer. But if you’re ready to get the Aurender, by all means try it. I love my N200 it’s awesome. But also requires careful cable and system matching. 

I sold my Aurender N200 to partly finance a Lumin P1, the N200 is an excellent unit but I prefer the P1 fiber optic input's sonic results in my system. The difference between the LAN and fiber optic inputs was not subtle, fiber optic revealed another layer of music, and expanded soundstage and instrument separation. Some apparently seem to experience this unveiling as tonal drying or bleaching, another example of every set of ears and every system is different.