That does look pretty capable for driving all that stuff 
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Is anyone using an Auralic Aries G2.1 into the DSD MKII? Impressions? How does it do on DSD 256?
Vince-
What made your MATRIX the worst?
I thought it sounded compressed. It was missing sparkle for me. I thought the KTE SU-2 was much better. But, ultimately now with the Signature Rendu SE direct connecting to the MKII via USB, the SU-2 has fallen to second place.
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To get most out of Matrix spdif2 you need to put AB7050HF 3m absorber over FPGA and it USB chips. Plus add a good 9 volt LPS. Then shorting plugs to USB and i2s2 on mk2. Most here like using all the mk2 inputs.
Nicely done! Haha
Thank you
Iām still mulling over booting my Matrix for the new Lumin Mini
The A Cappella III looks amazing but out of my price range
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ā¦or just buy a streamer that sounds good out of the box. 
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Lumin and Innous gear both look like very good choices.
Well problem with equipment and initial exposure it does sound better until you hear something better. Everyones yard stick is marked differently depending on how the interfacing system sounds. You fix something else and your weakest link changes. Or you have introduced a coloration to compensate for something else deficient. Or is different really better?
We think we know untilā¦ā¦
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ā¦I swap tubes!!!
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Hello, after a few days testing and roping in teenaged ears for A-B testing on mutual favourite tracks, I have some results comparing:
A Euphony Stylus build on an ASRock 4x4 with an AMD 5600U processor, 32GB of RAM and a Samsung NVMe drive. Build cost 650 clams plus 120 for the Euphony Stylus annual subscription. (The free USB test didnāt work too well on my big library. Should have fed it a smaller database.)
RoPieeeXL on a Raspberry Pi4 4Gb in a Flirc case for 125 clams plus TBD RoPieee donation.
These were tested using both USB direct to the MK2 and by going via an SMSL PO100 Pro DDC costing 65 clams for I2S over HDMI.
USB and HDMI cables used all cost between 20 (Viborg USB) and 50 (AQ Pearl HDMI) clams.
A variety of Electronic (e.g., Felix Laband), Jazz (e.g., Diana Panton, Anouar Braham, Philippe ChrƩtien), R&B (Dominique Fils-AimƩ) and Alternative (Radiohead) music was used in a variety of PCM and DSD formats.
All music was on a NAS drive. To get files to the RoPieeeXL, Plex DLNA and BubbleUpnP were used.
RESULTS/OBSERVATIONS.
Favourite most of the time: Euphony Stylus via USB to MK2. Although, with some material, putting the SMSL DDC between the Stylus machine and the MK2 seemed to make for a sharper, clearer sound. But usually a small something was lost in soundstage and vibrato (āI think I hear each string or vocal cord vibratingā) effect.
The RoPieeeXL was no slouch though! And at one-fifth the costā¦ or one-quarter the cost if adding the SMSL DDC, which did seem to help the Pi4, which was powered by a real cheap power wartā¦ I could almost live with it happily. But the UPnP experience was not the best. Too often the previous selection would keep playing long, long after the screen showed the new selection, as if it were already playing. But I think the RoPieee would make a great device for use in a Roon multiroom set-up. I just wish the RoPieeeXL had Tidal Connect.
Note: I started using a WiiM Mini with optical to the MK2 for convenient background Tidal Connect listening. Have not yet decided whether to get more of these or not. I bought all the Piās three years ago and can sell them now for more than I paid then, which would finance more WiiMās for multiroom sound in sync.
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I use the Aries G2.1 but I do not stream DSD256 files. It works and sounds extremely good.
On a Everything Matters category; this one made a stark improvement in my streaming SQ. I had these supports with sorbothane rings on top to support both the streamer and the switch. When I replaced a heavier power cord, I had to remove the feet from the switch and used rings only to keep it stable. That alone has made the sound much duller. So, I put back the feet with rings. Boom, the system came alive again. Yes, I am talking about support under the network switch.
Try it, and I hope your system is as sensitive as mine to appreciate the change.
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Thanks for the interesting comparison, hopefully someone is going to do a similar comparison between a Pi 4 and a Holo Red, which would give us an indication of the difference the linear supply and custom IO makes with the red compared to the standard Pi4
Those Flirc Pi cases are very nice though arenāt they
i have an Auralic Aries G2.1 with the DSD Mk II. I was using Matrix with HDMI to Mk I, but now go USB from streamer to Mk II. Ted - great job w/ USB!
But i am still searching for best USB Cable (which cost less than streamer/DSD). I use Audioquest Dragon HDMI from PST, which is great. Any USB suggestions?
I really like the way Mk II automatically engages input which is playing - very easy to switch from disc to streamer.
I picked up a used Allo Digione Signature / Raspberry Pi with Shanti dual LPS on Usaudiomart for $400.00 because I removed my Bridge II to implement Jeffās power supply board (and new transformers!) on my DSD.
No I2S output but it sounds phenomenal with Kimber coax cable I had lying around (not that cables make any differenceā¦). Iāve run it with Volumia, Moode, and now Roon. Itās fun to play with too.
Frankly Iām questioning the Airlens as being a necessity. For about the same investment as the Digione, Iāve put together a (used) Roon ROCK server with a 6TB USB drive and a top-of-the line Pioneer Optical drive for ripping CDās.
Just having too much fun! (incidentally, I think that Roon is giving me the best SQ
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Wow, Iāve been cruising the multiple threads on the DS MKII installations looking for some advice on my particular setup, but not seen exactly what Iām looking for, so posting this to see if someone has some input for me!
I previously used the Bridge II as input on my DS SR, fed using Roon on a 2014 vintage Mac mini. I have ~4.5TB of digital files on a hard drive connected to the Mac mini, and also listen to Qobuz extensively when listening to digital sources. The DAC output goes to an Audio Research Ref 6SE.
Honestly, though, my vinyl setup has been more engaging for me for some time, to the point I listen to vinyl most of the time.
So I decided to go for a MKII to improve the digital side of my system, given the rave reviews, and sent my DS SR back to PSA after FedEx delivered my MKII about 3 weeks ago. My 1st little challenge was connecting the Mac mini via USB to get it up and running.
I searched through what many folks were using for USB cables, and ordered a $50 Supra USB cable as an experiment given many favorable reviews. Whoa, sound was initially edgy bright and has that glassy digital sheen vv. my DS SR experience w/ Bridge as input. Let it break in for a week, along with the DS MKIIā¦still not a good experience. I searched through my box of old cables and put in a nice old Belkin USB printer cable. Better than the Supra, but not by much.
Given I have a Cardas Clear Beyond loom in my system, I ordered the reasonably priced Cardas high speed serial bus USB cable from my favorite dealer after researching many cable options. Cold out of the box, the Cardas blew away the Supra: sounded clean, evenly balanced w/no sheen - and it has gotten even better as it has burned in. Excellent!
My next step was to replace my aging Mac mini, so I decided to go for Roon Rock installed on an Intel NUC 12. This has given me a powerful dedicated Roon server which no longer has Mac OS upgrades combined with Roon upgrades interrupting my ability to play music - which seemed to happen every time I wanted to switch to digital source. Honestly I think this is the best thing about the Roon Rock/NUC - and when Roon does do an OS upgrade, it is very fast. Havenāt detected any SQ advantage to this setup vv the Mac mini, though, at this point.
My impressions of digital playback in terms of SQ is yes, the MKII is better than the MK SR, but I am not as āblown awayā as many reports on the MKII have beenā¦but maybe thatās because you are employing much more sophisticated streamer setups.
So in looking at a next step, it would seem the new Airlens when it comes out might be an interesting way to isolate the NUC from the DS MKII. Or as previously mentioned in this thread, the iFi Neo Streamer might be an excellent choice.
I havenāt has a chance to play with lifting the grounds on the USB input or the balanced outputs to the ARC preamp just yet.
Any advice about improving my particular setup certainly welcome!
My advice is not cheap, but it can get you involve with digital enough to put your vinyl in the back burner. first get rid of your Mac Mini or use it for something else, like YouTube which is what I did, and invest in a decent server like an Aurender N200 or better. You can still use your Cardas USB cable, but I recommend something higher in resolution like a Shunyata Sigma or better. Then get some DSD256 music from a place like HDTT and then you can tell me how good digital music can sound from your MK2 DAC.
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Iād suggest try an iFi Zen stream + a iFi elite power supply and see if you hear any improvement because itās not that much of a cash outlay. If you do hear a significant improvement, then start investing in better network switches, network cables and better power supplies for the network upstream to your streamer.
It be best to isolate your streamer setup away from your home LAN ether via wifi mesh or going fiber. But thatād be the last step, see if you can hear a significant jump from your ROCK to a Zen stream.
Or the cheapest option, get a better power supply for your ROCK, the power brick for a NUC supplied by factory is probably junk for high quality audio applications, see if you hear anything.
For network streaming to be as good as LPs, power quality in my opinion is very important, most ppl reporting their streamer with MK2 sounding much better have P15 or P20 as their power source I believe.