Ok so after more listening, the usb-Matrix-aes-ds is slightly better than direct aes-ds.
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It is best if you go I2s from Matrix and use a cable like RAL HDMI. That beats aes of same quality XLR cable from Matrix. I tried WW Platinum S7 HDMI from Matrix and WW Platinum Eclipse 8 XLR from Matrix and it was close but I2s was still a little better. But with the RAL HDMI, it is considerably better, not that close.
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Have you tried their speaker cables?
No I havenāt. I have heard they are great. The braiding blocks are interesting as are the air tubes. There power cables use same technology on their highest line. I live their ethernet and USB cables.
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I tried ww platinum hdmi from the matrix, and that was much worse then going aes to ds without matrix.
Second best was aes direct.
Best, not by much, was with matrix connected to ds with aes.
But again, the aes is the very expensive Chord Sarum T.
Also, from a practical perspective, I bought it from my local dealer. I donāt think they carry RAL, which seems to be sold direct, right? So it would be difficult to change at this point, without a substantial loss.
On the other hand, I ordered a Farad, and asked my dealer for some usb cables to try, with trade in of the AQ coffee I bought from them.
Are you going to use the Farad with the Matrix? What LPS are you using with the Matrix now if any?
I use to use an Sbooster with Ultra on Matrix which made a considerable improvement, but the Farad with level 2 silver DC cable and Orange fuse plus Furutech IEC took that performance to another level!! It really surprise me that the power supply to the Matrix mattered that much.
Yes, with the Matrix.
I am currently using a fairly cheap iFi power supply.
I placed my order yesterday on the Farad website, with all options included, 7V.
I should get it fast, since I live in Belgium, right next to the Netherlands.
Thank you for your advice on the hdmi, but like I said, I am a bit stuck.
But the sound with the Chord cable is amazing, much better than the ww platinum hdmi.
I have not researched the subject very far, but there seem to be very expensive aes cables out there, but few very expensive hdmi. Chord has a few, but they are in the 500 GBP area. The Chord aes Sarum T retail price is 2 650 eur, their Chord Music is double that if I remember well. I wonāt be able to compare to anything else than the platinum hdmi. If you have a chance to try Chord cables or other top notch aes cables, it might be interesting to compare to the RAL.
How much is the RAL, by the way?
Hi Philippe,
Yesterday, I decided to try an SSD inside Nucleus+. That lifted its sound quality in terms of timbre, sound stage depth, and frequency response. Much better than USB drives and NAS.
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Interesting, thank you.
So many tweaks, it makes vinyl look simple 
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The hardest part is that Nucleus uses Linux format. I could not outsmart it and copy files to the SSD outboard using a fast USB cable. I had to copy files to Nucleus internal storage over LAN. A painstaking task.
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The cable is $799 US 1.5m. Much better sounding than WW Platinum, but thereās just one big problem. The maker hand built each cable himself and it takes months for deliveries. If you are happy with the Chord XLR, you should just stick with that. I donāt know if RAL HDMI is any better.
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Could you not hook up and external USB 3.0 drive to the Nucleus + and transfer files from it. I would think this would be faster than over the ethernet. I own external SSD drives that I use to copy my music files to different systems I own. My favorite drives are Samsung T5 and T7 SSD drives. They take power from the machine you connect them to and they are blazing fast. Plus, your music is backed up on one more device. 
Nope, things are on another server. I added Samsung 860 Evo to Nucleus. I like them.
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If the RAL hdmi is better than the Chord Sarum T aes, it is a real bargain, at around one third of the price.
But who knows, more expensive is not always better, and everything is system specific.
I am going to stick with the Chord, at least for now, because I canāt trade it in.
And it sounds amazing in my system.
To bad Chord has no super-duper hdmi.
As far as usb, my dealer is trying to get
Tellurium Q : Ultra Silver USB
Chord Cable : Sarum T & Music
Shunyata : Sigma & Omega
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Just saying, a 2TB Samsung T7 SSD currently costs $289 from the big A and you can plug it into your other server and then plug it into your N+ and prolly save time. That is less than 1/8th the cost of a mediocre power cable.
I get you, yes that would have saved a lot of time. I am midway in my copying now, but will remember this next time.
I would bet HDMI performance would get much better than AES if you have a great LPS like a Farad or HDPLEX.
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Thank you for jumping in.
@waymanchen11 has a Farad, and he said hdmi was better with comparably priced cables, but only slightly better.
How did you come to your conclusion?
Thanks for mentioning the DC cable, I didnāt see that at first.
Did you get their power cord as well?
Ghent shipped Gotham dc cables for my Farads and IĀ“ve been burning them in vs Farad level 2 copper dc cables. Three days in I feel like Farads own dc cables are much better match,but it may change when Gothams get more hours. Or not. I always preferred Gothams over any upocc etc.with Hdplex and Uptone 1.2,but so far not with Farad.
Farad ac power cable is decent for the money 169ā¬ plus taxes but not really a good one compared to costlier cables. But it will tame some clarity,life and sparkle from your system! 
I found it a little dull,but what can you expect for 169ā¬ā¦that money cant buy even one good connector, like ETI Legato 
Also my thinking is that not many have invested in good AES/EBU xlr cable with Matrix because of limited bandwidth. Currently I use xlr too and it sounds best overall so far. And that cable cost me 25ā¬ !! Looking forward your top end usb trials @Phil. Should be fun!
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