The hifi berry result is good enough to make me smile (as it does when I listen via it) - for the money it and the pi are hard to beat 
Pleased a squeeze box touch held itās own- I first used the slim devices server around 2007 or 8 I think, and was impressed, very sad when logitech bought and shut it down, but delighted when they open sourced it, and the squeeze box firmware
Yeah, the hifiberry is definitely a steal for the performance it brings.
None of the comparisons showed crazy obvious differences. The NUC vs. Bridge was the most obvious, starting with the apparent volume difference and then the resolution difference. However, I think there is a solid chance that Iāll go back to the Bridge, because I just canāt lose the slight impression that the NUC via USB comes with a whisper, a suggestion, of harshness/glare. Maybe a linear power supply would help with that, but the 12v tap on my Monolithic P3b doesnāt have enough amperage to power the NUC, so Iām not sure that Iāll experiment. The iFi is only $50, as I recall, so maybeā¦
Hello Antonio,
I have 2 servers both of which take an HDMI cable directly into them which feeds a dac such as Ps Audio, Denafrips Terminator, and Rockna Wavedream. There is no need for a Pink Faun card. My new server is a Wavedream NET with internal 1 TB ssd for ripped
files and a CD drive. I am going to sell my Musica Pristina A Capella I with 1 TB ssd drive holding about 800 cdās. It has a usb and HDMI output for connection directly to one of the aforementioned dacs. It sounds much better using the I2S HDMI output versus
the usb. Both servers also have Ethernet connections. Let me know if you have more questions. Thanks.
Bob V
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When you hear more detail it sounds louder. At least I think so.
Makes sense. The wifey perceived the phantom volume difference in every comparison, but I could only hear it between the NUC USB and Bridge II.
Most women are more sensitive to HF changes than men. Especially the ones wanting you to turn it down.
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Oooohā¦I think the Rockna kit looks wonderful and I would really love to pick up their transporter āgently usedā at some point and give it a go.
Please post your impressions of the Wavedream if yo donāt mind once you get some listening mileage on it.
Enjoy.
Update.
The NUC USB interface with the DAC has continued to show the qualities described above, in comparison with the Bridge II. However, it has become fairly clear to me that the NUC USB connection is very susceptible to power conditions. During the day, the sound has a slightly glared sheen that got on my nerves. It is like a very light version of the harsh sound of MP3ās. At night, if the sheen is even there, it doesnāt bother me, even after several hours of listening.
The Bridge II does not suffer from that problem. It is more immune to the dirtiness of the power coming in. It also benefits from the cleaner power at night, but not to the same extent as the NUCās USB.
I do most of my listening at night, so I guess Iām sticking with the direct connection for now.
I am not keen on throwing USB-corrective tweaks at the NUC. Those costs can add up. I might try an iFi power supply, since those are only $50, but I really donāt like the idea of polishing the USB turd. I am more inclined to try the Pi2AES HAT, so I can play with I2S and maybe dust off that old Nordost Silver Shadow XLR digital cable thatās been sitting around since I sold the Theta Jade transport. Good times!
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I took a turn into a dark alley. A search for USB/NUC tweaks led me to the Audiophile Style site, where I learned about Audiolinux. Turns out, thatās the OS of choice for the folks at the Pink Faun skunkworks. I decided to give it a try.
Basically, Audiolinux is an operating system designed to maximize sound quality in computer audio. You install it, and it comes with various apps that you can install to run on it (Roon, LMS, HQPlayer and others). The license comes with one year of support, but, despite the problems I had installing it, I didnāt need any (just made boneheaded mistakes).
The philosophy behind it is to minimize noise in the hardware and software. As such, I first updated my NUCās BIOS/UEFI, and then I went through and turned off things I wasnāt going to use (wifi, blutooth, and other things), and I removed the M.2 drive that was hosting Roon ROCK, and I ripped out the two wireless antennae. Then I burned the Audiolinux image onto a 32GB USB stick and set the BIOS/UEFI to boot off of it. The user interface is very simple (text menus, up/down and Enter keys to navigate them). I selected the Roonbridge install, and Audiolinux downloaded and installed it. Then I changed some settings to what the folks at Audiophile Style recommended, and I set the OS to run itself and everything else off of RAM, in a headless mode. Itās playing music right now, with no drive installed or attached at all (I guess those things are noisy), just using RAM and CPU to do all the work. I also migrated my Roon Server to a separate desktop. You can install Roon Server on Audiolinux, too.
The complaints I made above about the digital harshness/sheen are officially withdrawn. The background is much blacker, with a slight improvement in soundstage depth. Detail has improved in either quantity or quality or both. While the same amount of detail might be there, it seems more āorganic,ā natural.
I find myself very satisfied. I donāt feel any desire to tweak further, even though there are many options that are lauded at that enthusiast website: linear power supply (duh); dedicated Roon server on another Audiolinux machine; bridged connection to the server (ethernet port to ethernet port, no switch or router in between); better clocks on the computer equipment; yada yada. Iāll probably at least snag an iFi power supply for the NUC, since theyāre only $50, but Iām in no hurry.
Strongly recommended, if you donāt mind getting into the computer geek weeds. Iāve learned a lot in the process. I think the biggest obstacle I had to overcome to cozy up to the techie demands of this approach was to just accept that playing music files will always involve a computer, whether that computer is in a traditional computer case or in a box that looks like a fancy audio product. It is unavoidable.
Color me impressed.
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Blimey - the 1990s called - they want their website design backā¦
nevertheless it looks interesting, I may give it a spin, thanks for the heads up
I use a similar product called Euphony. It is thought by some to be a step up from Audiolinux. It can be downloaded for free and installed an run from a thumb drive. I bought a server designed around this OS and like you, I am very happy with it.
There will always be something elseā¦
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One of the dudes at Audiophile Style - he may have been the first to report about Audiolinux there - was experimenting with a Roon server running on Euphony. If itās free, why not play, no?
I donāt want to have to buy new hardware to do all that experimenting, so Iām considering creating a boot drive on a USB thumb drive, for when I want my desktop to act as a Roon server. However, I would like to be able to change the BIOS/UEFI settings back and forth - one profile for Euphony/Audiolinux, another profile for my other desktop uses. Iām pretty sure my BIOS/UEFI will allow me to create saved profiles, but I am wondering if the computer can switch between those profiles automatically, based on what device (USB thumb drive/internal hard drive) the computer boots off of. Iād rather not have to go into my BIOS/UEFI every time I want to switch up the boot device. 
I had a computer I was using to feed my system. It was running Win10Pro optimized by Fidelizer Pro (paid version) It sounded swell. Then I took the Euphony trial and loaded Euphony onto a thumb drive and booted from it on that same computer. I didnāt make any changes to computer otherwise. Euphony sounded really good. So Arthur and Power Holdings has a not expensive āEuphony serverā he put together that I bought with a Samsung 4TB SSD in it. I have not used the Win10 computer since. I run Roon on that server and output to a Matrix.
I wonder if you couldnāt just use two thumbdrives to try each. I am certain one would eventually win out over the other.
Or, easier still, just stay where you are and enjoy what you have.
(Something I canāt seem to do)
Iām already restless, but only about trying the other tweaks (dedicated and configured server, bridged connection, etc.). I already paid for the Audiolinux license, so Iāll stick with that for a while. I need to step back and look at the bigger picture. After I upgraded the DAC to the DS Sr., my plan was to upgrade the amp to a Nelson Pass design. I need to look at all those tweaks in that context. I suspect that going from a VTL ST-85 to a Pass Labs XA25 will render bigger improvements than adding a dedicated Audiolinux server. Yeah, time to calm down and stay on target while enjoying the new improvements. The cost of a new PC should be saved for the cost of a new amp. Breatheā¦
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Iām all about cables nowā¦
Not to derail but is the Euphony server set up you describe the best yet as far as your ears tell you?
Yes sir, it is.
The previous audio computer I had was knocking me out. The Euphony server allowed me to shut it down and put it on the shelf. Euphony all by itself sounds great. And when you run Roon in Stylus+ mode it seems very similar, maybe not quite identical. I have to have Roon these days.
Someone else here who has the same Euphony server with a Matrix has said he has a Jays Audio CD Transport that sounds better than the Euphony server. I ordered one and it was supposed to be built yesterday.
Imagine spinning a silver disc and hearing a better sound than a digital rip of the same disc.
It could happen. My PS Audio PWT sounds great too. I have never heard the newer PS Audio Transport. 
If I understand correctly, you have 2 different boot devices? If so, you should be able to enable the boot menu via the BIOS settings to display each time you start/restart the PC. You should then be able to just select which UEFI device from which to boot.
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Very high praise indeed!
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As I recall, Darko reported better sound through a CD transport in his setup, compared to the streamers he has available. If electrical noise or other electromagnetic consequences impact the sound it makes sense that different electronics are going to sound different. Transports are probably simpler than streamers (simple circuits vs. computers running OSes and apps).
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