I have my Qutest Dac connected via usb to my NUC running ROCK. To my untrained ears it sounds really good but I have seen within the community that ideally the dac should be removed from the NUC and connected via the lan. From the Qutest spec I read that it’s usb in put is galvanically isolated so I wonder if this negates the advice to have it removed from the NUC. I would welcome the views of members with a greater understanding of the issues!
From what I can tell, consensus from the Roon guys seems to be that using an Ethernet end point will give you a better (less noisy) usb output. The other big thing is that it means you can keep your nuc in another room if you want. I use a sotm sms-200 rather than a direct connection to my nuc. I got the sotm before the NUC/Roon and it made a huge difference compared to the usb output from my Synology nas (using upnp).
I haven’t yet managed to sort out the wired network to other rooms in the house, so my nuc is still close to the hifi. I keep meaning to compare direct output from the nuc to the sotm but haven’t got round to it yet. I will give it a go and let you know my thoughts if that’s of any help. By the way, I have a 2qute not qutest but the galvanic isolation is implemented in both dacs.
It’s your ears that matter. Why tinker? Enjoy the music.
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Agreed. Only tinker if you are a tinkerer! Many people on this forum are, there’s even a whole section dedicated to it…
I should add that I have a Chord 2Qute and use an RPi/ Allo DigiOne as transport via Ethernet. I opted for the DigiOne because I could hear audio artefacts (occasional ticks) when using RPi USB. But that’s a known limitation of the device and I doubt you’ll experience this with the NUC.
Thank you all it’s interesting to get your thoughts. Tinkering is fine but it always seems to cost me money and it is all about enjoying the music!