No, a member of our audio club who happens to be an IT guy built me a NUC. It runs well. I don’t hear the fan. It’s an i7 so it’s pretty powerful.
OK.
So, I’m still not sure there is any benefit in using a renderer inbetween your NUC and the DAC.
Probably more benefit than a fancy pants USB cable claiming to have magical properties.
I’m not so sure anymore…
I used to be a digital cable ‘skeptic’. After all, they should all ‘sound’ the same. Right?
No! I’ve noticed a massive difference in changing the USB cable between my Nucleus and DAC. Unfortunately, for my wallet! 
What are the cables that sound different? Brand and model?
I went from a Chord SilverPlus USB, to a Chord Sarum Super ARAY USB.
The difference was massive.
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The more you pay the more they stop interfering with the signal 
This one?
This is the new version of Chord’s USB, updated to ‘Sarum T’ specification.
The one I’m using is this:
With Hugo TT (if I remember correctly)?
Yes, with a Hugo TT.
I also derived benefit from changing USB cables.
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$1200 for a USB cable?
In-fucking-credible.
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Taylon insulation is not cheap.
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Yes. Unfortunately… 
make my $600 USB look cheep lol
I was in a crazy mood, I went from a Audioquest Cinnamon (€ 69) to a Audioquest Carbon ( € 139). Couldnt hear a difference (sms200 --> brooklyn+).
I think any changes like this are very system dependent.
And that’s the big catch, eh?
If one is going to go after this, it makes a lot of sense to get into the loaner program through The Cable Company (at least in the US). I’ve done that for speaker cables and interconnects (it’s still alright to do this, right?) and found it really helpful. You get to taste a lot of different flavors and doesn’t cost you if you ultimately make a purchase through them.
I think that’s a great idea 
I’ve made the ‘mistake’ of buying cables in the past that I thought might work in my system, only to find that they didn’t, and then being forced to sell them on at a loss later.
My last experience like this was with analogue Interconnects between my Hugo TT and my preamp.
With analogue especially, it’s unbelievable how much difference cables can make.