Is assembling the SoTM "ultra trifecta" worth it?

Audio Gear Talk
1

Hi all,
I’ve recently bought my 3rd SMS200 Ultra Neo and the sPS-500 with a silver Y-cable and I’m wondering if the TXUSBultra would be worthwile to add? Any opinions?
It’s very expensive, almost as much as the SMS200 Ultra Neo itself for a “USB-gizmo-thingy”.

I’m using a new Matrix X Sabre Pro MQA DAC.

Thank you in advance.

2

Money is probably not a good yardstick for audio thingies, but don’t you find it ironic that the ‘Ultra Trifecta’ is almost 2x the price of your DAC?

Like using $1000 speaker wires to feed AudioEngine speakers.

JMO.

Pretty sure those that have an ‘Ultra Trifecta’ will believe different.

3

I believe some folks refer to the trifecta as the 200Ultra+SPs500 and the insanely expensive external clock (sCLK-EX?) that goes for like 4 grand alone, however I think what most would refer to is the sMS-200 Ultra(Neo), SPs500 PSU and the USB TXUltra gizmo

The XSabre Pro MQA DAC alone goes for ~$2100 in Europe, just a bit more than a used SMS200Ultra Neo / sPS-500 / TX-USBUltra setup.

4

Worth is a very personal thing. In my case I’d say no, because having gone down that avenue I finally went to a much simpler solution. I would add up what those components come to and see what the total would buy you. My guess is it would get you something quite special, Ethernet in and analogue out with perfect Roon integration. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the lure of those little black boxes. But in the end you end up spending as much as a really nice well regarded DAC/streamer would cost. All of that said, maybe someone who has actually heard that that combination can comment?

5

Yeah i have the ultra ‘trifecta’ you speak of, I started off with just the 200ultra, then added the sPS-500 and finally added the TXUSBultra and with each addition, I did notice a distinct improvement in SQ.

They feed a decent DAC in the Chord Hugo 2 and I’ve also added the dCBL Cat 7 cable so all together, its a pretty expensive set up. Ive been fortunate enough to be able to afford those little black boxes so for me, I believe I found value in each addition. Needless to say, the SQ is of a pretty high standard, i’m delighted with it anyway.

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