The pathway to the stars!
Making cables and wires look tidy is even more work than properly tagging a multi-disc classical anthology so that Roon identifies it correctly, and that’s saying something!
Maybe a bit untidy but that blue backlight is mesmerizing
Blue for late night, but infinitely variable colour if required. It does take your mind of the cables briefly.
More like highlighting to my eyes - would drive me crazy…
I like to keep things as simple as possible and keep the mess out of sight…
Somebody really meant to make sure, that that strain relief will never let the cable slip, possibly going beyond the compression strength of the polymer sheath and risking a smoldering fire in the long run - I’ve seen such happening in my times.
Better safe than sorry and get that re-terminated properly.
That signal path isn’t very simple, more processing than smoked bacon 
Thanks for the warning. I checked the cable and after something like 15 years it’s still a very solid connection with no visible signs of wear or strain.
I know, raising the dead replying to this thread now, but that’s kind of appropriate as it’s still Halloween in some parts of the world, right?
I’m a bit obsessed with my signal path. I’m not running anything high end. From my NUC7 i3 running ROCK, I’ve got the choice of the toslink out from a JustBoom Digi HAT, or my HiRes USB solution, a 9th gen iPad, both hooked up to a Topping MX5. I’m now wondering if there’s a huge difference for people running the high end gear like the Cambridge Audio EVO 150. Do you get beautiful white stars all the way along your signal path? Mine mostly looks like this:
I live in a small flat. I don’t have space for big gear, and I’m really enjoying my rig as it is. I’m literally just wondering does anyone get shiny white stars all the way along their signal path, and are they the key to happiness?
Aaaah, so … the purple stars are lossless, and the white/blue stars are the activity of the Roon engine doing stuff. Silly me. I get it now. Thank you.
But, lossless may not always sound best. That’s up to you and your ears.
its inside that clamped bit I would be worried about…especially an old cable
This will give a bit more detail but, as @Jim_F mentioned, “lossless may not always sound the best,” so let your ears decide.
for me that is the hardest part… It does not seem so simple as A B testing two dacs or amps. Maybe it is just me, hope it is just me 
Thank you. Yes, that’s where I went to look when I realised I had the wrong end of the stick concerning the coloured lights. It gave me the ah-ha moment. I listen to a lot of acoustic, electronic and ambient music, and love detail. I have yet to listen to a HiRes version of something from my library I don’t enjoy more than an old mp3 encode, but perhaps that’s more about my historic lack of talent in CD ripping from 20 years ago. I’m sure you’re right. I just haven’t come across anything where that’s the case yet. Thank you.