Good USB to S/PDIF converters have been around for years, but the presence of great USB to S/PDIF converters is a fairly new phenomenon. The original Bel Canto USB Link was a good product when introduced in 2009. Since then new USB to S/PDIF converters seem to have hit the market every week. Several of these new converters offer the same or similar performance as products released years ago. In some cases the chassis have been upgraded to version 2.0 while the sound quality remains at version 1.0. A bump from 24 bit / 96 kHz to 24 bit / 192 kHz support by itself means nothing in terms of sound quality. In fact it can reduce sound quality because of the increased power draw and noise introduced by the high speed circuitry. The need for exemplary digital design has never been greater. The Bel Canto uLink USB to S/PDIF converter is a substantial step forward from previous Bel Canto converters and on par with some of the best converters available today. The uLink's unique features, great design, and great sound quality combined with its less than reference grade price point place it in a very sweet spot. It's far better than commodity converters and very close to reference quality converters. Computer audiophiles, without budget constraints, seeking the final 5% in sound quality may want to consider the Bel Canto REFLink and Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB. Everyone else, myself included, should seriously consider the Bel Canto uLink.
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I've been a fan of Van Halen since purchasing the cassette of 1984 as a nine year old budding audiophile. The album cover depicting a child with cigarettes was quite controversial back in the day. Soon after immersing myself in all the treasures on the 1984 album I purchased the previous five studio albums completing my collection of Van Halen cassettes. When the Compact Disc versions of the first six albums were released I purchased each one. As a Sophomore in high school I heard Pearl Jam and Nirvana for the first time and my taste in music immediately changed. I subsequently sold all my Van Halen CDs, with the exception of 1984, at the local used record shop. It's hard to believe I collected about a dollar for each of the first five Van Halen CDs, and walked out the door satisfied. The time had finally come to replenish my Van Halen music collection when I noticed HDtracks offering Van Halen's first six studio albums in high resolution at both 24 bit / 96 kHz 
and 24 bit / 192 kHz . I opted for the 24/192 download, containing 8 GB of FLAC files. Thirteen minutes later I had all sixty tracks on my desktop. I started listening to the albums in order of release, Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women And Children First, etc. Soon after the first click of the mouse I was hooked on high resolution Van Halen. The first six albums sound as good or better than any Van Halen release in recent memory. In fact I've had the entire Studio Album collection on repeat for several hours. Maybe I'll watch Fast Times At Ridgemont High tonight so I can see Mike Damone sell Van Halen tickets to two kids for a "sixteen" dollar profit.
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Paging through audio magazines over the years Computer Audiophile readers have likely noticed something not quite right about many advertisements. That something is a look that's far too clean for a functioning audio system. Advertisements rarely show all the cables required to connect components to each other and to loudspeakers. Dynaudio on the other hand doesn't have to show this unsightly necessity when advertising its new Xeo wireless speaker system. The speakers cabinets contain nearly everything required for great sound such as amplification and digital to analog conversion components. A single power cable for each speaker and a wireless transmitter connected to a computer is all that's required to complete a Xeo system. The Xeo 3 speakers wirelessly connected to either my MacBook Pro or CAPS v3 server sounded great. The Dynaudio Xeo 3s aren't the type of ear splitting speaker that can only be tolerated for 30 minutes at a time. Rather the smooth sound and surprisingly deep but
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I have been listening to JRiver Media Center on Windows for almost two years and have been a happy customer. JRiver on Windows is extensively reviewed by Chris. 
I've been using IEM earphones for about ten years and custom IEMs since 2005. I started with a pair of Etymotic ER-4Ps. These earphones were great for iPods back in the day and remain on my shelf of earphones that I use once in awhile. The Achilles heel of the Etymotics is the uncomfortable foam tips required for a good in-ear seal. Another less than stellar element of the ER-4P is the cord. First it protrudes from the ear in a way that prohibits resting one’s head on a pillow of any type. Second the cord acts like a microphone picking up every brush against one’s clothes and passing the noise right into the ear canal. After a couple years with the ER-4Ps I moved to Ultimate Ears 11 Pro custom earphones. The fit of the UE 11 Pro was excellent, but the sound was a bit bass heavy. I lived with the UE 11 Pro until February 2013 when I received a pair of JH Audio JH13 Pro customs with the new Freqphase technology. The JH13 earphones are so much better than the UE 11 Pro I can’t believe I hung on to the 11s for so many years. I’d heard from friends and colleges that the JH Audio products were excellent, but for some reason I held on to what was familiar for far too long. Now, I’m on a thirteen hour flight to Seoul, Korea 
enjoying every bit of the 26 dB passive noise suppression of the JH13 Pros and the sound of my favorite music like I’ve never heard it before on an airplane.
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and the Audirvana Plus home page .
