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Bass drums had more of a lightweight thump than a thud. I play drums so that kind of stuff annoys me.

I only have about 5 hours on it, but no, I haven't noticed. I mentioned something about break-in because the Bifrost's transformation was was crazy. I tried it right out of the box and damn near sent it back. It sounded horrible. Kept music playing 24/7 and would check in periodically. At about 80-100 hours, the sound had settled down and was much more enjoyable to listen to over my Peachtree.

I couldn't find comparisons to many USB/spdif converters so I took a chance at the gen 2 card. I'm glad my post was helpful. I did change cables and the tone is excellent now. Not overly bright...just right.

Up until today, I had been using a V-Link 192 to go from my Mac mini to my uber bifrost because it didn't have a USB input. I bought and installed the gen2 USB card and thought I'd share the differences. I wasn't really expecting there to be a big change, but I was surprised how different the two sound. 1. Right away I noticed MUCH more separation and layering from the gen2 card. 2. The gen2 card definitely has a lower noise floor. 3. The gen2 card was more resolving of musical information, BUT it's also brighter and I'm not sure if one is causing the other. I'm hoping the new gen2 card mellows out with break-in, otherwise I'm going to seek some copper interconnects instead of my copper/silver ones that I have now. Come to think of it, the whole presentation from the gen2 card sounds like pure silver interconnects or speaker wire. It's very punchy, with bass-drum kicks that seem quicker than what's natural. So in that regard, the V-Link is better because it's more natural sounding. Usually tone trumps everything for me, but in this case I'm going to act like somebody's girlfriend who sees potential in their new mate and thinks they can change annoying behaviors for the better.

I ordered a second 256GB SSD drive and OWC "disk doubler" kit for my 2012 Mac mini and want to make the 2 drives appear as one. I have a time machine backup on an external FireWire drive. So my question is, once I format both drives and use disk utility to span them into one volume, what's the easiest way to migrate the data from the backup drive to the newly formatted drives?

Jsmith- I'm about to do the same thing and transition from a speaker setup to a headphone setup. I have different reasons than most people. Over the last 1.5 years, I've swapped gear and cables to get my 2-channel system to sound exactly the way I want. I'm extremely pleased with how it sounds. Reasons to switch: 1. Involvement: I guess this is a personal preference, but to me headphones are much more intimate and I really listen to the lyrics, story and progression of the song. I can lay on the couch and get completely lost in an entire album. With speakers, while I do love the sound impact to my chest and the vast soundstage, for some reason I'll listen to half of a song and want to skip to the next track. This isn't just my system either. I've heard systems that are nearing 100K, set up perfectly in a room built by an acoustician, and again, the sound is impressive, but I don't get lost in the music. I guess I just have some goofy disconnect with speakers. 2. My wife and kids are taking over my listening room: This room also happens to have a TV in it and it gets used a lot all of the sudden (it never used to). The other room I could use also has a TV and is where my son plays video games. The only time I can listen is when they're gone and I'm not busy at that same time. So I've decided to set up a headphone listening area downstairs next to the fireplace. Nothing has to be hidden away or kept tidy, because well, it's in the basement. Maybe I'll build a 2-channel system again when the kids move out, but for now I'm going with headphones.

I still have mine, running off of an iUSB. I stopped auditioning USB cables after the Gemini, because it finally provided the tonal balance I was looking for. Very satisfied. I should note that this week I'm finally going to play around withe the sliding RF silencer. I'm not expecting much of a difference though.

I received my Gemini cable today and have about 8 hours on it. A week ago I was thinking, "The cable is probably really good, but it won't gel with my system." That seems to be the trend with equipment that I've tried lately. I'm happy to say that this is a keeper. It really gets the tone right compared to my AQ Cinnamon. Voices are weighted nicely...not too thin and not too bloated. I haven't messed with the variable RF silencer yet, so I can't comment on whether it makes a difference or not. If you have an iUSB, you should really try this cable.

Because I don't like that smooth sound. I like it brutally transparent.

I'll have to try that. I DID end up getting a helmet and it's been getting a lot of use. The kids and I go for a ride every day.

The V-Link 192 is very dynamic in my system and the instruments sound more realistic. Even though the sound is more veiled, especially in the vocals, and the soundstage isn't as large, it looks like I'm keeping it in the mix.

Yes, I'm using the iUSB. I've recently tried 3 products that made the sound smoother on my system, and in all 3 cases, the music sounded good, but the dynamics and excitement took a hit. The JK and this iLink are 2 of those. In this case, the dynamics might have more to do with the poor bass control on the iLink. So here's what kind of drives me crazy...the iLink's soundstage is wider and more open, and the vocals...oh the vocals are just phenomenal. I wish I could cherry pick those out and put them in the V-Link. Another observation is that snare drums on the V-Link sound much more realistic.

I played around with the iLink tonight. The JET (Jitter Elimination Technology) feature was interesting to switch back and forth. I actually preferred it off with most music. With it on, everything sounded more smooth. Horns sounded better with it on. I couldn't tell the difference between the normal and the high coax output. Voices and drums sounded very good. Everything was really well balanced. BUT...here's the deal breaker so far. The bass. Man is the bass really loose. My V-Link 192 is just a tad flatter overall, but the bass is very well controlled and therefore more enjoyable. I'll give it a good burn-in period, but issues that are this blatantly obvious never get resolved with more use. I even tried a thinner sounding coax cable with more silver to try and tame the bass. No dice. Actually, come to think of it, aside from the bass, the overall sound is similar to the John Kenny MKII. Smooth and well balanced. I'll report back if anything changes.

That gives me an idea. I wonder if The Cable Co has gift certificates? I'll have to look into that.

My 5 year old was trying to think of something for mom to get me for my birthday. First he says, "Wires. Y'know for the stereo". Good suggestion. I already have a Gemini USB cable on order, and that will be that last cable I try for a while because it was getting a little out of hand for a few months. Besides, I don't want my wife to know how much "wires" cost. Then he says, "Music. Because dad, you listen to the same old music over and over again". Sort of true...although I really have been trying to listen to new artists lately. So I told them about HD Tracks. Lastly, he says, a bike helmet. Because I make them wear one, but I don't have one myself. I have a feeling I'm getting a bike helmet A present to myself will be here on Monday though...Ifi Audio's iLink. Finally!