bigblue

That could work. But it might also be the source material that is the bottle neck. IMO the sometimes experienced lack of timbre, presence, room info, emotions that the digital material might suffer from, is not because it is digital. It is how the material has ben handled through the chain.

No, not yet. Will let you all know as soon as I have a unit on trial.

Ok thanks for the clarification, then I missunderstood @beerandmusic. I have not compared two all digital devices. That would be my next step. It will most likely be a Zenith SE vs Auralic N10. Hopefully on this side of the year.

No, I haven't. I have just heard it with my own ears. What is your hands on experience?

Thats what I thought - and that works for me.

The best education IMO is to see for one self. Only then can you decide if it is something that YOU think is worth investing money in. To me it is secondary how and why it works - the primary is the result. When setting up my Vinyl system I started out with a slab of granite under the TT. By recommendation I added a second slab. Yep, better sound. In order to find the best insulation from the rack I asked my friend, who is an acoustic consultant and constructs concert halls, to calculate what Sylomer I should use. I ended up evaluating 5 different materials with different characters before settling in on the one I found sounded best in my set up. That is the M.O that works best for me.

I am sure SoTM will do this perfectly where all bits are shipped in the right order from A to B. But as I understand its more than just "transporting". Otherwise they all would sound the same - but they don´t. In the same way all CD players sound different. Pure power and vibrations are two areas that have a great impact on the end result. And this is something I have encountered many times in my own system. I tried out 4 different "feet" when searching for the optimal way to isolate my gear from the rack. They all affected the sound slightly different. I ended up with Stillpoint. One of the best upgrades to my turntable was a tube based power supply instead of the standard SS. Why this makes the music more involving - I don't know.

I have never opened an Antipodes Server. What does it mean sonically that it is SoTM parts inside? Good or bad? Could it be that Antipodes unique selling point is not the actual parts - but what they do with them and how that affects the end result, or?

Thanks, I had a look at this server earlier. But then came the Ultra 200. I wonder how they compare from a SQ point of view acting as NAA? The 1000SQ being top of the line but older.

Esoteric sure make some fine sounding products and this seems to be yet another one. But as I already have a built in DAC in the Diablo that plays on par with an MSB Analog DAC w. Power Base (13 000 USD set up) I would like to find a product that does not include a DAC.

The Aurender is out of the question for me as it is not compatible with Roon.

Have you read the review in Hifi Advice? The reviewer owns an Aurender N10 but prefers the the Antipodes DX3. http://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/network-player-reviews/antipodes-dx-music-server/

OK. The Antipodes DX gen 3 only has USB. But the DX2 has s/pdif, USB, AES

Not yet @iefbo but the discussion here has led me closer to where I think I will end up. Antipodes DX3 or Zenith SE are the two top contenders at the moment. I will probably start the evaluation by arranging a home loan for the Zenith. That will give me a feeling for what these machines can deliver compared to CD and Vinyl. Better, inferior or just different?

Agree. Thats what I found when evaluating amps and fell under the spell of the Diablo 300. I would not call this beast a compromise. And now I hope to make the same discovery within the music server realm :-)