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+1 on the cheater plug, the sub input must be shorted. No worries unless it STILL buzzes with shorted input.

Or, you could use a long 75 ohm coax...Audio Asylum Thread Printer Thus, computer -> USB to SPDIF converter --> long coax --> DAC ... etc. i run ~50 ft of Belden 1694a from Blue Jeans cable to my Metrum Octave Mk I and it sounds terrific. Someday I'll move my computer closer to my audio system, but lately I've been doing more listening than tweaking. Pete

Hi Mike, Suggest that you take your time, read, listen to your system, and not spend significant money until you get a chance to listen to a truly excellent system. Belief is one thing, but when you hear what a truly good system can do, you might find yourself a bit more tolerant of audiophiles and their sometimes crazy ideas (not to be confused with marketing output). Pete

Bill, have you had a chance to hear the Octave mk II? pete

I got a very nice improvement in SQ using a linear power supply for the Touch. If you can DIY, I highly recommend John Swenson's design: Audio Asylum Thread Printer, roughly $100 in parts from Mouser. Pete

Thanks for your helpful replies. I wrote this post to probe the effect on SQ of tuning the OSX and the Mac (i.e., shutting down extraneous processes in software, installing a SSD, linear power supply for the Mac, etc.) in my system = mac to Ethernet to SB Touch. These and similar tuning steps are widely recommended in computer USB to DAC (or converter then DAC) systems. At first thought, because Ethernet should provide isolation from "all those computer nasties", I would expect little or no effect of such tuning in my system. I wrote this post to probe that assertion, to see if anyone had actually tried "computer tuning" in an Ethernet to SBT (or other streamer) system. Theory is nice, but good experiments are better IME. Has anyone here tried this? Many thanks, Pete

Thanks... I'm having no trouble with rebuffering...

I'm currently streaming from my 2010 Mac mini (iTunes rips to AIFF under recent Mountain Lion) via Ethernet to a stock Squeezebox Touch (using a John Swenson power supply). I'm wondering of anyone here has experience optimizing OSX (e.g., disable Finder, Time Machine, etc.) for streaming to an SBT? Many thanks, Pete

With the demise of the Squeezebox Touch, I will eventually transition to Mac mini--> USB/SPDIF converter--> DAC. Since the Mac mini is 60 feet from the DAC, I intend to use a short USB cable and a long (55 feet) 75 ohm (Belden 1694A) digital coax. From the above discussion, I'm not clear whether the 50 ohm output impedance of the V-Link 192 precludes its use in my system. Any clarification or informed opinion would be most welcome. many thanks, Pete

I recently got an authoritative recommendation to pair the April Music U3 converter with the Metrum Octave. Can anyone here comment based on experience? Many thanks, Peter

Hi Damien, You wrote: "I am expecting to receive an M2Tech HiFace (1st gen) in the very next few days. This will greatly help me to debug the Direct Mode for it and the similar drivers implementations... FYI, I'm also in contact with Audiophilleo to get the sample+bitdepth switching issue resolved." Please let us know when you have reached a conclusion on this. I will soon buy A+, a new DAC (probably the Metrum Octave) and either the Audiophilleo 2 or M2 Hiface 2, assuming that you are satisfied that one or both of these can do DM and IM in A+. Leeuwarden reports good evidence for the Hiface2, but your assessment would of course be definitive. I greatly appreciate your work. Many thanks!! Peter

Hi Leeuwarden, Thanks!! Very helpful. I'll go with the HiFace2, and my wife will enjoy spending the extra $375!! Peter

Hi Leeuwarden, Can I ask HOW you know, and how certain you are that the Hiface 2 plays direct and integer mode? I'm currently streaming through a Squeezebox Touch which feeds an Audiosector NOS DAC, but I'm thinking very hard about moving to Audirvana+ (on a mac mini) through either a Hiface 2 or an AP2 to drive a Metrum Octave. The AP2 is known to support direct and integer modes and--from the thread above--the Hiface2 situation seems less clear. Given the large price difference, I would really rather go with the Hiface2 right now, and maybe do something like the AP2 in a year or two, but unless I am sure about direct/integer mode on the HiFace2 I'll spend the money to get the AP2. Since I don't currently have A+ I have no idea what you see on the display or in the logs to document direct and integer modes. I don't mean to insult or be rude, but I have to ask. Many thanks, Peter

Please forgive the newbie question. When you (and others here) refer to "rebuilding the iTunes library" are you doing something similar to the "re-create" iTunes library procedure described by Apple support? http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451?locale=en_US&login=email Many thanks. Your help and patience is most appreciated. Pete