tomtom

I cannot speak of the Coffee, however, the Mapleshade is the best USB cable I have used to date. It was immediate to me once music played, very resolving without any negatives...the performance comes alive. My only complaint is the cable is quite fragile, however, I gather from the documentation, it's construction is the very reason it sounds as good as it does. Cheers!

My initial impressions are very favorable, both as a preamp and dac. It is performing at a high level with all the attributes that audiophiles seek. I'm not a headphone guy, but did listen with my (old) inexpensive Sennheiser which sounded fine. The questions that matter most is what associated equipment do I have connected to the mPre to make a valid assessment. Here they are: COMPONENTS: W4S ST-250 Stereo amplifier (balanced connection) Logitech Squeezebox Touch (Enhanced Digital Output app USB) Class 2 LG BP620 Blu-ray (plays FLAC and MKV files) Dali Zensor 1 loudspeakers (very revealing of source) CABLES: SILFLEX Glass Toslink (NOT to be confused with Siltec) Generic USB at present for Squeezebox CHORD loudspeaker cables 2M length recording studio balanced cables (high-end online brand, cannot remember)

I am somewhat new to all of this but discovering more and more. I do believe you are on to something from what I can hear and realize it's the details that matter most. I don't even have a fancy setup, but can actually hear the difference between the J River Media Center and my previous player. There is more air and palpability to the performance that is beguiling. Thanks again! tomtom PREVIOUS media player: Daum Potplayer 32-bit w/ReClock FiiO DAC/headphone amp w/digital out adapter used as an external sound card Swan desktop speakers (white globes) w/digtial amp (amazing for what they do with a very good source) Asus desktop i5/2nd gen 12 Gigs with 2TB HD Window 7 64-bit

Hi Gary, I think of myself as a committed audiophile and suggest you start with a great sounding music/media player. Foobar is an excellent place to start especially when setup/tweaked properly. If you care to go one step further try PotPlayer 32-bit version and install ReClock. I was amazed at the sound quality even from a pair of inexpensive Swan computer speakers. And of course , the player won't sound any better than the quality of your recordings, it's all in the details! German Proverb: "Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten."