Okay, here goes. While I am not done experimenting yet, I have reached some tentative conclusion regarding this unit after having it for about one month.
I inserted the bel Canto converter into the chain of my system following a Belkin Gold USB cable. The unit definitely changed the sound of my system but I waited several weeks to ascertain the quality of the change.
This converter seemed to sharpen the focus of the sound of my system. It tightened things up. At first I found this very pleasing and thought it a definite improvement. As time went on I began to think that maybe a little energy had been drained from my system. Like some of the rhythm had been sucked out. I let it go for a while and this impression lessened a bit but did not completely fade. It improved the sound of internet radio more than it did my better recordings, but this sense of "cleaning things up" applied to most of the music I played. There was slightly better articulation overall. But with my regular music files I never got past that feeling that some of the rhythm or dynamics had been lost.
After almost one month of having the unit in my system I removed it. I did not really miss it being absent from the chain. Yes, the internet radio was not quite as good as before but certainly nothing objectionable. I have become a frugal audiophile. I had to ask myself, is this a $500 improvement? I couldn't say that it was, but that is my set of values talking. I would not be surprised if others put this unit into their system and believed it well worth the cost.
Maybe my system is not revealing enough. Maybe I like a little jitter. I could see this unit making a bigger difference in some systems than in others -- like most things in audio. My system details are below. I have been through 7-8 different USB to SPDIF converters over the last 4 years so have head many of them and heard some differences amongst them. The last one I had for any length of time before the HagUSB was the Trends. For the money, the HagUSB is still my favorite of all that I have heard.
