Another post that probably belongs in Discless but given the price/performance ratio I think it should be mentioned here first.
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-330-Feet-Ethernet-Extender-USB2G4LEXT2/dp/B00HFGQESY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1463702782&sr=8-3&keywords=startech+usb+gigabitSome folks may have heard about the new PS Audio LanRover, which appears to be a customized Icron USB/Gigabit extender shown above. Yeah, that all sounded like gibberish to me too but it's very simple: Two tiny converter boxes. One takes your usb signal converts to lan, the other takes the lan and converts back to usb and from there to the device of your choice. With a range of 300ft (!).
So what's the big deal? Big deal is that this extender (this model specifically) offers galvanic isolation and converts the signal to TCP/IP packets before back to USB. In other words, the usb signal is reconstituted on the other end better than how it started. Like teleporting and taking a shower at the same time. Or something.
Again, who cares, right? Well, the sound quality on the other end is pretty f*cking fantastic. Like the F-1 I discuss in another thread, it is not a 'subtle' improvement or does shades of this or that. It flat out takes sound quality up a notch. It outclasses my nano iusb 3.0, ipurifier 2, and the standard model Intona. I would describe what I hear as more holographic and lower noise. It does respond well to using purifiers and I intend to use a better power supply, but it's pretty amazing on its own. Mind you I'm using it with a (now) $250 Micromega MyDAC. I'm all about the C&C.
The Startech is available on Amazon for ~$500 (or you can wait for the LanRover). Between this and the new Xmos chip-based hardware like the F-1, I'd say I picked the RIGHT time to get back into PC Audio!
