Any thought on one of these please?

Seems pointless?

www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-matrix-audio-x-spdif-2-usb-converter.6597/

This one has received good reports aoshida-audio.com/products/gustard-u18

How are you streaming your music Pete and what are you using at the moment?

I got this one a few weeks ago, was a definite improvement.  www.artisansilvercables.com/usb

My first port of call if you are married to the NUC, would be a linear PSU for the NUC. Very easy to find a decent one on AliExpress. No need to pay Russ Andrews prices either.

Secondly, and probably more urgently, I'd look at trying to get rid of USB altogether. No idea what outputs are available on a NUC, but that would be my priority. USB is not, and never was designed for exemplary levels of performance.

If you have to have USB, I'd use this cable:

zenmarket.jp/en/rakutenproduct.aspx?itemCode=edion:10676754

I wouldn't entertain anything else TBH.

Thirdly, I'd then go from HDD to SSD. THAT is a good step forward. Certainly was when I went that way.

Either way, keeps us informed on your journey!

At £400, you are halfway to a 2nd hand Mutec.
Just saying….

Oli, at the risk of thread drift - why can't USB give 'exemplary levels of performance'?

I have no better explanation than Oli, but my experience is the same. I believe USB was always aimed at superior data transfer rate and superior ability (over SPDIF etc) to deliver large packet data. SPDIF was always developed more towards audio/visual data transfer which I suspect may be a reason that SPDIF is favoured by many for this particular duty rather than just aiming for better transfer speeds/volume of data transferred.

I know 'technically' it shouldn't make a difference but be it the technology or implementation (better/worse isolation etc) it just never sounds as good to me. Granted I've never bothered with anything better than say a QED 'graphite' or Supra USB cables, but SPDIF just seems simpler and sounds better to my ears. Coax over Toslink everytime for me too incidentally.

AES is also another step up in my experience, I2S is also supposed to be excellent as is HDMI (although rarely seen), again I believe these interfaces are more aimed at the AV/midi markets so are developed with audio use in mind.

misterc could likely give you a proper explanation (and probably has somewhere in another thread).

USB serial audio data transfer is design to handle upto 768Khz (or more if you have a Holo product and use HQ Player) Although the BW limits is 480Mps ( significantly more than is required lol). The idea being that be use of galavanic isolation the data is imperious (or highly resistant to) to jitter (timing issues) providing the transmission line is equal at both ends.

USB is the most widely used form of data transfer simply because billions of devices use this format it sttands for Universal Serial Bus.

The usb interface uses a 5Vdc (+)ve supply line that run parallel with the data lines, it is used as a powered 'on' switch to let devices know that another device has been conneted.

Pretty much all dac's  nowadays use a form of galvanic isolation at the recieve end usually an XMOS FPGA and galvanic isolation which in laymans terms electrically isolates the incoming 5Vdc bus line from the serial data is that being transmitted at the same time. This is a plus if you use this mode of data transfer. the idea is no interferrnce from the power supply lane to the data carrying lines.

However it doesn't 'fix' any jitter that has occured during the Tx from the PC/Lap top/streamer through the circuit board and the conectotor down the cable until it reaches the Rx end and has to go through this in reverse. Despit all of he clocks/PLL's and jitter reduction devices installed.

There are great many debates as to how good usb really is I personally do not use it, I simply cannot obtain the results I can using other Serial Data transfer protocols. I'm not saying it sounds bad, if you have the right bits in place it can be good.

IMHO you do require a quality reclocking device on usb even with a special USB industrial isolator with 5Kva isolation on the dc power bus and signial conditioning inside a DDC is still clearly positiively audiable.

peterthebutcher.
Hang fire on buying anything til after the weekend. I have given 1st option on my AudioGD DI-2014 DDC (Reclocker) to Bencat and he will be trialing it at the WAM show. If he doesn't go for it I'd be happy to send it to you to audition. It's got usb in and then either Coax or bnc out so you could lose the USB connection to your DAC and potentially up the SQ at the same time (your ears can decide if it's better or not).