Schiit Pyst

[George Hincapie]

No, I am not being childish. Schiit sell some very reasonably priced cables under the Pyst brand. Their USB cable is made by Straight Wire and sells for up to £50; or you can buy it direct from Schiit Europe for £20...

I wanted to try the USB connection from my Aries to my Musette so I can play higher quality files. Mine arrived today and it is superb. Much better made than the cheap PC ones, with a lovely flexible outer and great quality connectors on both sides. I have done some A/B with SSP and TIS Digital and there is nothing in it. Genuinely. A very good cable.

My new Aries Mini arrived today and I hooked it up to a LPSU and output using both the onboard ESS DAC and via digital coax to my Musette. It is stupidly good. The SQ to my ears is about 90% that of my Aries femto at 1/3rd the price. This absolutely should be on your short list if looking for a non-Pi streaming solution.

[Fretless]

Might get funny looks when one says:

"My cables are amazing shit pissed!"

And having got that cheap laugh out of the way - interesting read, George.
Will have a look at their site.