[runeight]

Run a cable from the 3.5mm jack to the 3.5mm jack on the Carbon. This will connect the grounds of both boxes together and should solve any noise issues.
 
However, this also means that the 3.5mm output is going into the Carbon's SE input. this won't harm anything except that you won't be able to connect another source to the RCA jacks when things are wired this way.
 
An alternative is to contact WyWires for a cable that will connect the grounds, but not use up the SE input to do it.

 

[Jeff Y]

   
The advantage of the Hugo over the FLOW is the DAC (tho that's definitely a YMMV thing), the size and the connectivity.  The advantage of the FLOW is the price, the built-in storage and the aesthetics (again, YMMV).
 
For half the price, I think the FLOW is the obvious choice over the Hugo.  It's still a pretty penny, though, so not the obvious choice in general, just compared to the Hugo.  It's good to hear it has a line out, as that means it'll work quite well with the LC.  
 
To be clear, I really liked the FLOW a lot.  I think it's a great choice for anyone willing to spend that much and who isn't concerned about balanced.

Weird, they had the Flow in a Korean show being sold by Aurender for about $900 USD. I guess it's because it's a Korean company.
I had a chance to A/B the Hugo and the Flow side by side 3 days ago and I have to say, I liked the Hugo's sound more. It was more neutral and overall had a presentation of music that was more "special." It just gets you involved more into the music that you listen to.
Were you able to listen to the LC with the Flow feeding it?

 

[Stillhart]

  Weird, they had the Flow in a Korean show being sold by Aurender for about $900 USD. I guess it's because it's a Korean company.
I had a chance to A/B the Hugo and the Flow side by side 3 days ago and I have to say, I liked the Hugo's sound more. It was more neutral and overall had a presentation of music that was more "special." It just gets you involved more into the music that you listen to.
Were you able to listen to the LC with the Flow feeding it?

 
I agree that the DAC on the Hugo sounds better (and said as much), but even the 2Qute version of that DAC is still much more expensive than the FLOW.  So you're definitely paying a premium for the sound and it's a YMMV thing if you think it's worth it.  Certainly getting the FLOW for only $900 makes the Hugo seem that much more expensive...
 
And no, I didn't get a chance to hear the LC with the FLOW, just with the Hugo.

 

[Jeff Y]

   
I agree that the DAC on the Hugo sounds better (and said as much), but even the 2Qute version of that DAC is still much more expensive than the FLOW.  So you're definitely paying a premium for the sound and it's a YMMV thing if you think it's worth it.  Certainly getting the FLOW for only $900 makes the Hugo seem that much more expensive...
 
And no, I didn't get a chance to hear the LC with the FLOW, just with the Hugo.

Yes it does make sense if you think that way but I want to have the Hugo in my mobile set up with my DAP for use around my house and outdoors. It's a shame almost all Chords are so pricey .

 

[zachawry]

Run a cable from the 3.5mm jack to the 3.5mm jack on the Carbon. This will connect the grounds of both boxes together and should solve any noise issues.

However, this also means that the 3.5mm output is going into the Carbon's SE input. this won't harm anything except that you won't be able to connect another source to the RCA jacks when things are wired this way.

An alternative is to contact WyWires for a cable that will connect the grounds, but not use up the SE input to do it.

Dr. Cavalli,

Thank you VERY much. That's a perfect solution. It means I can save up for a really nice DAC without having to get one just to use the Carbon.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Weird, they had the Flow in a Korean show being sold by Aurender for about $900 USD. I guess it's because it's a Korean company.
I had a chance to A/B the Hugo and the Flow side by side 3 days ago and I have to say, I liked the Hugo's sound more. It was more neutral and overall had a presentation of music that was more "special." It just gets you involved more into the music that you listen to.
Were you able to listen to the LC with the Flow feeding it?

 
Now that's a show special I would have wanted to get in on....
 
Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to state that the Flow was superior to the Hugo.  Just that it was far more budget friendly (boy $900 would sure be sweet).  And in the reviews I read, it seems to be capable, even when comparing to the $2500 Chord product....
 
Did I mention how much I'd like to get one for $900.....

 

[Dannek]

  To those asking about the Aurender FLOW, I heard it t CanJam and I quite liked it.  It's expensive, but you can't think of it as just a DAC since it can hold a mSATA hard drive inside and act as a DAC or a DAP or just storage.  Sonically, I thought it was the smoothest Sabre implementation I've heard since the NFB-28.  It sounded very good.  It was small, portable, classy and had lots of functionality.  I was really hoping to win one in the SHaG since I wasn't ready to spend $1200 (show price) on a DAP.
 
So yeah, I think it's definitely something to keep in mind if you're looking for great transportable sound.  I don't know if it has a line out, though, so I'm not sure how well it would do as a DAC only.
 
If you want something that sounds like it, but is much bigger and cheaper, the NFB-28 is a good value.  Of course it's a DAC+Amp so it's a waste with the LC, so maybe the DAC only version, which is the NFB-1.

Stillhart, if I may inquire..
 
I was looking at the NFB-28 and NFB-1 after reading what you wrote above, and I came upon the DAC-19 anniversary edition.  I found a thread about it and I saw some of your posts in that thread.  Do you feel that the DAC-19 would be a better choice than the NFB-28 or NFB-1 with the LC?  

 

[Stillhart]

  Stillhart, if I may inquire..
 
I was looking at the NFB-28 and NFB-1 after reading what you wrote above, and I came upon the DAC-19 anniversary edition.  I found a thread about it and I saw some of your posts in that thread.  Do you feel that the DAC-19 would be a better choice than the NFB-28 or NFB-1 with the LC?  

 
Absolutely.  I've recommended it already in this thread so I didn't want to beat a dead horse in the quote above.  That was more for apples to apples (Sabre DAC with a smooth sound).  I very much prefer the R2R sound to the Sabre sound in most cases.  
 
To be clear, though, I haven't heard the LC with the DAC-19 (or any R2R DAC) yet.  I'm assuming it will pair well, but I have no practical basis for that assumption other than the knowledge that good amps tend to be transparent and show off the capabilities of the DAC.

 

[Dannek]

   
Absolutely.  I've recommended it already in this thread so I didn't want to beat a dead horse in the quote above.  That was more for apples to apples (Sabre DAC with a smooth sound).  I very much prefer the R2R sound to the Sabre sound in most cases.  
 
To be clear, though, I haven't heard the LC with the DAC-19 (or any R2R DAC) yet.  I'm assuming it will pair well, but I have no practical basis for that assumption other than the knowledge that good amps tend to be transparent and show off the capabilities of the DAC.

Thanks for the quick reply.
 
It had been a while since I had read through this whole thread, so I went back and read your posts again.
I found your post (#131 on page 9 for those interested) concerning your tests and your opinion of balanced vs SE inputs, and it was very informative.
Thanks for the work, it helps me to narrow down my choices.

 

[immtbiker]

Time is moving soooo slow.

 

[Joeybgood]

Well at least it's down from 4mths!

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Time is moving soooo slow.

 
Safe to assume you have your DAC picked?

 

[atsq17]

How about a Geek Pulse XFi? 

 

[immtbiker]

   
Safe to assume you have your DAC picked?

No…I'm enjoying the thrill of the chase. I just revived my Dac6e from the dead (opened her up and found a blown P/S fuse) but that only has a AES/EBU input (old school). I just bought this
to convert until I get something slightly more "desktop-friendly":
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068OGS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
 

 
Also got this to convert laptop USB to DAC:
 

 

[mscott58]

How about a Geek Pulse XFi? 

I'll be using my Pulse Infinity when I get it. Timing might line up nicely with the LC. Just got my LPS4 the other day.