I still want the dirt/texture the information around when the pedal hits the kick drum, the dust particles, the air when a snare hits. Spending time on shaping the chain is much more fun to me. Thats why I put the Linksys LGS108 first. It has such a boring tonality but its ability to be musical is charming in a sense that it influences my whole chain.I went with the cheap, easy route, using my DAP with good clocks on SPDIF as Roon Endpoint via WiFi. Much more transparent while being more organic sounding than PC on USB
Ciscos alone are much more serious and authority sounding. Adding this little 30 dollar switch with stock psu, just changed the timing/melody in such a way it is moving, and free.
My whole network chain ends at my ethernet adapter Afterdark X1 card with a cheap alibaba master clock. This card adds some of the black background, very good card but I realized now it is nothing without this network chain. By itself it betters the motherboard no doubt, but....
SPDIF beats USB - you are right!
The Pink Faun SPDIF Bridge V1. It betters all my USB cards to my preference. Im into pairing cables for the SPDIF at the moment. I am looking for cheaper alternatives to Pink Fuan Coax, even though I know I am going to get it somehow, because of my experience with the I2S Cable. Amazing cable.