Sorry to set you off on yet more wild goose chases, but another thought for you based on this. Have you ever tried a USB to Spdif converter?Yes I do this anyway - I use the musicbee player on my PC connected via usb cable from PC to DAC, I really like playing around with the EQ settings - they really do make a difference, I can't imagine life without EQ now (although it's never a good idea to keep fiddling)
I actually find the musicbee EQ more user friendly than the Linn Space Optimisation that I experimented previously (when I had a Linn streamer obvs). When I replaced the Perreaux for the T+A I immediately turned down the higher frequencies and boosted the mids - I may experiment further.
I use a PC as a source and can wholeheartedly recommend one. I use a SingXer SU-2 which is about £250, but worth every penny in my view. It improves the sound from my PC, even against supposedly well-implemented USB inputs on DACs.
It's main impact is to take away digital glare, which is a well known phenomenon when using a PC due to all of the internal noise.
Another thing to check is that you are using a proper bit-perfect ASIO driver on your PC and ensure that as little as possible is running during listening sessions. It may even be that the processing of your eq is adding some digital glare. Maybe.
Many will say a PC isn't a good source at all, but they are too flexible for me to head to the inflexibility of a streamer and with my SingXer, I believe the gap is pretty small in terms of SQ.
Just a thought.
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