Altus - that's really useful to hear impressions of red book vs hi-red, etc., thank you for sharing.

I'm just wondering whether the earlier demo which impressed you was using ID41? I only ask because when I tested the SQ of ID41 vs USB on my v2 the difference was pretty large in favour of ID41, and I found subjectively that USB seemed to flatten and lose some of the magic to my ears.

HC: 861v4/ID40/LPS, DSP5000, DSP5000VC, DSP3100, SW1600, HD621, Oppo BDP-105, Sony VPL-HW55ES
2-Channel: Oppo BDP-105, TEAC VRDS-7/Trichord Clock 3/PSU, 551, Quad 303, Harbeth Compact 7ES-3, Kimber cables, Russ Andrews mains and supports.
Previous Meridian: 5000C, 5200SL, 7200.2, 6000, 562V.2, 568.2mm, 800v4, 808.2i, 818v2/v3, 861v8, 502