Hi a@a

Like you, I was sure that something must be wrong, or incorrectly set up, but after exhaustive searching, testing, verification and further research, I'm 100% sure that there's nothing left to tweak or adjust, and everything is running optimally. The problem is that fully optimal ripping and streaming in this case is clearly not the same as fully optimal disc reading. No great surprise really; despite the seductive logic that "bits are bits" (and they are on the disc), by the time they exit their playback box of origin, they have already been flavoured (by accident or design) with the given manufacturer's "special sauce" (to quote a recent thread).

Differences are readily audible between a 500MkI, 500MkII, 596, 598, 206, 602, Philips 963, Pioneer 757....the list goes on. And in each case, that's setting the machine up in an otherwise identical system, same digital cable out, same mains lead, same processor/DSP input, and careful level matching. With the SB3, the difference is mainly in the bottom end and soundstaging. The perspective is rather flat compared to the sense of depth created with either the 500 or 598, and the bass is a tad woolly with less inpact. When considering the purchase of a new spinner vs an SB3 type set up, I suppose value assumptions come down to how much importance we place on the missing %. Mrs M would happily dump all of the boxes for the convenience and space saving of the SB3. I'm in the prime hifi "pre game console, pre mobile phones" demographic, which grew up with every marginal hifi gain to be much sought after, and highly coveted once gained!

Cheers

George