[jdandy]

Natcho.......This is an excerpt from my Aurender N10 review at post #1 in this thread.

I performed another comparison with the 24/192 file of Norah Jones. I wanted to compare the SPDIF coaxial output on the N10 to its USB output. I connected both output configurations from the N10 to the K-03 DAC. Switching between the N10’s coaxial and USB outputs on the K-03 DAC confirmed there is very little difference in the sound, although I did detect what I sensed was a minuscule softening of the midrange from the USB output. It was so minor that I had to intently focus on Norah’s voice when comparing the USB to coaxial outputs, and even then it was difficult to put my finger on the actual difference. It may have even been a placebo effect due to my preference for the coaxial output. Both outputs sound exceptional. The N10 had no issues synchronizing with the Esoteric’s USB normal (NOR), USB high speed (HS_1), and USB asynchronous (HS_2) settings.

That about sums up my impression of the N10's USB output compared to the coaxial output. Both sound excellent. If my intent were not to use the superior clock in the Aurender N10 for its SPDIF digital outputs, I would not have any issue with using the USB output which is high caliber isolated audio grade USB 2.0. I don't think you can go wrong with either output.