"...but have you or anyone else have any experience with XLR digital with your Aurender N10?"
Yes, I've used all of the N10 outputs...mostly just to try them out.
Cables are: Shunyata Anaconda (v2) coax/xlr cables, Audience 24 SE USB Std, WW Super Nova 7 optical.
Based on my experience, I'd stack rank the sound:
- Coax is my favorite; most spatial, "smoother," greatest presence, enveloping sound stage.
- XLR is very, very close to coax; it sounded slightly louder than the coax, which makes sense (but I don't need the gain). To my ears, it lacked a bit of smoothness (top end seemed more emphasized) and the sound stage flattened just a bit.
- Toslink: Sounds OK, but flat and congested compared to the above.
- USB: Only for the highest res files, which sound very good. But, doesn't compare to the coax & xlr for non-highres listening IMO.
Best,
ed