Mutec MC-3+ USB

[Confused]

Which of these TWO setup would yield a better performance ... ?

MACBOOK AIR - - > AQ DIAMOND USB - - > MUTEC MC-3+ USB / MUTEC REF10 - - > AQ DIAMOND AES/EBU - - > DEV


MACBOOK AIR - - > AQ DIAMOND USB - - > DCS NETWORK BRIDGE - - > AQ DIAMOND AES/EBU - - > DEV

It obviously highly unlikely that anyone has tried these two exact options in a A/B test, so all we can do is informed speculation.

On this basis I would say your first option looks the best to me.  There are a few reasons for this.  I read a report recently of someone with the both the Network Bridge and the Mutec MC3+USB.  He tried running the Network bridge using the Mutec MC3+USB to provide the master clock, the result was a zero apparent change in sound quality.  What this suggests is that the clock performance in the MC3+USB is very similar to the Network Bridge.  I have taken an interest in the Network Bridge myself, I did read one user report that stated it is as good as an Aurender N10.  That said, I have spoken to a dealer of both Aurender and dCS products who was of the opinion that the dCS was not quite at the Aurender X100 level, but the Network Bridge was excellent when used with one of dCS's own word / master clocks.

From my own experience, the combination of the Mutec MC3+USB with the Devialet is an excellent one, even without the REF10, there are a few other posters on this forum with similar views.  It figures therefore that adding the REF10 would yield even better results.  So far I think SwissBear is the only Devialet user to actually try this, but as reported elsewhere he has found good results with this combination, albeit his MC3+USB has been modified to use a very good LPSU. 

So in crude terms, I think the Network Bridge will probably perform at a similar level to a non-REF10 Mutec MC3+USB, it therefore figures that a REF10 clocked Mutec MC3+USB will come out on top.