A Confused streaming system - Mutec / SOtM Ultra

[Confused]

First to answer Zoltan's questions. Yes, many cables are missing in the picture. I had set everything up on a table simply to experiment with the different length clock cables. There is far more spaghetti now everything is up and running, but it is not too bad, you don't notice it when it is in the rack hidden behind many boxes. The USB and AES/EBU cables are all Audioquest Carbon, and I have been using Roon / HQPlayer.

Anyway, an update on the progress today, I posted this in CA earlier. Apologies to anyone who follows both forums, but no point me typing this twice:

I have to say that despite a few a few issues, yesterday was a good day. Adding the REF10 to the MC3+USB was all I had hoped for and more, I could not be more pleased with the improvement this has yielded. Anyway, after listening to the microRendu REF10 / MC3+USB yesterday, I did get the sMS-200Ultra, tXUSBultra and sPS-500 set up and working but did not have any time for any serious listening. I left everything powered up overnight, and this morning everything was working exactly as it should, playing background music for a couple of hours or so.

I have sat down for a more focused listen, running through the same playlist I used with the microRendu yesterday. A little inconclusive to be honest, yes everything sounds excellent, but whereas yesterday I was a little blown away by the improvement with just adding the REF10 to the MC3+USB, today I am not entirely convinced by the improvement of the SOtM kit versus the humble microRendu.

To be honest, I am probably overdoing the changes, listening and thinking! The change with the REF10 yesterday was revelationary, and I still had the happy thought that the improvement from the SOtM kit was still to come, so perhaps the psychology of all this is having an effect. Don't get me wrong, the rig sounds great with the SOtM kit in charge, I am just not sure of the hike over the mR in this set-up. I need some time to get used to this too, some stuff I head today was truly exceptional, but I suspect the SOtM kit may be a touch brighter than the mR, which is perhaps messing with my perception a little. Time now to let the kit settle in a bit, and let my brain settle in too. I can always do a mR versus SOtM bundle head to head another day.