Well, it's pretty much as per my comments on the cables thread, and Blue58's responses too
I've been lucky enough to have regular exposure to his system evolution from his Audio Aero La Fontaine cdp days to his current SGM streamer/T&A Dac8, playing 512 dsd thru HQP and Roon, w two iterations of his superlative home made 45s tube amps and venerable Avantgarde Acoustics Duo Omegas horns
Initially 3 years ago, his sound via Audio Aero was impressive, but somewhat recessive, reticent and a bit distant
But they had tons of promise
In the intervening period he switched to a whole loom of Sablon Reservas cbls, and dedicated lines
This brought the punch of the system up a step or three, pulling the sound into the room, much more tangibility and earthiness, but w more top end air as well
Going SGM w Dac8 was a giant leap forward, suffice to say as an analog diehard, I was doubting my devotion to lps for the first time
At this point, the system had really gone to the next level
However there appear to be more levels, and that was my discovery yesterday
The swap of powered standard Reserva USB for the unpowered Elite Reserva has just given the system another vitamin shot
I'd call the upstick a major dose of "juiciness", just an analog like vibe of energy, texture and dimensionality
It was apparent as I walked in the room, warmth at the bottom end and lower mids, a kind of agility in the mids I only hear from Lp, and ability to soar further up
But it's this pervading textured warmth which I truly believe to be natural, since it has no impediment on speed and see thruness, that stopped me in my tracks, song after song
So much life was present on challenging recordings like Rush Signals from 1982, that again we were closer to the musicians and their heartfelt intent
A triumph in every way
And at $450+$250, the v definition of a no brainer