Hi!
The PSAudio Lanrover:
Sometime ago I had requested suggestions from FMs on optimizing the Mac Mini for music. Following that, I experimented with add-on devices including the Uptone reclocker, etc. I didn't want to open up the Mac Mini to mod it in anyway. Some more research and this is what I ended up with:
1. PS Audio Lanrover USB transporter
https://www.psaudio.com/products/lanrover-usb-transporter/
PSAudio's website states that the product "LANRover is like the
Power Plant of digital audio—cleaning, isolating, regenerating and newly formatting USB musical data, a process that dramatically improves audio performance with any DAC. LANRover is a matched pair solution to the problems of USB audio. The first of the two devices connects to the USB output of the computer or server. Here, timing, noise, jitter, ground, and power supply voltages from the computer are abandoned, and a new individually packetized datastream is regenerated. Unlike USB audio packets, these new data are in a different format, one that does not suffer USB’s shortcomings." The datastream travels over an ethernet cable that can be as long as 100 metres, overcoming the limitations of USB, to the second device, the Receiver, that regenerates the USB signal feeding the DAC. The reclocker is powered by the Mac Mini USB and the Receiver by 5v DC power via the supplied wall-wart.
Here's a pretty detailed review of the product:
https://audiobacon.net/2016/12/01/ps-audio-lanrover-review-vs-microrendu-uptone-ultracap-lps-1/
2. Next, I replaced the supplied Cat5 cable with an SOTM Cat7 cable. (I also tried BJC Cat 6a which comes pretty close to the SOTM at a fraction of the price).
3. I replaced the Receiver power supply with an iFi iPower power. iFi claims that their product has a noise floor far lower than even an LPS.
https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-ipower/
4. Added a Voodoo Cables IEC to C7 converter to the Mac Mini and connected a Sonic Horizons Hurricane Power Cable. This is a 11 AWG cable that comes with Twin Extra Large RFI-Zero Noise Suppressors and hospital grade connectors.
The results: Stunning! Big improvement in resolution, sharply focussed instrument boundaries, great imaging and depth. Paradoxically, the improvement is far more pronounced in mp3 tracks. Perhaps the scope of improvement on mp3 files is much more than with hires/ uncompressed files.
I know that for the amount I spent, there are competing products like Auralic Aries, Microendu and so on. But this has allowed me to stick to the convenience of my Mac Mini with Audirvana +, TIDAL, Youtube capabilities and I'm extremely satisfied with the end result.
Cheers!
. 
