Andrew, the SQ of Vivaldi + external streamer vs Vivaldi + Upsampler is a real hot topic imho.
It opens up the upgrade path if one gets great performance from Vivaldi native vs Rossini with its internal streamer. For example, I can not effort a full Vivaldi stack (here DAC + Upsampler), but if you get a better SQ from that setup (Vivaldi + streamer) vs Rossini I’m pretty sure many will claim the Vivaldi hill then (I will!) I called two dealer here and nobody ever tested that…
Of course, as Pete already mentioned here, the quality of the external streamer is important (and AES vs USB connection, yes…).
So if you ever have a chance to test that please let us know 
Yes, as I said :
There are reasons why this may be so due to the different technical approach in modern years to recording classical or other genres.
That was also the case for me.
When I ordered my K41, I was lucky enough to be sent the first unit of the Gen. 4 version, for no extra cost!
It was very good of Antipodes to do that 
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I would point out that my preference for Clone Mode only applies to that one track. And as I said, on that recording it felt like a question where you prefer to sit, so no ”right” or ”wrong”. However I could imagine that the difference might manifest itself differently with different recordings (maybe Pete can comment?) so I will have to reserve judgement as to whether or not this is a general preference.
Glad to hear it.
Mind you, you always have the option of moving the Muon further downstream, right before the Upsampler.
I have, and over the years, for sound quality reasons, have settled on pretty much exactly what dCS’ feature set is deigned to simplify with EasyPlay;
- Direct Vivaldi Transport to Vivaldi DAC for SACD playback (AES1+2)
- Via Upsampler (upsampled to DXD) to DAC for all PCM (AES 3+4)
- Via Upsampler (passthrough) to DAC for DSD64/128 (AES3+4)
No other set-up combination produces better sonic results on the Vivaldi stack in my opinion 
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The main issue with upsampling only arises with classical recordings. Or, rather, is only easily discernable. However with classical recordings the issue is consistent.
Just re-reading some old threads…
I personally remain a skeptic on high-end servers (and am happy to be wrong), and certainly don’t want to discount those who have feel otherwise. In this case I had never heard of Pink Faun, which @Frankie67 cited as being very expensive.
On the rare occasions when I am sufficiently motivated to look into the details, I often find Roon at the core, which is odd because that is the precisely the platform against which large sonic gains are claimed:
“Pink Faun OS is built around Roon to serve as the centerpiece of the music playback experience, offering an intuitive and immersive interface for music enthusiasts. As one of the original Roon Core Server Partners, we’ve continued to integrate Roon as the heart of the 2.16 ultra’s playback system. Our Roon server implementation in Pink Faun OS ensures a full Roon experience while maintaining the organic, liquid musicality that Pink Faun is renowned for.”
Pink Faun OS(https://www.pinkfaun.com/pink_faun_os.html)