That’s interesting. While I was looking around for info I found an old Facebook thread with a similar issue and that person also said an “Up and running with a cheap old USB cable. My fancy expensive USB cables didn’t work.”
Glad it’s working!
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All of these cables are cheap, actually. None are even up to Amazon Basics level. 
BTW, I realized the WiiM Mini has only a fiber out, so that’s a test I can’t do.
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It turns out that the problem-o was the cables. Once I switched to the XLR-to-RCA cables I had available, connectivity from my Denon 7.2 AV receiver via the Druid to the Node 2i commenced immediately.
Also, immediately, I can say thar this Druid DAC is musical, even without being broken in! John Schofield’s ‘Rule of Thumb’, the tune cued up on Tidal when I turned the volume up, sounded just fine, as did KUVO Radio out of Denver CO.
A question; which linear power supplies work with the Druid? I tried one I had on hand, with no success. But, I’m not complaining about the included power supply’s sound right out of the box, though.
I’m really looking forward to swapping out the Druid’s stock op-amps, liking the opportunity for hands-on audio interaction. The reviews on Sparkos Labs’ SS3602 look promising, so I’ve made that purchase in advance.
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Glad to hear it was an easy fix 
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More side by side testing today for fun with Gremlin/Merlin, Gremlin/Druid, and some other conparisons around the office (Valhalla 2 notably as it’s quite similar to Gremlin).
Really loving the Druid and Gremlin with the Refine for most stuff. The Caspians sound great for some sludgey doom. The KOSS electrostatics still win out for the all important Pet Sounds test. The SJY’s are killer but in my listening they do a lot better with a higher power solid state headphone amp. Great cans, just not for these setups.
Still, on the DAC side it’s really hard to want much more for 95% of my use cases than the Druid.
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I’m really enjoying the Druid especially with my Little Dot MKII tube amp. I bought the HD 6XX years ago and never really enjoyed it but kept it around anyway. I pulled it out to try it with the Druid Little Dot MKII combo. I can’t get enough of that pairing. It’s like slipping into a warm bath of music–vocals and acoustic music are lush and textured. Bravo!
I switched out the op amps with 1656s, which I enjoyed. The real surprise was putting a Sparkos SS3602 in the single ended output. Wow! I’d like to put them in for the balanced outputs as well but don’t know if I need an LPS with more current. I hope we know more about when Fiio will be releasing the PL70. I’d like to try it with the Druid.
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still loving my Druid! currently waiting on A Gremlin to pair with it. Currently using Xduoo Mt-604. but the 2 volume knobs are annoying…LoL
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I assume 2 to left are for xls and one on right for single ended out. can someone please confirm? thanks.
Beuller Bueller
Hey @kenkwik727, everyone was gone this weekend for CanJam and getting settled back in today. Will get you some answers soon.
Okay got it confirmed. Leftmost and middle are for XLR, rightmost is single ended. If upgrading, you don’t need to replace all three. Just whatever connection you plan to use.
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Thank you.
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I got Two op amps coming for xls out. leaving single ended alone. thanks again. can’t wait until CanJam comes to Dallas again.
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Nice! And looks like it’s going to Dallas in November. @kunal is that already in the works?
November is a hard month for us to do events and we are not planning for us to be at the Dallas CanJam. However, maybe we can see if another brand wants to showcase the Druid at their booth.
The two CanJams we are going to be at this year are the NYC one that just passed and the SoCal one at the end of August.
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Was a little bright on the top end for my amp/speaker setup so I decided to try some cheap op amps, opa1656. Although nothing major, I do notice top end is smoother and sounds more musical.may try Sparkos next.
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Love to hear it. Let us know if you try any others
I have Sparkos 3602 (I pulled from something else), waiting for risers so I can Try in the Druid.
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