Well, since last Wednesday, I let the Clairixa burn in for two and a half days and spent at least five hours on Friday listening to the system without any A-B-ing. The sound was fantastic, though different from what I've become accustomed to. Late Saturday, after again spending several hours listening, it seemed that i'd never heard the various drum solo's on the Bassface Swing Trio's Gerschwin album sound so real and energized. However female vocals (Eva Cassidy, Claire Martin, Alanis Morrissette-accoustic Jagged Little Pill, Ana Caram) didn't sound quite as natural and textured: the timbre seemed a bit too energized, tending toward a less nuanced or textured or less analogue sound. I adjusted settings and found that with Peter's recommended NOS1a settings, 16x oversampling ( I usually only do 8x) and the device driver buffer set to 8ms the sound became more like the sound I get from my YFS V4 data only cable. However it wasn't until yesterday when I finally put the YFS cable back into the system that it became clear that the active 5v power leg of the Clairixa adds a level of noise that on the one hand "energizes" the sound, but on the other hand colors the sound in a way that leaves vocals less satisfying because they sound less natural. With the YFS V4 cable the magic of a live vocal performance returned.
So I then applied the tape Peter supplied with the second round of Clairixa cables to the power leg of the Clairixa. Immediately the noise that had bothered before disappeared; however, the sound wasn't as spacious as the YFS cable and it seems, though I don't really have any idea if its true, but it seems to me that the spaciousness of the sound is related to the delicacy and naturalness of the timbre of vocals. The two seem to go hand in hand on my system. I didn't leave the Clairixa (with tape) in for too long so it may be that the sound will open up more with a few more hours of use.
A few conclusions: It pains me a bit being a contrarian. I would much rather be "in line" with the experience of others but that's just not the case here with the Clairixa. The energy and clarity of the Clairixa just sounds a bit "unnatural." One cannot discount the possibility that I have become addicted to a sound that is not quite right and the Clairixa is "upsetting" that, but, if that's the case, oh well.
I personally don't think so but who knows. Equally concerning to me is the fact that quite a few forum members here listened to the YFS Reference cable and have rejected it as sounding not right. Being the only one here, as far as I know, having listened to the YFS V4, rather than the Reference version, makes me wonder if the V4 isn't actually better sounding that the Reference? I was really hoping I'd get a turn with the YFS Reference cable when it returned to the US but I guess that's not to be, as I've not gotten any response to my last query about it.
Anyway for me the YFS cable sounds "truer," without any lack in detail or rolling off of the higher frequencies. Bass is taught and textured and vocals are just magical. The last thing I'll say about the difference is this: with the Clairixa, I had some trouble getting the volume "just right." One "Alt X" up and it was a tad too loud, "Alt X" down and it was a tad too soft. With the V4 I simply have a range of undistorted, pleasurable levels of loudness. I hope that makes sense.
Lastly, I want to say that I am very glad to have gone through this experience. It has been totally worth it to once again assess the overall sound of my system!
Brian