An even bigger forward step came in the treble particularly on detail magnification. My down-to-the-bone inspection over a Denon AH-D7200 headphone powered by Meier's Corda Classic was particularly enlightening. Up on top, Network II resolved more aura and air. It also mellowed the show-off brilliance of the precursor in the lower/mid treble, giving better illumination in the upper treble and the overtones of cymbals and bell trees.

The second largest forward step was greater depth behind the loudspeakers. With the original that had been relatively compact though price commensurate. With the new version those dimensions eclipsed its 3-figure ask. Now the Limetree II leaves an Auralic €500 Aries Mini in the shade. Pro-Ject's €1'499 Stream Box RS will map space with even more edge limning and the thrice-priced Waversa Wstreamer with linear PSU into the DAC of Norma's Revo SC-2 preamp pushes still farther on resolving power, tone colors and bass structures. But at €3'275 for the combo, it doesn't diminish Limetree's upgrade success by one iota.

This mini really grew up to fill out its audiophile shoes with more coherence without sacrificing the original's joie de vivre. Instead it adds to its energetic liveliness more nuanced resolution even without PCM⇒DSD resampling plus more realistic depth layering and microdynamics more finely gradated. Featurization remains price correct if not opulent but the new remote control becomes the 'i' dot on this streaming mini marvel from Germany.

Facts.
♦ Concept: variable DAC/streamer
♦ Trim: silver
♦ Dimensions & weight: 107 x 40 x 107mm WxHxD, 300g
♦ File format support: WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, DSD
♦ Sample-rate support: 32/384 and DSD256
♦ Inputs: USB-A, Ethernet, WLAN, Bluetooth
♦ Analog outputs: RCA, 3.5mm stereo
♦ Integrated clients: Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer,  HighResAudio, Spotify, Internet-Radio and podcasts
♦ Other: Roon Ready, CD transport control
♦ Warranty: 2 years, add 1 year with registration