Quote:
Originally Posted by
Infrared 
I just read up on the Audiopheilio 1. Can some explain to me how a $1000 USB interface could possibly improve the sound from my iMac to my Violectric V800 to a degree that would justify that amount of cash outlay? I am a newbie and tested a Hi-Face 2 and could hear no improvement in sound quality so I sent it back. Am I missing something here or do I just have lousy ears??? LOL! I would love some input to enlighten me.....
Good question. There are two schools of thought on this:
1) Adaptive USB (which is what the V800 uses) is always inferior to asynchronous USB (which the HiFace and Audiophilleo both are). It has higher jitter and thus leads to smearing, lack of clarity, etc. Not all async solutions are that great though, and maybe the HiFace you tried was nearly on par with the V800 USB section, thus explaining the lack of improvement.
2) Violectric would say that their sample rate conversion circuit already reclocks the incoming data and strips it of jitter. This should be effective enough, and thus you don't need the lower jitter signal that Audiophilleo would give you.
Opinion one means you should try the Audiophilleo and it should be an decent improvement. Opinion two means leave it alone and enjoy what you have. It's up to you to decide which you should do.