Want to say a big thank you to iFi for the gifts I received the other day.  A snazzy USB stick with some goodies (DSDs, product info, photos etc) on it as well as the stupendous iPurifier 2.
 

 

 

 

 
I have a Schiit stack connected to my PC, a Modi DAC and Magni class AB amp.  I play Hi-Res tracks quite happily through my HE-500 phones.  I figured this would be as good a test as anything for the iPurifier 2.
 
The device itself is very robust and well engineered. As you can see from the photos it's fairly discrete. There are a couple of indicator lights for Power and Sound signal. Apparently the device also comes with a range of connector options.  I have the USB-B but it comes in A, C and Micro B also (according to the box)
 
I've got to say, I really wasn't expecting much, if any improvement in the audio quality from my Schiit stack as it is a fairly silent and quite revealing setup. 
 
For my test I fired up one of my most familiar and favourite test albums, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac (in 24/96 from HD Tracks - the max the Modi can handle) and listened to the first few tracks a few times.
 
I then added the iPurifier to the chain.  Again, I listened to the first few tracks.  At first I didn't really notice too much of a difference, until I got to the second track, Dreams.  The splash cymbal at the beginning caught me by surprise a little, it seemed more sustained and cleaner than I remembered.  I looped this part of the track a few times, removed the iPurifier and repeated.  Sure enough, I can tell the difference pretty easily.  After a few hours of listening with the ipurifier attached, I've decided it's staying put in this setup.  To my ears it makes a good difference to the general soundstage (width especially) and overall clarity of the sound. I like it!
 
Edit: - Started a discussion thread for the ipurifier 2 here

I've been playing with the iUSB3.0 today...

...but I'm still pondering what to say about it

The iPurifier2 on the other hand is continuing to impress. Given the previous experience with Led Zeppelin's Kashmir - which I recall was even a tough listen on my first decent vinyl system back in 1976 - I thought I would dig out a few more tracks of music I love but find it hard to listen to for very long or very loud.

Some of you may be familiar with Derek Vincent Smith aka. Pretty Lights. I love his music but I only have it in MP3 (320k) and have always found it a bit harsh to listen to. I want to turn it up but then I want to turn it straight back down again. I am happy to say that the iPurifier2 performs its magic superbly on this material. One of my favourite tracks is Wrong Platform from the album Taking Up Your Precious Time. This features high screechy violins about a minute in that are like nails on a blackboard - or at least they were. Now with iPurifier2 they are just violins. Now I can turn it up and enjoy it properly!

I wish there were some way to add this to the stereo in the car as I listen to Pretty Lights a lot while driving.

Another brilliant track but hard to listen to as loud as it deserves is On Her Majesty's Secret Service by David Arnold and The Propellerheads from David's album Shaken and Stirred. The brass instruments on this track can be quite harsh and make your ears flinch - or at least they could before. Are you sensing a pattern here?

Something else I noticed on that particular track is that the boogie-factor is significantly higher with the iPurifier2.

I was so impressed with what I was hearing through the headphones that I thought I would crank up my ancient speaker system which is mostly used for TV watching. It currently consists of a pair of 25 year old Rogers LS4a and a 35 year old Sansui R50 receiver (and a second iDSD). I wasn't expecting much but slap me sideways with a wet kipper the iPurifier2 worked its magic here too. This ancient system really shouldn't sound this good. I think I only paid £20 for the Sansui and the speakers weren't much more.

The iPurifier2 definitely gets the technobear seal of approval.

What is the difference between the original Ipurifier and the ipurifier 2

rob n said:

What is the difference between the original Ipurifier and the ipurifier 2

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The original didn't support USB3.0.

The original didn't have Active Noise Cancellation. It used passive filters.

The original didn't regenerate the USB signal or at least it didn't claim to. The original claimed to 'restore' the 'USB waveform'. This included rebalancing it.

The iPurifier2 rebalances and restores it by regenerating it.

The original was a paler colour.

Sadly I don't have the original to compare the performance. What I can say is that the iDSD has a version of iPurifier built in and yet the iPurifier2 still makes some very worthwhile improvements.

I've been AWOL from the forums for a few days so I've only just now had the chance to thank IFI for my iPurifier 2.So, thank you IFI  .
 
I'm a "bits are bits" sceptic, and my ears are more tin than golden, so there is no way I would have bought an iPurifier 2, despite being a huge IFI fan. However, I plugged it in and....wow! It really makes a difference. I'm a bit short of spare time ATM, but hopefully I'll be able to try it out more in the near future. In the meantime just read Technobear's comments. I'm in 100% agreement with everything he has said about the iPurifier 2 (except that I tried it with an ODAC rather than a Modi).

Got the iUSB3.0 from our local dealer Stereo and it really impressive out from the box. I have the old iUSB 2.0 and the new 3.0 is so much better, quieter, cleaner.... I do have a small issue though, it can hear an audible hiss from the ipower that came supplied and I wonder if I should be concern?

boringz said:

  Got the iUSB3.0 from our local dealer Stereo and it really impressive out from the box. I have the old iUSB 2.0 and the new 3.0 is so much better, quieter, cleaner.... I do have a small issue though, it can hear an audible hiss from the ipower that came supplied and I wonder if I should be concern?

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Hi,
 
Open a ticket and ask the techies. They will run through a cfew checks. We have shifted 'one or two' of the iPowers so we have come across a lotof different scenarios.
 
Cheers.

tjw321 said:

  I've been AWOL from the forums for a few days so I've only just now had the chance to thank IFI for my iPurifier 2.So, thank you IFI 

.
 
I'm a "bits are bits" sceptic, and my ears are more tin than golden, so there is no way I would have bought an iPurifier 2, despite being a huge IFI fan. However, I plugged it in and....wow! It really makes a difference. I'm a bit short of spare time ATM, but hopefully I'll be able to try it out more in the near future. In the meantime just read Technobear's comments. I'm in 100% agreement with everything he has said about the iPurifier 2 (except that I tried it with an ODAC rather than a Modi).

Click to expand...

 
Hi,
 
Yes, expect greater sonic gains with non-AMR/iFi products. The micro iUSB3.0 being the top of the line is suited for to US$5,000 DACs so it is quite well-future proofed should you change to more expensive DACs in the future.
 
Thanks. 

ifi audio said:

Hi,

Yes, expect greater sonic gains with non-AMR/iFi products. The micro iUSB3.0 being the top of the line is suited for to US$5,000 DACs so it is quite well-future proofed should you change to more expensive DACs in the future.

Thanks. 

Click to expand...

How about those expensive DACs that are galvanically isolated?

evolvist said:

How about those expensive DACs that are galvanically isolated?

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Hi,
 
Not all galvanic isolation is the same.  Some DACs have proper implementation, some not. In practice, the micro iUSB3.0 delivers 95% of what galvanic isolation would, without the extra cost, speed limits etc. et al. Working on an assumption that genuine galvanic isolation is 100%, iUSB3.0 with IsoGround is 95% at much less cost and full USB 3.0 Superspeed.
 
Cheers.
 
 
 

With iusb3 is there any benefit to getting ipurifier2 as well?

jelt2359 said:

With iusb3 is there any benefit to getting ipurifier2 as well?

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I'm glad you asked that. Good question. I believe iFi said that the iPurifier - either version - would not come built into the iDSD Pro, so this sort of dovetails into my question, would the iPurifier2 be of benefit in the iDSD Pro.

Found this useful info on another forum:
 
Quote:

AMR/iFi audio said:

/img/forum/go_quote.gif

We use the Via VL812, but what matters far more is how it used. Because:

1) Most Hub chips need more than one Voltage and usually Switch Mode supplies that are integrated on the chip where they can couple their noise directly into the Chip. The Textbook/Datasheet design for the Via Chip uses Switch Mode supplies on Chip.
- We use low-noise linear regulators off-chip to provide lean power to the Chip. 

2) Most Hub Chips integrate the oscillator (low grade) and just use an external crystal. In this case any noise generated by the switched mode supplies on the chip or by the chip operation itself will lead to excess jitter in the on-board oscillator.
- We place the whole TCXO separate from the chip, so we can guarantee a low-noise environment.

We selected the Via VL812 for two reasons: 
1. It passed all compliance/compatibility test with flying colours. 
2. Unlike some cheaper chipsets with a distinct emphasis on low-cost, it allows one to bypass the internal noisy switchers and clocks.

So, in the iFi implementation, we have two low-noise linear regulators supplying core and logic interface voltages, eliminating the switcher. A military spec TCXO replaces the standard clock. All of this happens before we even consider other parts of the system. 

We are sure any USB 3.0 Hub based on the VIA reference designs will work very reliably, otherwise we would not have used this design as the initial starting point of a two-year development cycle to release. It needs to be good as it follows the original iUSB! 

The designs based upon VIA's 'boilerplate' however, miss most of what can be done beyond textbook. And this is before we go into PCB layout, which with iFi's 4-layer design (vs. the VIA 2-layer commonly implemenented for low development and production cost) does dramatically better on noise. With all this tech background on the VIA, we haven't even mentioned the Active Noise Cancellation circuit (from AMR) and a few other proprietry goodies yet. Another discussion for another day perhaps.

The iUSB3.0 is not low-cost but you do get what you pay for. The iUSB3.0 is probably excessive for any DACs <US$5,000 but it is well future-proofed so future DAC upgrades will only see the iUSB3.0 squeeze more out of these DACs.

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ifi audio said:

The 2nd Winner is:

wormsdriver

Brand new micro iUSB3.0 and Mercury USB cable coming your way.


plus




Please pm us.

Same as before:

Name, address and contact tel!

And the length of 0.5m or 1.0m for the Mercury cable please.



Congratulations!

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NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! *shakes both fists vigorously at the sky*
Argh! Why!!! Why!!???? Noooooo!!!!
M###$!@÷!! %=÷+=€£$!!!



Ehhh, I'd like to claim my prize now please

Edit: screw!!!