Agreed. I'm learning that I prefer a treble-tilted headphone for my solo piano music. K1000 is my current favorite, and I'm losing interest in the LCD-X.

On USB processors, reclockers, cleaners, jitter reducers, pre-conditioners, prayer cloths, etc. (Oh yeah, there's also this thing called a Wyrd.)
 
Why? What for? What are they supposed to do? Good questions. Does the whole thing center around marrying off your beautiful and virginal D/A converter to some horribly diseased computer USB port? Not that simple, but as my Dad used to say, "If you lie down with a dog, you get fleas."
 
Some thirty years ago, as the D/A converter planet was cooling, the only way to get signals on board was S/PDIF or the amazing similar AES-EBU. Period. There were coax and TOS link variants (Which do offer ground isolation but suffer from horrible jitter. Oh, they are cheap and are convenient profit centers.)
 
In that far away universe, computers lived far away from audio systems as they spewed rf energy from mutiple clocks which interfered with rf based devices of the time (TVs and tuners). Wisdom proper to the time separated high end audio systems and computers as much as possible. If they were to close together, audiophile guests would point and snicker.
 
Fast forward to 6 years ago as I began my first D/A design for Schiit (which utlimately became the Bifrost). In a desktop audio (headphone) system world, USB sockets dominated in a new era when the audio media lived on or was streamed through the computer. Old notions of quality were lost; MP3 was everywhere. The digital source bar was so low it would trip a grasshopper. It sounded like ass.
 
I was amazed that more users did not acquire/demand spdif connectivity for their computer based audio. It became obvious to me that the convenience of USB dominated. Although the state of its art has improved, it still has a ways to go to trump the best of S/PDIF.
 
So it is no surprise to me that various products have appeared on the market to fix or enhance USB. Some even purport to use USB sockets to fix other parameters of the DAC itself. Some categories are below:
 
USB Filters. These tend to be the least expensive USB addition. They can be passive ($) or active (more $$). Such filters are built in to all Schiit USB nputs on all digital products.
 
Devices to fix USB power. This is one of the functions of the Schiit Wyrd, the only product I will comment on. The last six years in the evolution of computers (servers) have headed them in an ever smaller direction. Along with this comes less power available from the USB sockets to power the connected USB devices themselves. The Schiit Wyrd has a separate power supply designed to drive the most power hungry USB input circuits. There is also a USB repeater function which separates the input and output USB data wires. Many users report they hear an improvement when using the Wyrd, even if the extra USB power is not needed. The Schiit Wyrd is $99.
 
USB Isolators. Several design choices, whether it be optical, transformer, or inductive (cheapest). This is good engineering practice if properly implemented. The idea is that the computer's trash and slop is not transferred in real time to D/A converter. This is tricky to implement as most isolators are jitter prone.
 
USB Clocks. This is the least understood and farthest removed from where it really counts enhancement. This is not to say that clocks are not important. At the end of the day, however, they only matter at the input to the DAC chip or array, with the most important by far being the Word Clock or Convert Command. In all Schiit gear, there are at least two and probably three major stages of clocks prior to the DAC chip, where our adaptaclock and clock cleaners live. Fixing bad clocks ahead of all of that is not anywhere as effective as it is at the DAC and therefore money not totally well spent. That said, good clocks upstream can't hurt, and can provide an incremental improvement.
 
These features are what I have seen a variety of products implement in the wild. There are even those which have implemented more than one of them, but they usually sell for prices approaching a kilobuck. A product such as this should cost far less and would probably be fun to design. Who knows?  Maybe.  Probably.

I have a 2-Wyrd setup.
Would this be called, Wyrd-2 the Max?
 
JJ 

johnjen said:

  I have a 2-Wyrd setup.
Would this be called, Wyrd-2 the Max?
 
JJ 

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Only if you are using a Maxim DAC chip

baldr said:

These features are what I have seen a variety of products implement in the wild. There are even those which have implemented more than one of them, but they usually sell for prices approaching a kilobuck. A product such as this should cost far less and would probably be fun to design. Who knows?  Maybe.  Probably.

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Do it, Mike.
 
Many of us have your Yggdrasil, which many of us consider to be the best DAC we've heard.  The USB Gen 3 input is very good, but for whatever reason (whether real or imagined) some of us believe we're getting better sound through these USB->SPDIF generators/reclockers/isolators of various varieties.  For me, it's the Audiophilleo.
 
Please make us your vision of the ultimate such device (BS and snake oil excluded).  Knowing Schiit, it'll cost $299, as opposed to the $1500 of the competition.  We'll all buy it just for schiits and giggles, if for no other reason.   

baldr said:

 
These features are what I have seen a variety of products implement in the wild. There are even those which have implemented more than one of them, but they usually sell for prices approaching a kilobuck. A product such as this should cost far less and would probably be fun to design. Who knows?  Maybe.  Probably.

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MIke,
I agree with Belgiangenius.  A format converter such as you describe would be handy for many.  In addition to what I expect would be SQ benefits, it would allow longer cable lengths without USB limits.  I imagine a USB-connected device would have broadest application, but might you consider a PCI/PCIe card similar to a Lynx Studio Technology AES16e PCI Express AES/EBU Interface for your customers who build their own music computers?  Of course, it would be simpler, updated, and Schiit-priced!
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Rich

With I2S (HDMI, PS Audio pinout maybe?) and/or ST-Fiber, pleaaaaase 
 
Then offers those 2 as an upgrade input for the DACs (replacing the USB).

belgiangenius said:

  Do it, Mike.

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Hmm...  Given the tone of his post, I wonder if it's already done (or largely so...), just awaiting release?

nedifer said:

   
Hmm...  Given the tone of his post, I wonder if it's already done (or largely so...), just awaiting release?

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Actually in the scheme of things -- almost anytime I get a digital idea it gets rolled into a board to see if it is a good idea or a product of stupiditidity.  Almost anything I talk about has already been built, partially built, or built in enough working segments to convince me that the concept is not a wet dream.  The speculation is whether and/or when it becomes a reality.

What were some of the more stupid ideas that didn't make the cut?

You don't want to give hints to the competition...

I'd totally be interested in some sort of Wyrd on steroids, my USB audio out of my (admittedly stupid expensive) desktop computer is already very clean but I'm sure there are things and little imperfections with it that I'm just no aware of because I don't know any better (yet). I'm kinda OCD about stuff like that, I like to squeeze that last tiny bit of orange juice not because I'm missing it but just because I want to be sure it isn't missing. I like knowing I'm doing everything I can so that I can have peace of mind, with everything in life, unfortunately that is a bit expensive to be able to do in this particular hobby LOL.

It doesn't sound like Cthulu or the Manhattan Project. Interested to see what it is.

One type of Wyrd on Steroids I could get behind would be one with not only a data out USB port for the cleaned up USB, but a Linear PSU power out USB port to power a Raspberry Pi. 2amps at 5V would be perfect on the power out port.

insidious meme said:

It doesn't sound like Cthulu or the Manhattan Project. Interested to see what it is.

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So far only a science project.
 
Cthulu (Jason's fugliest of projects) is now imminent.