[sygnus21]

I use nothing. And my PC and its peripherals are attached to a UPS unit. That's it.

 

[dunring]

You can measure the USB interference at each port using the magnetometer in your phone. Just move it the same distance from each port. This is the app I use.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mreprogramming.ultimateemfdetector
I'd recommend running something like a game while testing it, to see which ports have the most interference when it's under load.

I use the Febsmart 2 port USB card located on the bottom slot, away from the video card. The power supply takes air from the bottom, so it's right against the heavy shielded side.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071P5C6CS

I add optical to it when needed, and this one works especially well. I use it for testing DACs and never had a problem with Windows finding it or performance.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9H53KD9

 

[tjl5709]

Something else to consider.

I put one of these in my tower PC to feed my yggy.

Elfidelity AXF-100 ULTRA III USB isolator card

It will run off of an external power supply. You can find small linear PS at the bookstore which is what I did.

 

[Sunder]

You can use such a device for example https://uptoneaudio.com/products/usb-regen

 

[SLAFL]

If you are concerned and wants/need the best you can use "audiophile" dedicated usb PCI Express card like http://www.sotm-audio.com/sotmwp/english/portfolio-item/tx-usbexp/
or https://www.matrix-digi.com/product/22/element_H or https://jcat.eu/product/usb-card-femto-audiophile-usb-audio-output/
and power them by dedicated PSU for extra fun!

 

[BrokeAudiophileMan]

Yes, there are motherboards that have "DAC" USB ports that are isolated better than the other USB ports and are designed for audio, though they will work for any task. You have to do a google search to figure out what the current models are with this feature. Nobody has cleaner USB across the board than anyone else and everyone makes a wide range of boards from straight gutter grade to high end.

A better solution though, would be to buy a dedicated audiophile USB card that has circuitry on it to clean and regen the USB signal, and to build a fanless passively cooled PC with a passive powersupply for no audible noise and less noise on the outputs. Using an optical USB cable will help further.

If you want to go balls to the wall run the PC off a linear power supply, get a high grade power cable, and use a high quality power cleaning power strip.

 

[dbull12]

I actually recently had considerable issues with USB noise in my system. I've managed to fix it for now by moving things around to different USB ports and tidying up cables, but I think I'm going to get the Matrix Element H soon since it seems many owners do feel it makes a noticeable difference from motherboard USB. Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

 

[sygnus21]

I actually recently had considerable issues with USB noise in my system. I've managed to fix it for now by moving things around to different USB ports and tidying up cables, but I think I'm going to get the Matrix Element H soon since it seems many owners do feel it makes a noticeable difference from motherboard USB. Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

Can I ask what DAC you have connected to your PC?

Anyway, you might also give this a look - AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ which is 4.5 times less expensive. I have an older one that I use (bought it because I bought into the "noisy USB" thing. All it did for me was make the DAC a tad warmer and push vocals forward, can say that's "noise elimination", but... this is with my Teac UD-503 DAC which is a bit on the bright side to begin with.

Anyway, if you "must" have something consider this if money is tight.

 

[sygnus21]

Yes, there are motherboards that have "DAC" USB ports that are isolated better than the other USB ports and are designed for audio, though they will work for any task. You have to do a google search to figure out what the current models are with this feature. Nobody has cleaner USB across the board than anyone else and everyone makes a wide range of boards from straight gutter grade to high end.

Can you recommend/point to a specific board since you state, "there are motherboards that have "DAC" USB ports that are isolated better than the other USB ports and are designed for audio". It helps to know what one is looking for. Link?

Thanks.

 

[dbull12]

Can I ask what DAC you have connected to your PC?

Anyway, you might also give this a look - AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ which is 4.5 times less expensive. I have an older one that I use (bought it because I bought into the "noisy USB" thing. All it did for me was make the DAC a tad warmer and push vocals forward, can say that's "noise elimination", but... this is with my Teac UD-503 DAC which is a bit on the bright side to begin with.

Anyway, if you "must" have something consider this if money is tight.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm using a Schiit Modi Multibit 2 which has Schiit's Unison USB implementation that people seem to think is very good, and my USB cable is from Forza AudioWorks so I don't have any concerns about it being an issue with the cable. Maybe it's possible the noise issues were caused by interference coming from the numerous other things I have plugged into the USB ports on my motherboard?

 

[sygnus21]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm using a Schiit Modi Multibit 2 which has Schiit's Unison USB implementation that people seem to think is very good, and my USB cable is from Forza AudioWorks so I don't have any concerns about it being an issue with the cable. Maybe it's possible the noise issues were caused by interference coming from the numerous other things I have plugged into the USB ports on my motherboard?

Call me skeptical, but this is simply something I don't buy into. Additionally, if a device predicated on USB can't clean the signal coming into it, I'm not sure I'd want that unit. But yeah, I know there's all sorts of stuff out there - line conditioners, audio grade power cords, high dollar cables, etc, etc, etc, so....

I'll build my own PCs using high quality hardware to include the motherboard (and I use Gigabyte high end boards), so I guess I trust the USB ports are going to be clean. On the other hand, I'm not so naive as to not understand electrical or noise interference can happen, but to what expense do I pay to eliminate it. And is something actually there, or am I being programed to hear/think I hear something that really isn't there? It's the thing you didn't need until someone said you needed it

That's me.

 

[dbull12]

Call me skeptical, but this is simply something I don't buy into. Additionally, if a device predicated on USB can't clean the signal coming into it, I'm not sure I'd want that unit. But yeah, I know there's all sorts of stuff out there - line conditioners, audio grade power cords, high dollar cables, etc, etc, etc, so....

I'll build my own PCs using high quality hardware to include the motherboard (and I use Gigabyte high end boards), so I guess I trust the USB ports are going to be clean. On the other hand, I'm not so naive as to not understand electrical or noise interference can happen, but to what expense do I pay to eliminate it. And is something actually there, or am I being programed to hear/think I hear something that really isn't there? It's the thing you didn't need until someone said you needed it

That's me.

Yeah my mobo is a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2, so should be high quality. It was strange that suddenly there was SO much noise whenever audio was playing. Just constant popping and static-y sounds bouncing between the left and right channels. Seems all better but the possibility of it coming back has me considering these pricey options. I don't feel qualified to make any statements about whether or not fancy cables, PCIe cards, power conditioners, etc. are just placebo or not, but many of us in this hobby are a bit neurotic about our setups so at least these things can give people peace of mind lol

 

[sygnus21]

Yeah my mobo is a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2, so should be high quality. It was strange that suddenly there was SO much noise whenever audio was playing. Just constant popping and static-y sounds bouncing between the left and right channels. Seems all better but the possibility of it coming back has me considering these pricey options. I don't feel qualified to make any statements about whether or not fancy cables, PCIe cards, power conditioners, etc. are just placebo or not, but many of us in this hobby are a bit neurotic about our setups so at least these things can give people peace of mind lol

I'm never going to say that can't happen since I've had that myself, but it turned out the be a combination of the media player along with driver settings. If your DAC requires a driver (ASIO) check that a newer version isn't released. Also check the media player is correctly set to use the driver for the DAC (deepening on media player). I use JRiver Media Center which has lots of settings for playback. If settings are incorrect or the ASIO driver isn't set properly you will get pops and clicking. Been there, done that.

 

[dbull12]

I'm never going to say that can't happen since I've had that myself, but it turned out the be a combination of the media player along with driver settings. If your DAC requires a driver (ASIO) check that a newer version isn't released. Also check the media player is correctly set to use the driver for the DAC (deepening on media player). I use JRiver Media Center which has lots of settings for playback. If settings are incorrect or the ASIO driver isn't set properly you will get pops and clicking. Been there, done that.

There aren't any drivers available to download for the Modi Multibit 2 and the noise was happening regardless of if I was listening to Qobuz, Youtube, or any other media player. I think as long as the noise doesn't come back I'll stay away from buying any USB cards or USB noise filters or anything like that since any sonic improvement would surely be very minimal.

 

[redrol]

Yeah my mobo is a Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2, so should be high quality. It was strange that suddenly there was SO much noise whenever audio was playing. Just constant popping and static-y sounds bouncing between the left and right channels. Seems all better but the possibility of it coming back has me considering these pricey options. I don't feel qualified to make any statements about whether or not fancy cables, PCIe cards, power conditioners, etc. are just placebo or not, but many of us in this hobby are a bit neurotic about our setups so at least these things can give people peace of mind lol

That sounds like a ground loop. Were you using the PC into a preamp or amp?