winders
Headphoneus Supremus
Until I am ready to buy a AOIP box of some type, I will continue to use my computer to play music through my Yggdrasil using USB. My current audio chain is fairly simple:
2016 MacBook Pro (A+ 3.x) --USB--> Singxer F-1 --SPDIF coax--> Yggdrasil --XLR--> Mjolnir 2 --SE--> Powered Nearfield Monitors
The DAC, amp, and monitors are all plugged into a TrippLite “PS” power strip. The power strip is plugged into a 2.5kVa Topaz isolation transformer.
I am still willing to see what I can do to improve the sound. I know the USB signal getting to the Singxer F-1 was not great so that signal could be improved. But, I was not convinced that any of the available USB "decrapifiers" were worth the cost or the effort. I have been intrigued with the what I had been reading about the UpTone Audio ISO Regen unit and the USPCB USB 2.0 A to B adaptor. The ISO Regen provides full power, ground, and signal isolation. The USPCB preserves signal integrity and impedance match between the ISO Regen and the USB device it is plugged into. I had an UpTone Audio LPS on hand to use as a power source for the ISO Regen.
My new audio looks like this:
2016 MacBook Pro (A+ 3.x) --USB--> ISO Regen --USPCB--> Singxer F-1 --SPDIF coax--> Yggdrasil --XLR--> Mjolnir 2 --SE--> Powered Nearfield Monitors
The following comments outline the changes I perceive with the ISO Regen and USPCB in place and powered on for more 15 hours:
The music and voices emanate from a quieter background.
The timbre of instruments and voices are a bit more defined. This is even true with bass sounds which tend to muddle together more.
The bass is more full yet has more detail and clarity. The mids and highs are a bit sharper without being harsher. The overall clarity and detail are a little bit better.
The soundstage isn’t any wider but I get a sense of more depth and height. Instruments and voices have much better isolation and their locations are more defined. This is the single biggest difference I hear in the music. I could hear this before but not with the laser like focus I get now. Instead of the sound coming from a general direction on the stage, I get a sense of the sound coming from a very specific location on the stage. The effect is subtle but it gives me a much better sense of being at a live performance.
The best analogy I can come up with is that with the ISO Regen, LPS-1, and USPCB in place versus what I started with is like comparing two photos of the same scene. One slightly out of focus with a color filter in place while the other is perfectly in focus with no filter. You can tell that both are of the same image. But, with the slightly out of focus image, you can’t quite see all the detail. Parts of the image are blurred together and some of the colors aren’t quite right. It’s pleasing to the eye until you see the perfectly focused image. You immediately realize what you were missing. You see all the details and the colors look better and more natural. It’s like a veil has been lifted from your eyes.
The differences I hear are nothing more than subtle. It’s when you take them as a whole that you realize how much the listening experience is enhanced. The clarity and detail improvements along with the voice and instrument isolation on the soundstage make for a much more realistic and better sounding listening experience.
2016 MacBook Pro (A+ 3.x) --USB--> Singxer F-1 --SPDIF coax--> Yggdrasil --XLR--> Mjolnir 2 --SE--> Powered Nearfield Monitors
The DAC, amp, and monitors are all plugged into a TrippLite “PS” power strip. The power strip is plugged into a 2.5kVa Topaz isolation transformer.
I am still willing to see what I can do to improve the sound. I know the USB signal getting to the Singxer F-1 was not great so that signal could be improved. But, I was not convinced that any of the available USB "decrapifiers" were worth the cost or the effort. I have been intrigued with the what I had been reading about the UpTone Audio ISO Regen unit and the USPCB USB 2.0 A to B adaptor. The ISO Regen provides full power, ground, and signal isolation. The USPCB preserves signal integrity and impedance match between the ISO Regen and the USB device it is plugged into. I had an UpTone Audio LPS on hand to use as a power source for the ISO Regen.
My new audio looks like this:
2016 MacBook Pro (A+ 3.x) --USB--> ISO Regen --USPCB--> Singxer F-1 --SPDIF coax--> Yggdrasil --XLR--> Mjolnir 2 --SE--> Powered Nearfield Monitors
The following comments outline the changes I perceive with the ISO Regen and USPCB in place and powered on for more 15 hours:
The music and voices emanate from a quieter background.
The timbre of instruments and voices are a bit more defined. This is even true with bass sounds which tend to muddle together more.
The bass is more full yet has more detail and clarity. The mids and highs are a bit sharper without being harsher. The overall clarity and detail are a little bit better.
The soundstage isn’t any wider but I get a sense of more depth and height. Instruments and voices have much better isolation and their locations are more defined. This is the single biggest difference I hear in the music. I could hear this before but not with the laser like focus I get now. Instead of the sound coming from a general direction on the stage, I get a sense of the sound coming from a very specific location on the stage. The effect is subtle but it gives me a much better sense of being at a live performance.
The best analogy I can come up with is that with the ISO Regen, LPS-1, and USPCB in place versus what I started with is like comparing two photos of the same scene. One slightly out of focus with a color filter in place while the other is perfectly in focus with no filter. You can tell that both are of the same image. But, with the slightly out of focus image, you can’t quite see all the detail. Parts of the image are blurred together and some of the colors aren’t quite right. It’s pleasing to the eye until you see the perfectly focused image. You immediately realize what you were missing. You see all the details and the colors look better and more natural. It’s like a veil has been lifted from your eyes.
The differences I hear are nothing more than subtle. It’s when you take them as a whole that you realize how much the listening experience is enhanced. The clarity and detail improvements along with the voice and instrument isolation on the soundstage make for a much more realistic and better sounding listening experience.
