What is this?
The iGalvanic3.0 is a "Galvanically Isolated USB Signal Regenerator" At least that's what the box says...
What does that mean? Why would you want that? Who's this aimed at? Is it worth the money, or it is just another scam designed to separate audiophiles from their money?
Before I answer those questions, a bit about me:
I'm a musician, producer and composer. I am just finishing a masters in composition, and will be scoring a show on Netflix in the next few months. I have spent my entire life in studios, listing to speakers that cost more than your car. Sound is VERY important to me. However...
I'm not the sort of person that just accepts advertising spin as fact. Frankly, I'm usually someone that is more sceptical than the average audiophile. When I see £10,000 power strips, I assume they're designed for people with more money than sense. In fact my goto audiophile joke revolves around
bags of magic rocks - yours for only $170 - that do nothing more than make some conmen a bit of cash.
So, when iFi asked if I'd like to review something else, after my iFi Nano iDSD review, I was pretty sure I'd screwed up when I asked to review the iGalvonic3.0.
I mean, c'mon, USB conditioning, Galvanic Isolation... sure the box even says it kills "gremlins"... surely this is some sort of non-audible money grab... right?
Wrong.
Although that wasn't immediately obvious.
When I first plugged it in - with my chord Mojo and my "Batman" HE-560s - I wasn't blown away. In fact I was absolutely certain it was a "magic box" that did a sum total of nothing. I had visions of having to tell Karina from ISI that I would have to send it back, because I couldn't "say something nice".
Then, I took it out of line, and went back to just the Mojo.
Hmm... Ok, maybe I could hear something...
But maybe not...
I went through probably 20 songs from a variety of artists (everything from Elliot Smith to Superorganism to DSD versions of Nordic Sound Reference disc) and... yeah, it's not placebo, I could EASILY pick out the iGalvanic - every single time - and it ALWAYS sounded better.
So, what does better mean?
Well, I also watched a bit of the Last Jedi and it was then that I REALLY was able to pinpoint what I was hearing.
First, everything is more defined. There's more space between sounds, and that in turn makes everything sound more real. Nothing is mushed together. That's an eye opener.
But more importantly bass is more defined and present, and high end - think the glass windows breaking on the casino planet in Last Jedi - is CRISP, without becoming strident or overwhelming.
In the systems I then tried it on (3) the top position seemed to sound the most open, but frankly THAT could've been ear fatigue and confirmation bias...
What was NOT confirmation bias was the distinct and only-positive change in sound.
Now let's be honest, ok? Who is this for?
Well, I would PERSONALLY say that this is a 5-10% boost in sound quality, something you leave in line, and never think about. It's just a final touch to your digital signal flow... It's neither wildly expensive or wildly cheap, but... if you want to get the ABSOLUTE best out of your system, you NEED to check this out.
Like the iDSD Nano, this is probably positioned really well in the market, and will probably be - and justifiably so - a big seller for them.
BUT!
This is not stop 1 in your search for amazing sound. This is stop 3-4.
Get your monitoring sorted, and your amp and DAC, and THEN buy this, because frankly, the better your system the more you'll get out of this.
I recently spent a few grand updating my work machine and so can't take the plunge on this today, or tomorrow, but as soon as I have a bit of spare cash, I'll be buying one. Maybe even 2.
Highly recommended.
Oh one last thing, I said I'd tell you how this worked... that was a bad choice on my part as I don't REALLY know how it works, and frankly I don't really care. It DOES work, that's the bottom line. It does the same thing on all my systems, and however it works is sort of beside the point IMO. Besides a quick google will turn up reviews with graphs and intense technical explanations... I could copy and paste them here for you, but I couldn't defend them, so what's the point?
Essentially though, it makes sure the USB signal your DAC is getting is as pure as possible. Which sounds mad, but the proof is in the pudding.
Disclaimers:
I was loaned the iGlavanic3.0 in exchange for a review. No one asked me to lie or suggested any talking points, nor did anyone from iFi review this before I posted it. I was given nothing in return for the review except the loan of the iGalvanic, which is packaged up and ready to - sadly - ship back to Karina and the rest of the lovely iFi folks. My opinion is that iFi makes extremely good gear for the price, no matter what price point you're looking at, and they are active on here and elsewhere online, making them an easy company to get support from. I have no issues recommending their gear to other audio pros.