[hmscott]

Thats just too confusing and what?

75$ jitterbugs and 50$ silencers looks like the price point your at. been there done that. Look to my sig for what i have or don't have. Chord line of DAC desktops all have galvanized HD ports. The problem is you sound like you are looking for patch jobs for your noise, as opposed to heavy lifting and expense of solving the problem.

It looks like you are showing off your wallet, not providing helpful solutions that we can afford.

We are where we are financially, you are elsewhere.

Why are you sticking your snoot in here telling us we need to spend thousands more than we can afford?

That is more than a little insensitive to the reality most people face in life.

 

[Whazzzup]

Ok, jitterbug from audio quest , try it. sorry if my experience is offending.

 

[hmscott]

Ok, jitterbug from audio quest , try it. sorry if my experience is offending.

NP, does the Jitterbug remove the GPU noise? - break the connection for the USB power/ground pair? I don't think so.

And, of the two - between the iDefender+ and the iSilencer+, for our GPU buzz situation, the iDefender+ interruption of the USB power/ground pair functionality is far more helpful.

As I understand it the Audioquest Jitterbug does similar to what the older (Gray Plastic) iSilencer does, but ifi has upgraded the components and came out with the (Black Plastic) iSilencer+

I am happy right now with the ifi iSilencer+, and I am done playing with noise reduction for a while as I've gotten rid of all audible noise.

The noise mitigations in my equipment chain have revealed a very dark silence in my headphone/IEM audio, and while I do realize audible improvements can still be made, I'm happy enough using my time to listen to music instead.

 

[hmscott]

You have PMs

With permission, here the iFi audio DM's I found helpful:

Spoiler: Click to view

And, a 2nd round...

Thank you @iFi audio

 

[iFi audio]

The noise on the PC USB data lines which can affect the digital signal, is cleaned up by the iSilencer - which doesn't remove the noise from the USB power/ground pair - is that correct @iFi audio ? Either way the iDefender+ only interrupts the power/ground signal pair of the USB cable which doesn't affect the data lines.

Please take a look at this document: https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Tech-note-iFi-audio-iDefender_iSilencer_Mar2020.pdf

Differences between our iSilencer and iDefender are nicely explained there

 

[hmscott]

Hey all, so I recently purchased a Toppic D30 dac + valhalla 2 + dt1990 headphones setup.

I noticed that whenever the gpu is running, I get low pitched buzzing noise. I hear this is a common thing - but I can't work out how to fix it - here's what I've tried.

1. Computer -> Dac (via USB) -> amp -> headphones = buzzing noise
2. Computer -> Dac (via optical) -> amp -> Headphones = buzzing noise
3. Computer -> amp (via 3.5mm out on computer -> Headphones = buzzing noise
4. Computer - > HEadphones (via 3.5mm out on computer = no buzzing at all
5. Computer -> A different, cheap 5.1 channel amp (via optical) -> Bookshelf speakers = no buzzing at all --- BUT if the amp and dac are turned on and connected to the computer - they still receive buzz even though the audio is going to the bookshelf speakers - but if I switch off the DAC - then there's no noise.

I've tried plugging everything into the same power outlet - no help
I've tried creating distance from the amp/dac and the computer - no help
There aren't any wireless items in the area - and also this is directly related to gpu usage anyway

It seems like some kind of static coming directly through ANY cable, including optical. I can't for hte LIFE of me work this out - any help would be SUPER appreciated.

Here is a video demonstrating the iFi iDefender+ effect on getting rid of the GPU buzz. I skipped ahead past the warm-up right to before he demonstates the iDefender+ working:

ifi iDefender 3.0 Review & Demo: Breaking a GPU Noise Ground Loop

 

[iFi audio]

Here is a video demonstrating the iFi iDefender+ effect on getting rid of the GPU buzz. I skipped ahead past the warm-up right to before he demonstates the iDefender+ working:

ifi iDefender 3.0 Review & Demo: Breaking a GPU Noise Ground Loop

Thanks!

 

[hmscott]

Thanks!

Thank you, I really appreciate the help you provide in the forums.

 

[iFi audio]

Thank you, I really appreciate the help you provide in the forums.

@Sebastien Chiu and I try to do our best, thanks!

 

[valkyrieorion]

I have an issue similar to this with a Fiio K5 pro but with the rca output to my powered triangle speakers. No matter what USB, optical I can hear the coil whine in the speakers and headphones. As soon as I unplug any rca cable from the triangle speaker it stops and is fine. I wonder if the rca input is a problem since it has a switch to change it to a phone inout also. Optical through the speakers DAC has no issue.

 

[hmscott]

I have an issue similar to this with a Fiio K5 pro but with the rca output to my powered triangle speakers. No matter what USB, optical I can hear the coil whine in the speakers and headphones. As soon as I unplug any rca cable from the triangle speaker it stops and is fine. I wonder if the rca input is a problem since it has a switch to change it to a phone inout also. Optical through the speakers DAC has no issue.

My PC motherboard didn't have an Optical / Coax output, so I couldn't switch from USB. Fortunately my Topping D90 MQA DAC and Topping A90 headphone AMP both have XLR output/inputs, so I bought XLR cables to use instead of RCA connections, and that seemed to "fix" the PC noise problem at the time. The XLR balanced connections "canceled out" the noise that was still being passed from my PC.

Your K5 Pro doesn't have an XLR output, and IDK if your speakers have an XLR input. Some people have successfully done an RCA=>XLR cable and that also cancels the noise. If your speakers have XLR inputs it might be worth a try.

And, you could insert an ifi iDefender+ between your PC (at the PC end) and your K5 Pro, to interrupt the USB power/ground lines and stop the PC induced noise at the source:
https://www.amazon.com/iFi-iDefender-External-Ground-Eliminator/dp/B0849J33T9

The iDefender+ has a USB-C power input and you can provide your own "clean" USB power to replace the PC USB power if you have a DAC that needs USB power to function.

If you feel comfortable hacking cables, find the power/ground pair and cut a gap in those wires, as long as the K5 Pro/DAC isn't being powered by your PC USB power

 

[redrol]

I personally use optical SPDIF which breaks the ground loop. Good enough for my uses.

 

[Slogra]

Yes, optical was the solution for me as well.
Appearantly it does not work for the ts.
I would start unplugging each device one by one to find which one causes the noise. I had issues with a monitor and keyboard in the past.

 

[hmscott]

I have an issue similar to this with a Fiio K5 pro but with the rca output to my powered triangle speakers. No matter what USB, optical I can hear the coil whine in the speakers and headphones. As soon as I unplug any rca cable from the triangle speaker it stops and is fine. I wonder if the rca input is a problem since it has a switch to change it to a phone inout also. Optical through the speakers DAC has no issue.

Here are the ready made cables I used for RCA/XLR interconnects between my D90 and A90, both cables use Mogami 2534 Quad Star shielding:

1 Foot – Quad Balanced Microphone Cable Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Neutrik NC3MXX-B Male & NC3FXX-B Female XLR Plugs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WU1BP10

1 Foot – Directional Quad High-Definition Audio Interconnect Cable Pair Custom Made by WORLDS BEST CABLES – Using Mogami 2534 Wire and Amphenol ACPR Die-Cast, Gold Plated RCA Connectors
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ALHTVMO

WBC also have longer lengths. The RCA cables come as pairs, but the XLR cables required 2x to be purchased to make a pair. WBC also makes other configurations of cable builds using other wire makes and other connector makes/models. Check out WBC's Storefront for their varieties of pre-made cable builds.

WBC provides access to build custom cables per your specification if WBC doesn't already have a pre-made cable available.

I worked with WBC to create the specification for 3.5mm to Y Adapter 2x RCA cables to provide EMI/RFI shielding to connect from a 3.5mm audio output (DAPs/Radio/Phone/etc) to the RCA inputs on my A90/TA-20 using the smaller diameter Quad Star 2893 cable, with specific cable and Y split build lengths and connectors:

Mogami 2893 - (NYS231BG)(ACPL-CRD + ACPL-CBK) - 2ft 9in + [2x 3in] - Directional ... $22.95
Mogami 2893 - (NYS231BG)(ACPL-CRD + ACPL-CBK) - 5ft 9in + [2x 3in] - Directional ... $37.95
Total: $60.90

If you need a WBC custom cable now you can email them through "Ask a Question" on their Amazon Store Seller Profile to start the process.

I have already tried several highly rated cables for the 3.5mm to RCA role, but while each higher costing cable provided better EMI/RFI rejection, they all failed to get rid of all of the noise. I will update here after I receive and test the WBC custom cable.

I ran into the same thing when I was testing RCA cables, only the WBC Star Quad Mogami cables rejected all of the noise. WBC uses a lifted Shield at the destination, connected shield at the source method to increase EMI/RFI noise rejection over the shielding / twisted pair configuration alone. Pay attention to the instructions to connect the Flagged end to the source and the other end to the destination for the highest noise rejection.

Again, replacing RCA / USB cables wasn't enough to stop the PC USB power injected noise, I still need an ifi iDefender+ on each USB to DAC connection. Each noise path needs to be mitigated.

Have fun

 

[iFi audio]

The iDefender+ has a USB-C power input and you can provide your own "clean" USB power to replace the PC USB power if you have a DAC that needs USB power to function.

Thanks for mentioning our iDefender+. I can confirm that being free from a PC's USB power in many cases results in a noticeable sound quality increase. Although iDefender+ was designed primarily to break ground loops, we recommend it as a way for improving performance of USB-powered DACs as well. To do that one would have to also get a really quiet PSU, though