[iFi audio]

Unfortunately, the music stopped when my sub amp oscillated on its power. Its power cord is prone to getting loose. Nothing was shutdown, just music was interrupted while the isolation was full. I'll keep my eyes on different settings vs light switching. No matter what, the SQ has changed to my liking, a lot.

From our experience, this kind of a situation suggests an issue with local earth. It may be worth getting an electrician to perform a ground impedance test.

If the equipment downstream of the iGalvanic 3.0 lacks earth connections (via 3-prong mains connections) it may help to add our Groundhog.

Worst comes to worth, it may be necessary to bridge each offending switch with a snubber (single component, e.g. Wima part #SNFPT021007BD2) to prevent the turn on/off surges propagating and unlocking the system.

 

[thuanb]

Thanks for your input. If Grounghog, I'm not sure how to use it.

 

[PPkiller]

any chance anyone heard both igvalanic and isoregen(with lps-1)? what's ur experience like?

 

[iFi audio]

The iGalvawe have extended the bundle time until the 10th of September!

In addition, iGalvanic3.0 is now officially in our on-site portfolio, please take a look here:

https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-igalvanic3-0/

And here's our promotional vid:



And for those who think the tune used in our vid sounds familiar, the theme music is "Weekend in Tattoine" by the Unicorn Heads.

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks for your input. If Grounghog, I'm not sure how to use it.

Please see here:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-groundhog-the-official-thread.846888/

...and here:

https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-groundhog/

Grounding/Earthing is a big issue not only in audio systems.

The requirements of electrical safety and Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) combined with industry standard A/V connections (and industry standard computers thrown in the mix) create many potential problems.

Some of these problems will be highly dependent on other connected equipment and possibly even the actual mains system.

For systems where there is no earth (ground to our US friends) is present, often adding one can help resolve a wide range of issues.



For systems where multiple earth connections cause issues, iFi have a range of solutions that break the resulting ground loops, including but not limited to the iGalvanic 3.0.

It may best to open a support ticket, describing your full system in complete detail (including if earth connections are present on equipment and if the mains cable has been checked to make sure the earth is connected). Then our Techs can have a look and make suggestions.

We have a trouble shooting guide specific to trouble-shooting noisy systems, but it can give a starting point to tracking other problems too:

https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/data/Why does my audio system hum_.pdf

 

[alpha421]

Will this be available in black? Would love to have it match my iDSD BL.

 

[PPkiller]

looking at the url.. will there be a... micro igalvanic?

 

[iFi audio]

Will this be available in black? Would love to have it match my iDSD BL.

Black is reserved for products tweaked to the roof. We were able to do that with iDSD, but iGalvanic3.0 is just out. It'll take us some time to make it better than it currently is.

 

[Maelob]

I am planning to get a Retro-50- how should I connect the I defender to the galvanic upstream or downstream?

 

[iFi audio]

I am planning to get a Retro-50- how should I connect the I defender to the galvanic upstream or downstream?

Please take a look at our post #153, located here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-igalvanic3-0-the-holy-grail-of-audio.839638/page-11

We've covered several iGalvanic3.0 and iDefender3.0 interaction scenarios there.

 

[PPkiller]

just gotten the bundle from my local distributor.

I have a question, is it normal for it to run hot?

 

[Zachik]

The iGalvawe have extended the bundle time until the 10th of September!

In addition, iGalvanic3.0 is now officially in our on-site portfolio, please take a look here:

https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-igalvanic3-0/

And here's our promotional vid:



And for those who think the tune used in our vid sounds familiar, the theme music is "Weekend in Tattoine" by the Unicorn Heads.

Looking on Amazon, as well as couple other US retailers / resellers from your list - I could NOT find a way to order the bundle. Some have all items but the total is the same as all added (approx. $450), some do not list iGalvanic (yet), and some have the iGalvanic but not the iDefender or iPower...
@iFi audio - unfortunately, you're not making it easy for your patient customers.

 

[GHoldridge]

Been using an iGalvanic now for 2 days. It breathed some new life into an iDAC2 that I use at work. Non-upsampled Redbook files now sound noticeably better. I was quite skeptical that the improvement would be this significant. But so far, the iGalvanic has made a believer out of me.

iFi, can you look at this? It seems the iDAC2 is only connecting at USB2 speeds. I have confirmed this also happens when I plug it directly into the mac. And I also have a second iDAC2 at home, and it also connects at no higher than USB2 speeds, even though it has a USB3 connector.

To be clear, the cable comes right out of the Mac Pro, to the iGalvanic3.0 (using a USB3 cable), then another USB3 cable between the iGalvanic3.0 and the iDAC2. I have version 5.2a of the firmware installed on both iDAC2s.

I'm thinking Product ID "0x8113" is the iGalvanic3.0 and Product ID "0x8112" is the iDAC2.

@Sev Bordas iFi products only have USB 3.0 sockets but still use USB 2.0. However 3.0 sockets have better signal integrity.

I agree with what you're saying based on my own experience. But, for example, the marketing and technical literature that iFI provides for the iDAC2 does not state this explicitly. And, it would seem that the iGalvanic3.0 does indeed support USB3 at the input. Something between the iGalvanic3.0 and the iDAC2 is negotiating USB2 speed. It would be extremely helpful if iFI could clear up the confusion and ambiguity.

All of ifi products that are using usb 3.0 claim the 5Gbps speed, which is only reached by actually being 3.0 and not just a connector. There would be no point in just using a usb 3.0 connector unless you were wiring something for the added amps that can be supplied. I would think that would be considered false advertisement pretty sure that's not the case though. Something else has to be going on. Are you sure the cable is really usb 3.0? Have you tried another usb 3.0 cable to rule out the first one just being faulty? I don't know macs very well but at least on windows it could be usb 3.0 isn't on in bios and the driver not being installed not sure if that applies.

 

[Sev Bordas]

All of ifi products that are using usb 3.0 claim the 5Gbps speed, which is only reached by actually being 3.0 and not just a connector. There would be no point in just using a usb 3.0 connector unless you were wiring something for the added amps that can be supplied. I would think that would be considered false advertisement pretty sure that's not the case though. Something else has to be going on. Are you sure the cable is really usb 3.0? Have you tried another usb 3.0 cable to rule out the first one just being faulty? I don't know macs very well but at least on windows it could be usb 3.0 isn't on in bios and the driver not being installed not sure if that applies.

I've noticed this ever since the iDSD Nano and iDAC2 have been released (I have both).

They connect at USB2 speed using a USB3 cable. Here's a simpler example, with an iDAC2 plugged directly into a Mac Mini running El Capitan (USB3 cable of course and the Mac is USB3 capable):

As you can see, it's connecting at max USB2 speed. I've tried this on different computers (also different "USB3" DACs, like the iDAC2 and iDSD Nano) and USB3 cables, and it's always the same: The computer thinks the DAC is a USB2 device.

I thought it was odd that @iFi audio didn't respond to this. Maybe they didn't notice? I'm certainly looking forward to some clarification.

Important note: The iGalvanic is the exception. It does indeed connect at USB3 speed.

EDIT: I was curious, so I downloaded a diagnostic app for Windows called "USBDeview". I updated to the latest iFi driver (version 3.2), plugged in the iDAC2 using a USB3 cable (the motherboard is a USB3 motherboard and I use USB3 devices all the time). After installing the new driver, plugging in the iDAC2, and launching "USBDeview", I see that on Windows, the iDAC2 also reports as a USB2 device.

Those of you wanting to try this for yourself can download USBDeview here.

 

[iFi audio]

All of ifi products that are using usb 3.0 claim the 5Gbps speed, which is only reached by actually being 3.0 and not just a connector. There would be no point in just using a usb 3.0 connector unless you were wiring something for the added amps that can be supplied. I would think that would be considered false advertisement pretty sure that's not the case though. Something else has to be going on. Are you sure the cable is really usb 3.0? Have you tried another usb 3.0 cable to rule out the first one just being faulty? I don't know macs very well but at least on windows it could be usb 3.0 isn't on in bios and the driver not being installed not sure if that applies.

USB 3.0 includes USB 2.0 & USB 1.1 as part of the specification, hence it will work 100% with any USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 device and cable, naturally at USB 2.0 & USB 1.1 speeds.

USB 2.0 & 1.1 is one distinct subsystem in the chipsets while USB 3.0 is very different and in effect is another parallel system.

USB standards however require USB 2.0/1.1 to be present and - for a SuperSpeed device - to connect it first via USB 2.0/1.1 before switching to USB 3.0.



According to USB standards, there is no requirement to have the USB 3.0 pins connected and/or active on a downstream device that needs to work at USB 2.0 Speeds.

And USB 3.0 connectors are significantly higher quality and so are USB 3.0 cables compared to USB 2.0. It's also important to know that USB 3.0 cables can only be used with devices having a USB 3.0 type B socket, otherwise they will not fit.

All iFi DAC's use the USB 2.0 portion of the USB 3.0 connections and connect at USB 2.0 speeds.

Hopefully all is clear now.