[technobear]

As part of my experiments with iSilencer and iDefender this week, I have discovered that iPurifier2 takes a while to 'warm up'. When the system is cold, the iSilencer makes a difference but once the system is fully warmed, the iSilencer no longer makes a difference because the iPurifier2 is doing the job anyway. At least that's my best guess as to what is going on.

Incidentally, I have gained new respect for the Gemini cable during these tests.

 

[gr8soundz]

Incidentally, I have gained new respect for the Gemini cable during these tests.

+1
 
Some are so focused on jitter reducing and power cleaning adapters that they've forgotten to first use a good usb cable.
 
I have a Mercury cable and heard clear improvements with it. Adding a Jitterbug and iP2 further increased performance.
 
Shame usb is so noisy to begin with but there's currently no other option for higher rate DSD playback.
 

 

[stuck limo]

Please make sure to burn in the device. Also, the accommodation period takes a while. But once both of these things are done, you should be good! In any case, please do let us all know.

The most noticeable thing about this is its very clean sounding. That's the biggest difference I can tell so far (not that it sounded dirty before).

What is the recommended burn in time?

 

[admbr]

Could someone please help me understand what the iDefender and iSilencer do?

Do they stack with an iPurifier2 on a non-USB-powered DAC?

 

[Lohb]

Could someone please help me understand what the iDefender and iSilencer do?

Do they stack with an iPurifier2 on a non-USB-powered DAC?

Seemed to me they have split the function of iP2 into 2 devices.

 

[technobear]

Could someone please help me understand what the iDefender and iSilencer do?

Do they stack with an iPurifier2 on a non-USB-powered DAC?

They are inserted at the PC end, not the DAC end.

As far as I understand it so far, the iDefender cleans the USB power line, breaks the earth circuit from the PC to the DAC and additionally admits injection of clean power from an iPower 5V if desired.

The iSilencer cleans up the USB data signal by rebalancing and noise reduction. I don't think it does reclocking like the iPurifier2.

For the money, the iPurifier2 is a better solution.

So far, I have been able to detect no benefit from iDefender, with or without iPurifier2 and with or without the iPower 5V. I'm using an Acer Aspire V11 fanless laptop. I have tried the iFi blue cable, Kimber USB and Gemini. I can hear no difference with any of them when adding iDefender. (I can here differences between the cables though).

With the same fanless laptop, iSilencer did demonstrate a benefit in ease of listening/reduction of fatiguing treble but this benefit went away over the several hours of the session. That is not to say that iSilencer stopped working. The sound just improved anyway. I suspect this means that iPurifier2 takes a while to warm up and achieve its best performance. So the only benefit of iSilencer so far is to reduce the warm-up time to full system performance.

I have 2 iSilencer. Placing one in the unused USB socket on the laptop made no audible difference in this system.



After I have had a rearrange of my study setup, I will be trying all of this again with my desktop PC. This is an Acer X3990 with a Core i5, a noisy fan and far higher performance than the fanless laptop. This system also has an iPurifier2, micro iDSD and micro iCAN but uses a T5p instead of a T1. The T5p blocks out almost all the noise of the desktop PC so it's barely detectable. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[jagu]

Anyone compared Ipurifier 2 with the UpTone USB Regen? The obvious difference is that the Regen has external power I am thinking of replacing the Regen with Ipurifier 2. I also have the micro iDSD and a HRT Microstreamer and I like the portability Ipurifier offers.

 

[Lohb]

@iFi audio could you clarify why a premium USB cable would make a difference behind the iPurifier 2 vs a $1 one if the iP2 is "slapping all the bits into shape"....shouldn't it not matter ?

 

[technobear]

@iFi audio
could you clarify why a premium USB cable would make a difference behind the iPurifier 2 vs a $1 one if the iP2 is "slapping all the bits into shape"....shouldn't it not matter ?

This is an interesting question and one that I just happen to have been grappling with this week while evaluating iDefender and iSilencer.

What I have found is that initially (from cold) the better cables make a difference but as the iPurifier2 warms up and settles into its full performance, swapping cables makes less and less difference and ultimately none. Same goes for the iSilencer. I have yet to hear iDefender make a difference. Using an iPower 5V into Gemini instead of USB power also makes no audible difference.

I suspect that the original iPurifier tech in the iDSD is dealing with all the crap in the 5V power line so there is little more to be gained - certainly nothing that I can repeatably hear.

My overall summary would be buy iPurifier2 and forget the rest unless you are bothered how long the system takes to sound its best after switch on. The iSilencer is a relatively affordable extra that will get you there faster. Gemini on the other hand is very expensive and harder to justify.

 

[Lohb]

This is an interesting question and one that I just happen to have been grappling with this week while evaluating iDefender and iSilencer.

What I have found is that initially (from cold) the better cables make a difference but as the iPurifier2 warms up and settles into its full performance, swapping cables makes less and less difference and ultimately none. Same goes for the iSilencer. I have yet to hear iDefender make a difference. Using an iPower 5V into Gemini instead of USB power also makes no audible difference.

I suspect that the original iPurifier tech in the iDSD is dealing with all the crap in the 5V power line so there is little more to be gained - certainly nothing that I can repeatably hear.

My overall summary would be buy iPurifier2 and forget the rest unless you are bothered how long the system takes to sound its best after switch on. The iSilencer is a relatively affordable extra that will get you there faster. Gemini on the other hand is very expensive and harder to justify.

Any talk of warm-up means there must be a cap or supecap inside ?

 

[technobear]

Any talk of warm-up means there must be a cap or supecap inside ?

"A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing"

Or to put it more concisely: "No".

 

[Lohb]

"A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing"

Or to put it more concisely: "No".

Exactly the kind of snooty comment I'd expect from an EE.
 
Kind of answer that puts off so many lurkers across this forum from actually joining and asking their stupid questions....

 

[technobear]

"A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing"


Or to put it more concisely: "No".

Exactly the kind of snooty comment I'd expect from an EE.

Kind of answer that puts off so many lurkers across this forum from actually joining and asking their stupid questions....

You didn't ask a question. You made an erroneous statement of cause and effect and then stuck a question mark at the end of it.

I'm afraid I don't know any EE's (and no, I'm not one either).

 

[stuck limo]

My overall summary would be buy iPurifier2 and forget the rest unless you are bothered how long the system takes to sound its best after switch on. The iSilencer is a relatively affordable extra that will get you there faster. Gemini on the other hand is very expensive and harder to justify.

 
Would you recommend getting anything like a Jitterbug or just ignoring it? Wouldn't an iPurifier2 be doing essentially the same thing as a Jitterbug?

 

[Lohb]

   
Would you recommend getting anything like a Jitterbug or just ignoring it? Wouldn't an iPurifier2 be doing essentially the same thing as a Jitterbug?

I sold out my jitterbug already - in my set-up it made the treble bright/brittle.