[richpjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim D It's a ground loop.

I kinda figured that, but had never noticed it before on anything else in my office.

 

[Tim D]

You can verify it by trying the laptop again on battery supply. Also ground loop might affect some amps and not others. Probably a very poor generalization, but I find that amps that run off dedicated DC power supplies tend to have a little more immunity.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT You can also try one of these special USB cables that drag power from 2 USB ports. I have one supplied with my Speedzter 2.5 HDD external enclosure.

Externally powered usb hub such as one from Belkin would be another option.

Cheers.

 

[devwild]

I posted my EB01/MicroDAC impressions in a new thread because of the level of detail, and included some comments from this thread so hopefully it will be a decent resource.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1933781

 

[manhattanproj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim D Course if you get a self-powered USB hub that is of high quality (and is ground isolated from the host), you get flexibility in perhaps upgrading its power supply. On the otherhand if it isn't ground isolated you have potential for nasty ground loop issues (which is the same if the usb unit itself was self-powered).

what does it mean when you say ground isolated? and what is ground loop?

can anyone explain please? in this thread or pm me? thx much.

 

[digitalmind]

Hmm, anyone in the position to compare the Firestone Fubar II and the Ensemble? Would be interested in what would be considered "better".

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manhattanproj what does it mean when you say ground isolated? and what is ground loop? can anyone explain please? in this thread or pm me? thx much.

This link has some info on your question
http://www.xitel.com/product_gli.htm

 

[richpjr]

What does a product like that do to your sound quality?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by richpjr What does a product like that do to your sound quality?

I just use 2 prong adapter to lift the ground.

 

[richpjr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT I just use 2 prong adapter to lift the ground.

Nice suggestion - I plugged one onto my amp and now the hum is gone.

 

[kank_39]

Here's a pretty thorough review of the silverstone eb01..

http://www.hardware.no/tester/lyd/si...ensemble/23128

Only problem.. It's in norwegian

but some of graphical results are pretty impressive when it's put up shoulder to shoulder with Creative's X-fi.

Now all we need now is someone who speaks norwegian to help us with the translation.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kank_39 Here's a pretty thorough review of the silverstone eb01..

Interesting that the crosstalk was that low considering what I heard, perhaps it's more of a presentation issue. I wonder how the microdac would place on that chart with their gear.

 

[tdogzthmn]

I just got one of these today and from first impression it sounds very good for the money. It gives a neutral presentation that added some realism to my music. Build quality is very good, it surprised me by how solid it feels. I will give more impressions as I get better acquainted over the following week.

 

[ROBSCIX]

I tested the Silverstone Ensemble EB-01 and EB02 awhile back and I thought it was a very good system for the price. The build quality is top notch for components of this price range.