[GoldenSound]

What isolator do you use between PC and DAC?

Intona 7055-C

 

[povidlo]

Intona 7055-C

Thanks.

I ordered new SMSL PO100 PRO DDC on Black Friday to try feeding D90SE through I2S input instead of connecting directly through PC/tablet USB.

Would isolator be helpful at all in such scenario if placed between PC and DDC?

 

[GoldenSound]

Thanks.

I ordered new SMSL PO100 PRO DDC on Black Friday to try feeding D90SE through I2S input instead of connecting directly through PC/tablet USB.

Would isolator be helpful at all in such scenario if placed between PC and DDC?

Potentially as the PO100 does not have any internal galvanic isolation.

Many higher end DDCs do though.
Also, worth noting that I2S itself isn't automatically better than USB. And with I2S the clock signal is provided by the digital source. This means that the quality of the DDC has a direct and measurable impact on the jitter performance of the DAC.

It's likely that the PO100 Pro will have poorer jitter than the D90SE's internal clocks and so you may get no improvement, or a degradation in performance

 

[povidlo]

Potentially as the PO100 does not have any internal galvanic isolation.

Many higher end DDCs do though.
Also, worth noting that I2S itself isn't automatically better than USB. And with I2S the clock signal is provided by the digital source. This means that the quality of the DDC has a direct and measurable impact on the jitter performance of the DAC.

It's likely that the PO100 Pro will have poorer jitter than the D90SE's internal clocks and so you may get no improvement, or a degradation in performance

Much appreciated. Isolator aside, does PO100 PRO having newer (better?) XMOS USB chip than D90SE might contribute to improvement in performance if that's what's processing PC signal first?

 

[barato]

What are you hoping to achieve with the PO100?

You realise the USB interface inside PO100 and D90SE are essentially the exact same thing? Both use XMOS chips to receive USB data and generate i2s signals for the DAC only with PO100 it also requires a HDMI interface to transmit to the DAC (adding jitter/noise) as i2s is not designed to transmitted over any kind of distance.

The newer XMOS chip has more processing power, this is not going to have any impact on audio playback quality.

Simply adding isolator to the D90SE is logically the best thing you could do.

 

[povidlo]

What are you hoping to achieve with the PO100?

You realise the USB interface inside PO100 and D90SE are essentially the exact same thing? Both use XMOS chips to receive USB data and generate i2s signals for the DAC only with PO100 it also requires a HDMI interface to transmit to the DAC (adding jitter/noise) as i2s is not designed to transmitted over any kind of distance.

The newer XMOS chip has more processing power, this is not going to have any impact on audio playback quality.

Simply adding isolator to the D90SE is logically the best thing you could do.

Thanks. There's no audible issue that I can perceive with D90SE USB input. I just wanted to try I2S input since some have sad it might sound better than USB input. Based on what you guys are stating, I will likely be disappointed but I will find out for myself.

I'm interested in testing an isolator as well based on provided feedback. For same reason really: just to see if there might be audible improvement in sound quality at all vs. my existing setup. I have original Jitterbug but I don't think it's effective based on previous experience. Good to know about premium German unit shared above. I might also consider Topping HS01 which was measured well by prof .

 

[killthrash]

Anyone have an aftermarket USB cable recommendation for the D90? I'm seeing cables between $10 and $10,000. lol, not sure what a decent value would be.

 

[Prashant18]

Anyone have an aftermarket USB cable recommendation for the D90? I'm seeing cables between $10 and $10,000. lol, not sure what a decent value would be.

You can try below cable, pretty decent for the money. https://www.pangeaaudio.com/Pangea-Audio-Premier-SE-USB-cable

 

[MikeO3]

Anyone have an aftermarket USB cable recommendation for the D90? I'm seeing cables between $10 and $10,000. lol, not sure what a decent value would be.

I have been happy with the 3m Audio Quest Cinnamon variant.

 

[killthrash]

I have been happy with the 3m Audio Quest Cinnamon variant.

Nice! I'll check it out. Thx!

 

[martin778]

I did some comparisons and found the AQ Diamond USB to sound the most detailed (only compared with the Cinnamon) but at multiple the price so in the end not really worth it.
I'd give the new Supra Excalibur USB a go. Have one here but haven't done any comparisons as I've sold the other cables but it's a solid, well built cable.

 

[Nada]

If you want to improve the USB quality, you can try different cables and hope they do something, although how they make a difference isn't clear, or buy an Intona and know your $ are getting a well engineered device.

 

[jlemaster1957]

I did some comparisons and found the AQ Diamond USB to sound the most detailed (only compared with the Cinnamon) but at multiple the price so in the end not really worth it.
I'd give the new Supra Excalibur USB a go. Have one here but haven't done any comparisons as I've sold the other cables but it's a solid, well built cable.

I use Audio Sensibility Statement Silver, which I found pairs well with my D90SE and IFi micro iDSD Signature- better background and micro-dynamics imo (cp to stock USB out of my Optical Rendu).

 

[Nada]

better background and micro-dynamics imo (cp to stock USB out of my Optical Rendu).

I wonder how a USB cable can do that? Any ideas?

After all the primary job of a USB cable is just transmitting data into a cache at the DAC. Its very rare packets get lost. It's pretty hard to achieve data loss without a heroically bad USB cable. Funnily enough, the out of Spec USB cables are usually very cheap Chinese or very expensive audiophile USB designs. Particular concerning are silver cabled USB wiring, subject to oxidation and fatigue cracks.

An obvious way an expensive cable can sound better is placebo effects. Its amazing how spending hundreds of dollars makes the new purchase sound great. Have you tried doing a blinded trial?

USB can sound bad compare to TOSLINK with some PCs. That implies an electrical isolation issue. If needing to throw hundreds of bucks at the problem, rather than sinking it in an out of spec cable or a fancy audiophile PC its more rationale to buy an Intona. Industrial standard USB isolation in one little box. No LPS needed. No running costs. Super reliable. Good measurements to show it works. Might even sound good. After all, it does cost hundreds of bucks

 

[jlemaster1957]

I wonder how a USB cable can do that? Any ideas?

After all the primary job of a USB cable is just transmitting data into a cache at the DAC. Its very rare packets get lost. It's pretty hard to achieve data loss without a heroically bad USB cable. Funnily enough, the out of Spec USB cables are usually very cheap Chinese or very expensive audiophile USB designs. Particular concerning are silver cabled USB wiring, subject to oxidation and fatigue cracks.

An obvious way an expensive cable can sound better is placebo effects. Its amazing how spending hundreds of dollars makes the new purchase sound great. Have you tried doing a blinded trial?

USB can sound bad compare to TOSLINK with some PCs. That implies an electrical isolation issue. If needing to throw hundreds of bucks at the problem, rather than sinking it in an out of spec cable or a fancy audiophile PC its more rationale to buy an Intona. Industrial standard USB isolation in one little box. No LPS needed. No running costs. Super reliable. Good measurements to show it works. Might even sound good. After all, it does cost hundreds of bucks

Thanks for the recommendation I will consider that. Happy Holidays!