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USB Galvanic Isolation - Is that really necessary?
Mar 1, 2012 at 2:43 PM Post #46 of 67
Anyone tried that new dongle from Firestone Audio? http://www.firestone-audio.eu/shop/products/allproductslisted/greenkey.php
 
Also available in Oz: http://www.wickeddigital.com.au/index.php/shop-by-category-find-a-product-type/product/view/5/282
 
The european price is quite steep, but at least they provide a 2 weeks money-back period...I'll wait to see the price at their US reseller as I'm not too keen on paying european VAT when I can have a friend shipping it to me in a jiffy bag declared as "gift" ^^
 
Oleg has been promising an audiophile grade USB isolator for a while now, but from what the last comments in this link are stating this is still not going to happen anytime soon: http://www.circuitsathome.com/mcu/usb/linear-power-supply-on-usb-isolator-board
 
All the other USB isolation dongles I've seen were not specifically meant for audiophile use, more like hospital/industrial use...and yes, they all sounded quite different from each other to my ears. And apparently the XMOS chipset can still work through ADuM4160, it will only be limited to lowish sample rates...which could easily end up being an acceptable compromise if the isolator really provides a substantial SQ improvement
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Mar 2, 2012 at 8:29 AM Post #48 of 67
using a male/male adapter between the computer and the USB device doesn't sound too convenient 
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but then again, you'd have to compare which one would sound better between a USB cable and a S/PDIF cable....Marco from m2tech prefers S/PDIF, as he made the Hiface w/ a male A connector and confirmed to me by email that he doesn't like USB cables.
 
Mar 2, 2012 at 5:07 PM Post #50 of 67


Quote:
brainfood said:
Anyone tried dropping the USB cable altogether?   Interesting discussion going on here:
 
http://jplay.eu/forum/computer-audio/clean-usb-out-of-pc/page-2/#p3979
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Yeah, it is common actually, I use a small USB A/B adapter,IIRC for some of my components like a converter and isolator.
There are quite a few different adapters you can piece together to take the cables out of the equation and generally it is a good idea.  BCN to S/PDIF, RCA male to male. USB A/B...they are all handy adapters to have around.
 
Mar 2, 2012 at 6:47 PM Post #51 of 67
 
Quote:
brainfood said:
Was thinking the same but it's doable, I suppose  
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Well, the Hiface eliminates the USB cable and requires a (pricey) S/PDIF cable, the Audiophileo went the complete opposite way....it makes far more sense to use a USB cable instead of S/PDIF IMHO. Both will catch intereferences and add jitter, but async USB has better timings than the terribly obsolete S/PDIF slave mode protocol.
 
I've also read in your link that the Audiophileo still works perfectly through ADuM4160, the Hiface very much does not 
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Mar 2, 2012 at 11:35 PM Post #52 of 67
That is simple enough also, if you want to go with a longer USB, grab a male to male RCA adapter and use a Male A to female A USB cable.  This would give you the longer USB and no S/Pdif cable if that is what you want.
 
 
 
Mar 4, 2012 at 6:56 AM Post #53 of 67


Quote:
leeperry said:
 

Well, the Hiface eliminates the USB cable and requires a (pricey) S/PDIF cable, the Audiophileo went the complete opposite way....it makes far more sense to use a USB cable instead of S/PDIF IMHO. Both will catch intereferences and add jitter, but async USB has better timings than the terribly obsolete S/PDIF slave mode protocol.
 
I've also read in your link that the Audiophileo still works perfectly through ADuM4160, the Hiface very much does not 
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Anyhow, talk of the town over on that forum seems to be Adnaco extenders:
 
http://jplay.eu/forum/computer-audio/specification-for-a-high-end-dedicated-audio-pc/page-12/#p3928
 
http://www.adnaco.com/products/s3a/
 
Mar 4, 2012 at 8:48 AM Post #54 of 67
humm, this forum is the next step above computeraudiophile.com seriously...HDD enclosures sounding different, silver plated SATA cables...it reminds me of that link that said that the sound of the PC was different depending on what material it was sitting on(the guy seemed to prefer a nice wooden floor as you would expect).
 
USB optical isolation is nothing new but 1) it's expensive 2) it will add tremendous amounts of jitter and signal distortion....who could possibly want to go toslink USB?
 
Mar 4, 2012 at 12:27 PM Post #55 of 67


Quote:
leeperry said:
humm, this forum is the next step above computeraudiophile.com seriously...HDD enclosures sounding different, silver plated SATA cables...it reminds me of that link that said that the sound of the PC was different depending on what material it was sitting on(the guy seemed to prefer a nice wooden floor as you would expect).
 
USB optical isolation is nothing new but 1) it's expensive 2) it will add tremendous amounts of jitter and signal distortion....would could possibly want to go toslink USB?
Click to expand...



What do you find to be the best price/performance USB isolator? Plain USB, no optical, I mean.
 
Mar 4, 2012 at 12:36 PM Post #56 of 67
Well, I'm tempted to try that new dongle from Firestone Audio, they know what sounds good IME. And at least it was specifically meant for audiophile use.
 
Mar 4, 2012 at 1:13 PM Post #57 of 67
Is the circuit design that different if it's used for different scenarios?
 
Mar 4, 2012 at 4:16 PM Post #59 of 67


Quote:
roller said:
What do you find to be the best price/performance USB isolator? Plain USB, no optical, I mean.
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What do you need just a straight isolator, or do you want other features like converter, or reclocker?
For straight isolators you can get the circuits@home, Olimex, amg unit or others.  On the other side you get the new FSA unit, Teralink X2, HiFace or a few others.
For example, the X2, offers, USB input, can be powered from the bus or from an external source and offers BNC, Coax and optical.
USB technology and isolation as it applies to audio use is a big topic in itself.  Makes for some great reading though!
 
 
 
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