Hitokiri
New Head-Fier
Hi
So I think this would make for an interesting topic.
A few years ago, if you wanted to correct some of the flaws, you would get when a DAC is connected directly to a PC, you would either buy a Sonore MicroRendu or UltraRendu. Later came the Uptone EtherRegen.
The second option was to either buy an Uptone or Intona USB isolator, which would decouple the DAC from the PC with galvanic isolation and also regenerate the USB signal.
There were obviously a few much more expensive products on the market and less popular or less expensive ones that weren't "audiophile-grade."
But now we also have a lot of network streamers (SMSL DP5, Volumio, HiFiBerry, etc.) which, contrary to Sonore and Uptone, have more outputs than just USB.
Then we also have digital interfaces (Singxer SU2, Gustard U18, etc.) which allow you to convert the USB signal into other digital outputs (I2S, BNC, AES, etc.). I am not sure if they provide galvanic isolation and if they regenerate the signal.
So, what solution do you guys think provides the best end-result in terms of sound quality? Is Intona still king in terms of raw performance, or has it now been surpassed by streamers and DDC?
So I think this would make for an interesting topic.
A few years ago, if you wanted to correct some of the flaws, you would get when a DAC is connected directly to a PC, you would either buy a Sonore MicroRendu or UltraRendu. Later came the Uptone EtherRegen.
The second option was to either buy an Uptone or Intona USB isolator, which would decouple the DAC from the PC with galvanic isolation and also regenerate the USB signal.
There were obviously a few much more expensive products on the market and less popular or less expensive ones that weren't "audiophile-grade."
But now we also have a lot of network streamers (SMSL DP5, Volumio, HiFiBerry, etc.) which, contrary to Sonore and Uptone, have more outputs than just USB.
Then we also have digital interfaces (Singxer SU2, Gustard U18, etc.) which allow you to convert the USB signal into other digital outputs (I2S, BNC, AES, etc.). I am not sure if they provide galvanic isolation and if they regenerate the signal.
So, what solution do you guys think provides the best end-result in terms of sound quality? Is Intona still king in terms of raw performance, or has it now been surpassed by streamers and DDC?