USB connection to DAC: multi stage improvement

@antigrunge2 Oh yes, I've been down that road. I previously had an LHY OCK-2S 10 MHz external clock (-119 dBc @ 1 Hz) for the UIP. It made a nominal improvement, which seemed impressive given being this meters the USB packet protocol itself and not the actual data bits (which is done within the DAC). I let it go after evaluating the Phoenix.

With respect to isolators, the consensus of opinion implies the Ti ISOUSB211 chipped devices (e.g. Jhoinrch, Synapse, Altor, etc.) tend to edge the ADUM chipsets by a slight margin, but the isolator chip itself is just one component, the supporting architecture contributing significantly to the overall result, and this is where they differ. I've also evaluated ADUM 4166 and JackAudio (Ti) isolators in both my main and desktop systems. I even bought a custom Ghent Audio USB breakout cable to power the isolator with external 5V (low-noise LPS) instead of using the source 5V bus. Indeed, these things can make significant improvements, again dependent largely upon the particular source and DAC.

@audphile1 

In my experience Roon is far away from top sound quality, at least compared to InnuOS Sense, an expeirience shared by many here. I also doubt that using wifi allows for best sound quality compared to fibre.

Each to their own.

@lanx0003 

Thank you for summarily dissing a 4+years effort to optimise my digital setup. It’s the sort of commentary that really adds no value but wholly ignores my arguments around clocking, PSU’s and the effect of different isolator chips.

You may deem it unitteligent, I prefer to use my ears in support of whatever intelligence I might have: doh!
 

I suggest a course in anger management

@antigrunge2  you are 100% correct on roon…but only prior to the major update they did at the end of april.
Roon sound quality was inferior to Aurender Conductor when used with Aurender N200 and I am sure its the case with Innuos as well.
This sound quality issue with roon is what drove me to try jplay. I like jplay a lot and it beat roon hands down. I stopped using Roon and was streaming strictly with Jplay.
But after the roon update I like what I’m hearing and I no longer detect any issues with sound quality. 

I don’t prioritize convenience over performance. Just so that we’re on the same page. I do like high quality equipment and the simplicity of my setup though. 

@ted_b 

You’ve been clearly down the same rabbit hole! What I found particularly surprising is how different the performance of the various components was depending on their position in the chain. So experimenting around the position between UIp and Phoenix may reveal more, although the better component typically should be nearer the dac. Fun and games…