Doesn’t matter what anyone thinks or whether or not what you did is really necessary or could have been accomplished by other means. If it sounds good to you and makes you happy, awesome!
USB connection to DAC: multi stage improvement
In my setup (Innuos Zenith Mk3, Antelope Zodiac Platinum with Sean Jacobs DC3/4 and Antelope Audiophile clock) sequential addition of decrapifiers has lead to increasing transparency, dynamics and soundstage depth.
My chain now reads like this
ZenithMk3->Singxer UIP->JHoinrich Isolator RH07b->IFi USB iPurifier3->LHY UIP2.0 Pro->Intona7054b->Zodiac Platinum
The Singxer is powered by Sean Jacobs DC3/4, The Lhy is reclocked by the Antelope clock
Of particular note: this is the best result of trying every conceivable permutation.
In terms of overall impact:
1. reclocking the LHY using the same clock on DAC and upstream Etherregen
2. introducing galvanic insulation after each powered device.
3. using isolator equipment with different chips at each stage.
i have learned the hard way that fighting ground level noise, RFI/EMI and other network noise is a gradual rather than binary solution at each step and that in digital audio ‘less is more’ doesn‘t apply as it does in the analogue section. Equally the whole bits are bits debate seems churlish against this background
- ...
- 26 posts total
Every USB interface is an opportunity for impedance issues that can ultimately increase jitter. Between a high quality streamer and a DAC with an optimized USB input, the best number of unnecessary USB interfaces is probably zero. I am certainly not invalidating the benefits you hear, just saying there are reasons the approach may not work for everyone. |
“in digital audio ‘less is more’ doesn‘t apply” In digital streaming, I’ve found that ‘less is more’ absolutely does apply. My experience has shown that focusing on fewer, higher-quality components yields far better results than piling on endless tweaks. You can tweak every stage of the chain, but beyond a point, those additions often do more harm to the sound than provide any meaningful improvement. Getting rid of USB and switching to a DAC with Ethernet card was the biggest improvement over a setup that included a Aurender N20 ➡️ EMM Labs DA2. My digital streaming setup: Apple Router → Matrix Audio SI-1 → Streamer (Merging DAC+clock+power supply) using a pair of FTA Métis LAN cables. |
Berkeley Audio has an interesting take on this....these guys did the original work and key developers of the HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) process. They felt USB should not be an inherent "built-in" function of a DAC: Berkeley Audio Design excludes USB connections from their DACs to protect the delicate digital-to-analog conversion circuits from computer-generated electrical noise and clock phase noise. They believe that connecting a DAC directly to a "dirty" USB source inevitably degrades audio performance. [1, 2] Key reasons for this design philosophy include:
Originally, they did not have USB as part of their DAC path, but due to demand they now offer a seperate unit to optimize the digital path for those needing/using USB. I have their Alpha DAC 3 in my system...it is a keeper. |
- 26 posts total