What can I say about the iUSB3.0 that hasn't already been said?
"I’ve been using the iFi iUSB3.0 in my system for more than a month now and I’ve grown very accustomed to it. Now making the switch to the direct usb output from my computer made me realize I was taking all the improvements for granted lately. Not sure how I can go back to the normal USB output right now." -Dan-Alexandru Gheorghe Headmania"The result as [sic] the same each time though to differing degrees. The iFi Audio USB3.0 gave a richer and smoother sound with fine detail presented in a less forced manner. Bass with the iFi was mostly more powerful, there was also slightly better central focus." -Clive Meakins Enjoy the Music
What else can be said?As you all know Clive Meakins knows his stuff! So what do I want to add? How about this; If you are running your system off of a computer, you absolutely positively need iUSB3.0/iSilencer regardless of make and model of your computer. Whether you are rocking head-fi or a 2 channel uber rig you will hear the benefits. Sonically, the iSilencer cleans up sibilance, clarifies vocals, and 'defuzzes' bass (the word 'defuzz' is trademarked by PezCorp
). The iSilencer works wonders in between the computer and DAC. however, there is a hell of a lot more going wrong with your computer USB than you might suspect and the mini-mite iSilencer cannot clean it all up on it's own! In comes our hero, the iUSB3.0. Let's discuss a little of what it's up against.
Yucky badness- Noisy USB boards- Most computers have their USB sockets all crammed on the same board. And as we know, this can lead to crosstalk and noise.
Noisy peripherals- if you're rocking out to computer audio you likely have a ton of external hard drives, mice, peripherals etc all increasing the noise floor and crosstalk inherent in computing. - Jitter- Most commonly 'timing jitter' is the bane of any computer based system. Even if you don't hear audible clicks or other distortion in your system you are still losing quality to jitter! These jitter errors result in harshness, compression, and aberration of detail in sound quality.
- Loss of signal balance- While it is true USB signal is inherently balanced, this balance is often knocked off unbalance due to noise. This lowers signal strength, causes impedance mismatches and musicality is drastically compromised and ultimately leads to sadness in your heart.
Wonderful goodness!!!
All these potential issues just from USB... Hence the
iUSB 3.0. It regenerates an equal yet opposite signal to cancel noise via our ANC tech based on military radar technology, this drastically lowers noise of all sorts. It reclocks the data stream in order to eradicate jitter and finally it rebalances the signal by fixing balance and impedance issues.
Translation: Think of the iUSB3.0 as Mary Poppins of music. It'll clean you up, straighten you out and take you on a magical adventure.
(I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if the entire iFi team groaned, rolled their eyes and were suddenly silenced, not knowing what to say.)
So how does it sound for Pez?I have a 27" iMac which feeds an iFi stack consisting of iSilencer-iUSB3.0-iDac2-iTube2-iCan SE. Think of the 27" iMac as the WORST case scenario for all the issues spelled out above. Its naked output is so sibilant and grainy it actually makes my iPhone via lightening connector sound amazing by comparison. Why is it so bad? Built in switching power supply, all components crammed into a small space, and a ton of peripherals. This is about as bad as it gets when it comes to noise, jitter and the wealth of issues you can have with a computer. With the iSilencer/iUSB 3.0 combo you get an IMMENSE improvement in soundstage, detail, clarity, bass response, and the noise floor drops to virtually nothing. In a nutshell, it makes my computer pull a disappearing act!
When listening to higher resolution music the iUSB3.0 really starts to shine. Yes it improves the sonics of redbook and even lower bit rate MP3 music, but the benefit of having it in line increases exponentially with higher resolution files (FLAC, DSD, DXD, etc). Fine detail becomes the norm rather than the exception. Texture in instruments and vocals are painted more vividly, panning effects in music just pop and the noise floor is subterranean.
iUSB3.0 is fundamental to any computer based audio chainTo think of the iUSB3.0 as a 'tweak' or 'peripheral' or even 'optional' for computer audio would be a folly. iUSB3.0 is a
necessity for any computer based system. To spend a dime on mega buck USB cables without having the iUSB3.0/iSilencer combo in line is quite literally putting the cart before the horse. Unless you are rocking some sort of quantum computer, don't kid yourself that you're getting anything near the best sound quality from your PC or Mac. We consider the iUSB3.0 to be the perfect 'dumb-reach', it works wonders in computer setups, price is right, performance exceeds what you pay for, and let's face it your computer and ears will appreciate it.
Give it a go, you'll be glad you did.
http://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/micro-iusb3-0/
