Noise. Noise. Noise.
Computers and laptops are inherently noisy. They can emit up to tens of millivolts of noise.
Plus the presence of a ground connection between the computer and the USB audio device can create earth/ground loops. These will impair sound quality and may also cause buzz and hum.
Multi-talented
The micro iUSB3.0 stops all of the above and more besides.
It eliminates USB jitter, ground noise, EMI and RFI, restores signal integrity and corrects signal balance, suppresses frame and packet noise and corrects impedance mis-match.
The only thing it doesn’t do is make coffee!
Make sweet music
Simply plug into your USB port. It will work with DACs up to and above $5000.
Vocals become clearer, more defined, instruments feel more rounded and life-like.
Multi-tasking
And with dual ports, the micro iUSB3.0 operates as a computer audiophile-grade powered hub to serve two devices – just add DAC and HDD.
One source does not contaminate the other.
Back by popular demand
Most products have a finite shelf life but not the micro iUSB3.0.
We were going to withdraw it BUT you guys disagreed! And with comments like this, how could we not keep it around!
“…the sounds difference with and without the micro iUSB is striking and goes far beyond what I would have expected. If you do not believe it, try it yourself..If I had to describe the effect with only one word, then that would probably be ‘purity’.”
EMI is a type of interference caused by errant and unwanted electromagnetic waves that are received and amplified by an audio system. They cause some of the annoying ‘audio gremlins’ we often talk about.
Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is very similar to electromagnetic interference (EMI) but is found in the radio frequency spectrum. It is another source of irritating, unwanted noise often talked about as an ‘audio gremlin’.
Top tip: just don’t add water.
Frame and packet noise refers to the jitter that comes from signals being processed.
Firstly, what is impedance? Impedance represents the opposition that an electronic component offers to an alternating and/or direct electric current.
Impedance mis-match is when the maximum power transfer from an amplifier, for example, does not match the impedance of the source.
DACs convert digital information, stored or streamed by computers, into music we can hear through speakers or headphones.
Every device that’s a source of digital sound has a built-in DAC (TVs, games consoles, CD players, phones, portable music players etc). Dedicated external DACs sound much better than standard DACs used in digital devices such as phones.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) reduces unwanted sound by the addition of a second sound wave specifically designed to cancel out the first. This basically results in no sound at all as it reaches unwanted sound even at the lowest frequencies.
Passive noise cancellation is done by means of insulating filters and works best on the middle to high frequencies. It does not work on the lower frequencies meaning that some sound can still be heard.
