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DAC Regenerator and Reclocking Devices

Hi,
Recently I've been looking at a few different devices to upgrade my signal between my Mac and my Ayre QB 9 DAC DSD. SOtM makes a reclocking / regenerator as does Ideon Audio and IFI. The IFI micro 3.0 is apparently the newest of them and looks like a great price when compared to the SOtM tx USBultra. The Ideon 3R USB Renaissance is the more affordable and was engineered strictly for sound quality. Does anyone have experience with these devices? Also, I want to mention that I've been adding Akiko Audio tuning sticks and tuning chips and I prefer their additions so far. Some good orderly direction would be greatly appreciated. 

goofyfoot

Showing 3 responses by jon2020

jon2020's avatar
jon2020
991 posts
 
Do you know anything about the new ifi micro 3.0 or Ideon Renaissance?
Hi goofyfoot,

I have had the iFi Micro 3.0 for some time now with it connected between the Aurender 100H music server and the Esoteric N-01 dac(silver Oyaide usb cable from the Aurender to the 3.0 and iFi’s own Gemini bihedral usb cable from 3.0 to dac’s usb input).

The difference with the 3.0 in and out of the chain is indeed night and day, the 3.0 elevating sytem performance to a whole other level.

I find it to be a truly indispensable component for my usb audio set-up. Reviews have placed this higher than the Regen products. Also, a very big bang for the buck.

J. :)
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
991 posts
 
The 3.0 will most certainly flesh out your system sound very nicely. It did for mine making it sound balanced throughout the frequency range. Also, the soundstage opens up in all dimensions. But the one trait that I have come to value most about the 3.0 is the musicality - lots of foot tapping and head bobbing every single time.
Lastly, no more digital edge, hash, glare, etc.

Enjoy the music!
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
991 posts
 
USB vs spdif (AES/EBU, coax, optical), it depends where the DAC manufacturer chose to focus investment. Some (many?) of the latest DAC builders/sellers seem to be placing their main emphasis on superior USB circuitry. Some have effective galvanic isolation built in. Some even use FPGA technology to eliminate the traditional role of clocks in the DAC (Exogal Comet for example) and thus sensitivity to noise riding on the signal.

IMO, adding a USB to SPDIF converter to run AES/EBU between it and the DAC is not much different than adding the USB gizmos. Counter to Forest Gump’s wisdom ("One less thing."). That is unless your DAC cannot handle USB from your USB-only Linux-based server/renderer/streamer in which case it is likely to be "the lessor of the evils" solution and thus a smart one.....


+1, Dave.

A lot depends on whether your dac is designed primarily for usb or ethernet.
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