New Denafrips recklocker/converters: IRIS and GAIA

Competition would be audio gd DI20 and DI20 HE. Going to be interesting to see how this pans out.

are rare they Roon endpoints?

are they Roon endpoints?

They can't be Roon endpoints since they don't have an Ethernet connection, butt they might act as very good buffer between a device acting as both a Roon server and endpoint that is connected to your DAC over USB, such as a PC, NUC, or Nucleus. 

I'm considering selling my streamer and connecting my NUC running ROCK to a Gaia and then using I2S to my DAC (Terminator). 

Got it. Could end up with lots of boxes though. Roon core or server, with separate power supply, buffer, dedicated endpoint, and dac. Then there’s the router and network stuff, or lots of cat five cable to connect them to your other boxes  My wife just calls them boxes, saying how many boxes do you really need?

Got it. Could end up with lots of boxes though. Roon core or server, with separate power supply, buffer, dedicated endpoint, and dac. Then there’s the router and network stuff, or lots of cat five cable to connect them to your other boxes  My wife just calls them boxes, saying how many boxes do you really need?

I was proposing dropping the dedicated endpoint and using your server as the renderer/endpoint as well, and then using one of these between the server and DAC to provide isolation and reclocking. So it would basically replace the dedicated endpoint with the digital-to-digital converter. The downside of this is that the server would have to be close to your DAC since USB is not designed for long distances. And this is all assuming you are using Roon. 

got It. Srajan is reviewing GAIA now 

I see these products accept clock inputs around 45mhz. Any idea why they chose these rates? The most commonly used rate in audio studio master clocks is 10mhz, as well as multiples of 44.1 to 192khz. Also, can the multiple outputs on these products be used simultaneously? In my system it would be useful to operate USB and AES/EBU outputs simultaneously-- one to a DAC and the other to a digital recorder.

Interesting products, I'm looking to improve my streaming and have been looking at the following:

1. Reclocker
2. DIGIONE SIGNATURE PLAYER
3. Dedicated streamer 

I currently use a Dell laptop which does the job but I suspect that it can be improved on. Will simply adding a reclocker get me to the same results as a quality dedicated streamer? The Digione is basically a stripped down computer and acts like a budget streamer. The Dell does the job but my CA CXC transport beats it, what's needed to get my streamer better than the CXC? My DAC is the Audio Mirror Tubadour SE so I do not need a streamer with a DAC.

Why don't you just connect your NUC running ROCK to your dac by USB?

Because the Nucleus can only  Simultaneously act as a server and endpoint using USB out which is the noisiest output and puts additional stress on it. The Gaia Cleans up the USB output. If you use I2s, SPDIF, or balanced, which are supposed to be better, then you need another box to act as a roon endpoint. 

Oh, OK just wondered I've used my NUC as the server and endpoint through USB and never had a noise problem nor did it stress the NUC, maybe the one I assembled isn't as noisy as the nucleus.

A lot of the guts of the IRIS are the same as the USB input of the Terminator, which then feeds the I2s circuitry inside the Terminator, so a question is how much this external device can improve the Terminator.  I'd like the best digital path but I dont want to do processing twice.

My guess (and it is just a guess) is that the Iris won't provide significant benefit, although it might reduce USB electrical noise a bit which could help. The Gaia, on the other hand, may have a better clock and improved noise isolation and data buffering compared to the circuitry in the Terminator. 

The Gaia also offers more inputs (AES/SPDIF/COAX), as the Iris only offers to reclock and convert USB.  If using a Terminator +, you can use that clock to sync up the Iris as well.

I have the Gaia that I will be putting up for sale this week. I downsized from separates to an integrated.

@phastm3
What is your impression of GAIA?

It was basically a high quality way to try different inputs into my DAC, since my Innuos streamer only has a usb output. With the Gaia I was able to try AES and Is2 inputs on my dac, which sounded a little better than the usb