Silence Your Computer’s USB Connection for Audiophile Sound Quality
Does your USB audio system suffer from annoying background noise? The new and improved iSilencer+ from iFi is a must if you want to enjoy vivid, open music.
Connecting audio gear via USB can have pros and cons. While capable of passing hi-res data at max resolution and allowing bit-perfect transfer, USB was not created specifically for audio. The USB connection carries both power and data. It is susceptible to electrical noise from the computer’s power supply, to cite one source. This has a negative effect on sound quality.
Fear not! The wizards at iFi first banished these gremlins with the iSilencer3.0 and now, they are making silence sound even better with the iSilencer+.
Giving Noise the Double Whammy
In addition to plugging the iSilencer+ into the active USB port between the computer and DAC, it can also be plugged into unused USB ports too. This will further reduce radiated EMI. Each time the number of units (and therefore the number ANC II circuits) is doubled, noise reduction capability also doubles. That’s the iFi double whammy.
Active Noise Cancellation II
The iSilencer+ uses iFi Audio’s latest Active Noise Cancellation II® technology. Based on military tech, our improved Active Noise Cancellation II actively cancels all incoming noise. It does this in a similar way to active noise-cancelling headphones – by generating a signal identical to that of the incoming electrical noise but in the opposite phase, actively cancelling it out.
This is highly effective at removing low-frequency and mid-frequency noise, while passive insulating filters deal with higher frequency interference. This combination is measurably more effective at eradicating noise corrupting the USB signal than devices relying solely on passive filtering. It reduces the noise floor by > 40dB (> 100x).
REBalance Technology
The iSilencer+ also use iFi’s REBalance® technology to get rid of clicks and distortion. REBalance literally rebalances the signal to address the common problem of clicks caused by jitter. This is a form of digital distortion that leads to data ‘packet’ errors and cold harsh sound. This technology re-balances the signal to ensure that the digital signal received by the DAC is identical to the original source, no matter which audio format is being played.
Even More
And that’s not all. The iFi wizards have upgraded the circuitry, adding low-ESR tantalum capacitors for improved input and output filtering. Filtering capacitance has been increased tenfold.
The iSilencer+’s ‘SuperSpeed’ USB 3.0 interface has a more exhaustive wiring specification which allows for a greater amount of audio transfer while still being backwards compatible. The units incorporate high-quality gold-plated connectors for optimal signal transfer.