Afi+USB-Module - USB-Interface, Isolator and Re-Clocker

[ralph]

I was recently made aware of a customer to this thread. After looking across the posts, a few comments:

One day the optocouplers gain will go apesh$t and will start trashing the signals. Six of them to be fixed.

Another method, please?

In my opinion this apprehension lacks any real basis. Afi+USB does not use optocouplers. It uses professional fiber optic transmitters. When operated within specifications regarding temperature and current – and that's the case – the LEDs in the transmitters will work as long as LEDs normally work and that is almost eternal. In my whole life I have never seen a broken LED. I go so far as to give a lifetime replacement warranty for the fiber optic transmitters. So sure am I that this will never happen.

Moreover, even if the transmitters are very old, the LEDs do not just broken. You only lose intensity. Since the transmitters are however designed for 70 meters and we use only 2 or 6 meters, the margin is huge, before no signal arrives. In addition, the signal quality on the fiber optic line is completely irrelevant to the sound quality, if only just good enough to properly differentiate between 0 and 1.

looks like a new commercial advertising to enter in the niche of USB /spdif isolator / reclocker etc..

the sonore way to get a clean USB data by building it instead of cleaning it seems for me the right solution.

The really exceptional of the Afi+USB design is I think not yet clear. Here no USB is cleaned. Afi+USB works as a real source device, together with a computer that delivers the audio data. Inside of the Afi there are two reference oscillators which are clocking the audio data stream under ideal conditions and, because of the fiber optical connection to the USB interface, isolated from any influence by the computer as good as possible. The small external USB interface quasi only provides the data to the Afi. All things important for sound are done in Afi.

As far as I can see, Sonore makes in this respect nothing else like many others. This basically seems to be the same concept as in the MC3+USB. In my view the main drawback is there that the USB receiver is sitting on the same board in the same case. Also in my experience the usual electronic components for galvanic isolation do not shield RF interference good enough.

RF has the nasty habit, not to stick to physically existing conductors. Therefore I felt the design concept of Afi+USB – two spatially separated devices and fiber optics – is important for very clean islolation of all computer technology from the audio processing.

 

More info on our website: afi(s) - USB module

But I am sorry, not all sites are available in English language at the moment and photographs will only be added during next week. Requests by email to me ([email protected]) are very welcome.

 

Best wishes

Ralf

 

ACOUSENCE