Jplay / JCAT weighs in with a USB isolation device

[Indydan]

Is the jcat version confirmed to be identical in every way to the Intona? I have heard great things about the Intona and want to make sure there has not been any modifications done by Jcat that could decrease it's performance. On the other hand, has jcat done anything to improve it?? I want to make sure before I purchase.

 

I emailed Daniel at Intona. He conformed that it is the exact same Intona industrial board. The only difference is the case.

[Indydan]

Have any jcat isolator owners noticed if the case heats up? jcat trimmed 25mm on width, and 20mm on height compared to the Intona case. It seems the board has a lot less breathing room than in the Intona case.

 

I would not expect a board of this type to generate much heat, but I am curious nonetheless.

[Trabb]

It's cold ! Just have touched the box. And does a great job in my system since two weeks. Moreover I put 4 pices of Synergistic Research ECT on four chips inside Jcat USB Isolator, and it made another, not so small improvement.

[Indydan]

It's cold ! Just have touched the box. And does a great job in my system since two weeks. Moreover I put 4 pices of Synergistic Research ECT on four chips inside Jcat USB Isolator, and it made another, not so small improvement.

 

Thank you for the information! I have one ECT on the USB cable where it exits the Mac Mini. I found something that does the same thing as the ECT, but it is much less expensive. WA Quantum chips. They are stickers with a material in them. I believe the material lowers EMI and RFI. I don't know for a fact, but I believe the WA Quantum chips have a material that is very similar to the SR ECT. But, it is in sticker form, so you don't pay for the aluminum container and manufacturing costs of the ECT.

 

I added 3 WA Quantum chips (semiconductor chip model) to my Rega DAC R. One on each of the Wolfson DAC ICs, and one on the XMOS USB receiver chip.

 

These things really work! The gains in transparency are surprising. Also, every instrument and singer is better delineated. The separation between performers is much better. This delineation and separation of instruments and voices was the biggest effect of the chips. The sound is less muddled. It is like turning a lens on a camera and putting an image that was 90% in focus, to 100%. BIG difference.

 

Another thing that surprised me, was that the chips added a bit of rhythmic snap. I have a Naim 5i integrated amp with the Rega DAC R. So, pace, speed, rhythm and timing (the famous PRAT) was not a weak point of my system. Despite that, the chips gave my system a little more snap and rhythm. All of these benefits came with no loss of speed or dynamics, or dulling of the sound. No tradeoffs!

 

 

 

 

[Priaptor]

I would love to give my opinion BUT since my order is tied up in Polish customs for 4-8 weeks because of how Marcin changed shopping to America I will probably have to let you know sometime in December.

[Indydan]

I would love to give my opinion BUT since my order is tied up in Polish customs for 4-8 weeks because of how Marcin changed shopping to America I will probably have to let you know sometime in December.

 

What? If I understand your post, you are saying that the shipping from Marcin/Jcat takes 4-8 weeks to clear Polish customs? Really? Is this true?

[Marcin_gps]

What? If I understand your post, you are saying that the shipping from Marcin/Jcat takes 4-8 weeks to clear Polish customs? Really? Is this true?

 

It is true for orders dispatched in September and first week of October. We switched to a different carrier and it seems the service to US, Canada and Australia is terribly slow (only to these countries). We upgraded to a premium service once we realized the packages are delayed. All orders are now shipped via express and will be delivered within a week.

 

Regards,

Marcin

[Trabb]

Yes, I can see it now ! For me it's too late. I also have heard about stripes / tapes made of graphene, and a piece of it put onto chip might improve sound too, does more - less the same. It was to hard for me to find such an extraordinary stuff

[Indydan]

I just placed an order for the Jcat USB Isolator! I will share my impressions once it has been in my system for a few days.

[Middy]

The Intona element is great, it was a pain but fun proving shielding gets the electronics working at peak. JCAT have done a nice job

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[Indydan]

Great news. I have the Intona industrial (cannot recommend it highly enough !), but I'm gonna buy the JCAT USB Isolator simply because I like the case 100x better.

 

Plus, beeing made of metal, not plastic, I think it should offer better protection against RFI/EMI.

 

I believe you had the iFi IUSB3 before the Intona/Jcat? How would you compare them?

 

I had the ifi IUSB3. I liked what it did to the sound. I did not like it in other aspects. Is it safe to say the Intona/Jcat is at least as good for sound quality?

[Indydan]

Has anyone tried the Intona/Jcat with Audioquest Jitterbugs? I have one Jitterbug in series, and another in parallel. I used both of them with the ifi IUSB3 that I had, with good results.

 

I am wondering if the Jitterbugs might work against the Intona and possibly harm the sound.