iFi Audio iGalvanic3.0 - The Holy Grail of Computer Audio

[AMR/iFi audio]

Folks, this is what we do this weekend:

 

 

If you're around, please come and say hi!

[Required]

Does anyone here have an problem with Temperature with there Icron Fiber USB Extender?

I have the huge problem now with the Temperature fall the "Master" drive insane and the connection between get loose.

Now there is no connection between?!

[Mitch]

Thanks for the help – I have bought the iFi Micro USB (great) and will buy the Audio Galvanic 3.0 after Christmas.  Bought from David at MCRU in Yorkshire UK – an extremely helpful and knowledgeable dealer of yours.  I will certainly buy from him again.

 

In researching which product to buy I came across your iFi  Tech Note on mp3 to DSD conversion which results in a reduction of harshness in the mp3 sound.  I do not have J Rivers or one of your DACS (yet), but I wanted to see if I could do the conversion in Foobar alone – not managed that yet.  However I asked for help from the Hydrogen Audio Forum and got some very sceptical replies about the value of converting mp3 to DSD, I wish I know more to be able to respond.  I don’t suppose you follow these amateur forums, but you might want to have a look at this short exchange of posts about the iFi Tech Note.  I would like to go back and make a meaningful post; perhaps you could give me some guidance.

 

 https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,116999.new.html#new

 

Do you think I can make file to file conversions with the foobar plugins using foobar and my own DSD capable DAC?

 

Thanks

 

Mitch

 

[gradier]

You won't regret buying the Galvanic3.0; I just bought my second one...using it thus, depending on which room (Windows 10/JRiver):

 

iGalvanic3.0>IDAC2>ICAN>LCD-2 headphones 

or iGalvanic3.0>IDAC2>Neumann KH120 studio monitors in one room

or iGalvanic3.0>IDAC2>old tuner>M-Audio M-38 monitors in the other (bigger) room

[AMR/iFi audio]

iFi audio – The 2018 Summary

It’s been quite the year…

 

Dear community,

 

2018 is coming to an end and we’ve decided to use this occasion to share with all of you good people a word or two. Many of our product ideas were developed from what you had to say, so we’re extremely grateful for your support. You’re the fuel to our fire, thank you!

 

The end of the year is also a good time to summarize what we were able to achieve in the last 12 months. Without further ado, here’s what we did:

 

Hardware

 

•        March – xDSD

Before this product came to be, we knew that we had to develop something very different from what we’d done before. We thought about many things – toasters with built-in speakers, a wind-up DAC for use in the dessert…only kidding! We aimed for a portable device with wireless functionality as good as a wired connection, improved volume control and a new look. Suffice to say, we strongly believe that with xDSD we were able to deliver on all counts. The toaster has had to wait!

 

•        May - Pro iDSD

The Pro iDSD is the most ambitious and complex product of ours to date. It started many years ago as a rather simple machine, but the more time passed, the more advanced it became. After years of suffering (and here we mean both ours AND yours, just take poor Curtis as an example), the Pro iDSD eventually came into being as a state-of-the-art desktop platform loaded with so many features that it's far easier to list things it doesn't do! Not only this, but the Pro iDSD also has A LOT in common with AMR's upcoming Diablo DAC. The former is actually a scaled down version of the latter and we're exceptionally proud of how it turned out.  

 

•        June - iFi OTG Cable

We released this item due to huge demand. It's reliable, affordable, looks sleek and there's no rocket science behind it. It does the job where it should. It's useful. Hey, if we're capable of delivering headphone amps and DACs, who said that we can't make a quality OTG cable? And nope, before anyone asks, we can’t make the equivalent Apple cable – if we could, we (and the rest of the world) surely would!!! Sadly, Apple don’t share the tech that we’d need to make one work. Would you, if you were Apple?

 

•        June - DC iPurifier2

All our iPurifiers were developed to show that even a small and affordable item can really improve sound quality if backed by solid tech. The iPurifier2 is a step up over previous versions of this product, simply because our in-house developed circuitry got better over time. Practice makes perfect!  

 

·         July - iPurifier3.0

USB sorters have always been of utmost importance to us and the iPurifier3.0 shows our attitude towards these items. This product might look nothing like our nano or micro iUSB3.0 machines, but its roots are the very same. It was designed to audibly improve the USB interface and very positive feedback from you guys out there showed us that it does just that! Thank goodness!

 

•        October – xCAN

Yet again X marked the spot in October! We really looked forward to releasing the xCAN. On the surface, it resembles our xDSD; they have similar set of features and they look very much alike, but the differences end there. Yes, each has finely implemented Bluetooth receiver, DAC and headphone amp in one neat enclosure BUT the xCAN is a portable and fully analogue amplifier above ALL else and its D/A conversion option is a cherry on top, whereas the xDSD - a DAC in the first place - is the exact opposite. Plus these two can work as a team and we have photographic evidence from you guys to prove it!

 

•        November - Ear Plugs

This one you didn't expect, huh? Us neither. But then again, we like silence and it’s yet another way to give you guys a low noise floor! (Plus they can protect your ears from the squeaks of protest when your loved one finds out you’ve bought yet another piece of audio equipment!) We try to think of everything…

 

Software

 

•        March - MQA firmware for all nano and micro products

 

This firmware was one of the most important things for us in 2018. We didn't want to include MQA functionality in just one or two products, we wanted to roll things out across all suitable iFi goods, even some discontinued models. Even though the 5.30 'Cookies & Cream' firmware has some limitations, this is the one to go after if you'd like to listen to MQA regardless of the iFi audio DAC you use.

 

•        October - GTO filter firmware for all nano and micro products

 

The GTO filter was a tricky thing to develop, but in the end, it surely was worth the effort. To our ears it sounds amazing enough to surpass every other filter out there and we encourage everyone to give this one a try. Hey, it comes at nil cost, improves sound and if you don't like it, you can always use our previously released firmware. That's a win-win right there.

 

•        November - Beta MQA firmware for the Pro iDSD

 

Fully operational MQA on our Pro iDSD took us a fair bit longer than expected for a reason. (Poor Curtis was turning in his grave!). The amount of work needed in order to have this signal fully decoded was nothing short of staggering. Everything had to be coded from scratch. Both our team and MQA's engineers were involved in this project and we're ecstatic that we were able to finally have this functionality ready. Enjoy!

 

 

Additionally, one thing we’re very proud of is that we were able to push our head of sales out of the UK office for well-deserved holiday. Blindfolded, the man was in shock and had no idea where he was transported. Since no laptops or comms with his team were allowed, after the adventure he told us that withdrawal shivers kicked in hard. But once he got off the plane and acknowledged he was in Iceland… Long story’s short, after this trip he returned as a new man. Even though he’s a good lad, we didn’t miss him at all but shhh… 

[Mitch]

On 11/8/2018 at 8:20 AM, AMR/iFi audio said:

 

Our USB3.0 products are backwards compatible, so if you don't have USB3.0, don't worry as USB2.0 will work too. 

 

As for our USB products, it's quite simple. iPurifier3.0, nano iUSB3.0 and micro iUSB3.0 do similar things. In a nutshell they reclock, rebalance and clean USB signal. The difference is in their potency and price. iPurifier3.0 is the entry level solution to grasp this technology, more efficient version of it is nano iUSB3.0 and top of the line solution in the same vein is micro iUSB3.0. It all depends on how far you're willing to go and how much money you're willing to spend. Having said all this, it might seem that functions of those three devices overlap and they do indeed, but the difference is in their effectiveness and you need only one.

 

The other thing is iGalvanic3.0. This device provides full galvanic isolation of USB and no other product of ours is capable of doing that. So if at some point you'll buy one of our machines listed above and still would like to push things further and cover one field extra, iGalvanic3.0 is the one to go after. 

 

The best, the most effective and the most thorought USB treatment we currently have is our iGalvanic3.0 plus micro iUSB3.0 at work together. This is the best we have and dare we say it's a good one. One thing to note is that galvanic isolation should happen before reclocking, thus in your case the chain should look like so:

 

Your laptop -> iGalvanic3.0 -> nano/micro iUSB3.0 or iPurifier3.0 -> your DAC.

 

You can always contact your local iFi representative. Our return policy is generous, so if you don't like our products, you'll get refunded.

 

Good luck!

 

[Mitch]

I took your advice and bought the iUSB3.0 with the intention of adding the iGalvanic3.0 this month.  I was very pleased with the iUSB.  I follow Hans B's blog on U Tube and he was very supportive of the iUSB - not quite as good as the SoTM, but a lot cheaper.  It was his report that convinced me to buy.  

 

I have looked at a lot of more expensive streamers, but I do not want to be locked into their bespoke solution - I, like many on this forum I suspect, prefer the freedom of my computer - but I want to get the best from it.  So improving the quality of feed to my DAC is very important - this is where  iFi provide a unique service I believe.  I was about to submit an article to Hi Fi News about this approach - ie keeping ones computer but bringing it as near to a dedicated server as possible. but I was waiting until I got the iGalvanic 3 before finalising the letter.

 

Then disaster - my iUSB failed and was returned to the dealer who has since refunded me the purchase price - he was unable to get a replacement unit because he had recently ceased being one of your agents.  I would still like to buy another iUSB but I am now afraid the same fault may occur so I would be interested in your view of this rather unusual failure:

 

I play almost exclusively DSF files from my computer having ripped my SACD collection.  Through the iUSB I thought the sound quality was just slightly better than from my £3000 Marantz SACD player!  This might have been wishful thinking - but I do not think so.  Using the iUSB side USB port to feed the signal into my DAC (mains powered, so did not need to use the iUSB power) it worked great for about 2 months - I was delighted.  Then one evening, suddenly, it stopped working - I just got a quiet hiss from my speakers when I selected a DSF file - first of all I thought it was an output problem with Foobar 2000  - but not so - when I moved the USB cable to the front USB port it started working fine again so I assumed the side USB port had just failed.  I could have continued using the unit but I was worried the same fault might occur with the front port so decided to return it.  Just before packing it up I decided  to give it one last go - still no output from the side - but the front port was working fine, THEN I tried to play a PMC file through the side port - it Worked but still no DSD!!  Checked it again several times - still the same - front port played DSD and PMC, but side port just PMC.  I really would have thought the file type made no difference, but it seems it does.

 

Before I buy a new unit and the Galvanic Isolator, I would like to get to the bottom of this strange problem

 

Thanks

 

Mitch

 

 

[AMR/iFi audio]

1 hour ago, Mitch said:

I took your advice and bought the iUSB3.0 with the intention of adding the iGalvanic3.0 this month.  I was very pleased with the iUSB.  I follow Hans B's blog on U Tube and he was very supportive of the iUSB - not quite as good as the SoTM, but a lot cheaper.  It was his report that convinced me to buy.  

 

I have looked at a lot of more expensive streamers, but I do not want to be locked into their bespoke solution - I, like many on this forum I suspect, prefer the freedom of my computer - but I want to get the best from it.  So improving the quality of feed to my DAC is very important - this is where  iFi provide a unique service I believe.  I was about to submit an article to Hi Fi News about this approach - ie keeping ones computer but bringing it as near to a dedicated server as possible. but I was waiting until I got the iGalvanic 3 before finalising the letter.

 

Then disaster - my iUSB failed and was returned to the dealer who has since refunded me the purchase price - he was unable to get a replacement unit because he had recently ceased being one of your agents.  I would still like to buy another iUSB but I am now afraid the same fault may occur so I would be interested in your view of this rather unusual failure:

 

I play almost exclusively DSF files from my computer having ripped my SACD collection.  Through the iUSB I thought the sound quality was just slightly better than from my £3000 Marantz SACD player!  This might have been wishful thinking - but I do not think so.  Using the iUSB side USB port to feed the signal into my DAC (mains powered, so did not need to use the iUSB power) it worked great for about 2 months - I was delighted.  Then one evening, suddenly, it stopped working - I just got a quiet hiss from my speakers when I selected a DSF file - first of all I thought it was an output problem with Foobar 2000  - but not so - when I moved the USB cable to the front USB port it started working fine again so I assumed the side USB port had just failed.  I could have continued using the unit but I was worried the same fault might occur with the front port so decided to return it.  Just before packing it up I decided  to give it one last go - still no output from the side - but the front port was working fine, THEN I tried to play a PMC file through the side port - it Worked but still no DSD!!  Checked it again several times - still the same - front port played DSD and PMC, but side port just PMC.  I really would have thought the file type made no difference, but it seems it does.

 

Before I buy a new unit and the Galvanic Isolator, I would like to get to the bottom of this strange problem

 

Thanks

 

Mitch

 

 

 

Can you please open a support ticket here: http://support.ifi-audio.com/

 

It's difficult for us to diagnose your issue here, but our tech staff might be able to help. 

[One and a half]

5 hours ago, Mitch said:

I took your advice and bought the iUSB3.0 with the intention of adding the iGalvanic3.0 this month.  I was very pleased with the iUSB.  I follow Hans B's blog on U Tube and he was very supportive of the iUSB - not quite as good as the SoTM, but a lot cheaper.  It was his report that convinced me to buy.  

 

I have looked at a lot of more expensive streamers, but I do not want to be locked into their bespoke solution - I, like many on this forum I suspect, prefer the freedom of my computer - but I want to get the best from it.  So improving the quality of feed to my DAC is very important - this is where  iFi provide a unique service I believe.  I was about to submit an article to Hi Fi News about this approach - ie keeping ones computer but bringing it as near to a dedicated server as possible. but I was waiting until I got the iGalvanic 3 before finalising the letter.

 

Then disaster - my iUSB failed and was returned to the dealer who has since refunded me the purchase price - he was unable to get a replacement unit because he had recently ceased being one of your agents.  I would still like to buy another iUSB but I am now afraid the same fault may occur so I would be interested in your view of this rather unusual failure:

 

I play almost exclusively DSF files from my computer having ripped my SACD collection.  Through the iUSB I thought the sound quality was just slightly better than from my £3000 Marantz SACD player!  This might have been wishful thinking - but I do not think so.  Using the iUSB side USB port to feed the signal into my DAC (mains powered, so did not need to use the iUSB power) it worked great for about 2 months - I was delighted.  Then one evening, suddenly, it stopped working - I just got a quiet hiss from my speakers when I selected a DSF file - first of all I thought it was an output problem with Foobar 2000  - but not so - when I moved the USB cable to the front USB port it started working fine again so I assumed the side USB port had just failed.  I could have continued using the unit but I was worried the same fault might occur with the front port so decided to return it.  Just before packing it up I decided  to give it one last go - still no output from the side - but the front port was working fine, THEN I tried to play a PMC file through the side port - it Worked but still no DSD!!  Checked it again several times - still the same - front port played DSD and PMC, but side port just PMC.  I really would have thought the file type made no difference, but it seems it does.

 

Before I buy a new unit and the Galvanic Isolator, I would like to get to the bottom of this strange problem

 

Thanks

 

Mitch

 

 

I have two ifi Micro USB3.0, one is powered 24/7, the other for portable use, for at least 12 months are working fine. Not that is a final say on reliability, but haven't read much on the failure rate of the device, the Galvanic though is a different story, just read through these pages and will see.

 

Daresay your model would be one of the very few that are faulty, it can happen, but for the gains in cleaning up noise, it does a really great job. I would stick with ifi Micro USB3.0.

 

The quiet play on DSF playback is usually a problem of DoP setup versus native DSD playback, either on or off depending on the DAC. Some apps like Roon, even though native DSD is chosen, decides to transmit as DoP anyway (shrug). But if one port plays and the other doesn't, there's an internal fault.

[PPk]

2 minutes ago, One and a half said:

I have two ifi Micro USB3.0, one is powered 24/7, the other for portable use, for at least 12 months are working fine. Not that is a final say on reliability, but haven't read much on the failure rate of the device, the Galvanic though is a different story, just read through these pages and will see.

 

Daresay your model would be one of the very few that are faulty, it can happen, but for the gains in cleaning up noise, it does a really great job. I would stick with ifi Micro USB3.0.

 

The quiet play on DSF playback is usually a problem of DoP setup versus native DSD playback, either on or off depending on the DAC. Some apps like Roon, even though native DSD is chosen, decides to transmit as DoP anyway (shrug). But if one port plays and the other doesn't, there's an internal fault.

 

But the catch is PMC plays fine. which imo the port should be working properly. it could be due to some settings in the OS/Software player that has some persistent settings on that particular usb port which affects your DSF playback. 

 

The best way to confirm or to debunk this possibility is to use another laptop/PC and play via the same usb port again. 

[rickca]

10 hours ago, Mitch said:

I would like to get to the bottom of this strange problem

You haven't begun to see strange problems.  Wait till you get an iGalvanic.  

[Mitch]

On 3/21/2018 at 3:55 PM, Bullitt5094 said:

Not a laptop. It's a PC I built that includes all SSD drives, a linear PS and Audiophile Optomizer. I'm reasonably sure the Lyngdorf doesn't like the broken chain. And the Lyngdorf isn't going to get replaced for any reason, unless I upgrade to the new 3400. Think "cold dead hands".

And I'm one of these weird people that read the instruction. I know there are multiple positions/modes on the iFI Galv. But the only thing it adds vs the iFI USB to my signal chain is the Galvanic Isolation. At least as far as I can tell. So defeating that defeats any reason to have it in-line. I'm generally a simpler is better kind of guy anyway. Plus, I'm not going to put it back in-line and risk anything else stupid happening at this point. I'm still waiting for iFI's reaction to my situation. I realize they can't test vs every piece of hardware/driver out there, but this is a really bad failure mode. I'm not a happy camper right now. I'm really glad it didn't damage the amp. Anxious moments yesterday, for sure.

 I currently use a HP i7 lap top, but I am thinking of building a PC which is more 'audiophile friendly'.  I would be grateful if you could let me know a few more details about your PC.  I intend to use it with an iUSB 3 (currently waiting for iFi to resolve the PMC/DSD usb output issue) and an iGalvanic.  Is there any way I can make the PC more compatible with the IFi USB/Galvanic pair?

[AMR/iFi audio]

On 2/23/2019 at 12:04 PM, Mitch said:

Is there any way I can make the PC more compatible with the IFi USB/Galvanic pair?

 

If your laptop has a USB port (which it probably has), it's compatible. The rest is up to optimising ground (lack of it, one or multiple) via a knob on iGalvanic3.0 and that's it. Our support team is there to help as well if there are any issues:  http://support.ifi-audio.com/