Article: Review | Innuos PhoenixUSB Reclocker

[austinpop]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

Thanks for the hard work Rajiv!

[JoeWhip]

The question I have is how using this straight from my laptop and then to my DAC would compare to the signature Optical Rendu system from Sonore. Certainly cheaper and less boxes. I know Rajiv didn’t test this but would be interesting.

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, JoeWhip said:

The question I have is how using this straight from my laptop and then to my DAC would compare to the signature Optical Rendu system from Sonore. Certainly cheaper and less boxes. I know Rajiv didn’t test this but would be interesting.

 

Hi Joe,

 

You're comparing two completely different systems, whereas my goal in the review is to hold everything else constant and compare the component-under-test with its competition.

 

Also, keep in mind the oR is an endpoint/streamer, so you do need a music server elsewhere in the network. Back to more boxes.

[matthias]

I think I would prefer a JCAT USB CARD XE

https://jcat.eu/featured/usb-card-xe/

with an excellent power supply.

 

Matt

[trailblazers_song]

Denafrips Giaa with a lot more options for digital input & output at 1/2 the price 

[davide256]

Great review, those comparisons are oh so important!

[matthias]

I would NEVER buy an USB reclocker because it is dependent on the USB signal you feed with.

So it is much better to have an UHQ USB host controller in the first place.

 

Matt

[austinpop]

27 minutes ago, trailblazers_song said:

Denafrips Giaa with a lot more options for digital input & output at 1/2 the price 

 

Interesting. No USB output?

[JoeWhip]

I noticed that too. Deal breaker for me.

[Norton]

Not a product for me, but thanks for a great review Rajiv.  Full marks for using Hovhaness.  I’d have been inclined to try Mysterious Mountain too.

[audiofool1982]

I have an uptone audio ISO Regen with a CI audio LPS in my setup. Music server ( custom server with a Ryzen 7 processor ) connected to uptone's etherregen. My renderer is an Antipodes EX which is also connected to the etherregen. 

 

EX---> curious cable usb ---> ISO regen with LPS ---> Phasure Lush^2 ---> MSB analog Dac. 

 

Will the Phoenix USB reclocker over take the ISO regen in my setup?

[thyname]

1 hour ago, trailblazers_song said:

Denafrips Giaa with a lot more options for digital input & output at 1/2 the price 

 

Of course! For every single product out there there is a China equivalent at half the price (or less) LOL!!

[The Computer Audiophile]

I heard this at RMAF last year. It was the first room I visited on the Press day. The entire floor was dead quiet, unlike most shows. 
 

I was surprised at what I heard and the amount of positive effects the Phoenix had on the system being used. 

[rickca]

@austinpop, any chance you could compare the Phoenix to the JCAT USB XE with a high quality 5V LPS like Optimo 3 Duo?

[trailblazers_song]

2 hours ago, thyname said:

 

Of course! For every single product out there there is a China equivalent at half the price (or less) LOL!!

Well maybe half of the servers in the market are using casings made in china LoL!

USB signal reclock to an extremely precise USB signal & input into an unknown quality USB input in a DAC 😆. Wouldnt it make better sense to use an excellent quality usb card like those fr Jcat ( retailing euro 800) or the 1 from pink faun ?

Anyway, any product is relevant to someone & I m sure Innous Phoenix will be an excellent upgrade to some of us

[austinpop]

Guys, I can only do so much in one review. In my "real-life" profession, there is a phrase — don't boil the ocean! I chose to focus this review on 2 things:

• the USB - USB path
• users who don't build their USB sources.

Products like the Gaia mentioned above, or the well-established MUTEC MC-3+ and Singxer SU-1, are digital-to-digital converters (DDCs) in that they actually convert from one digital input format to another. The whole decision of "which input type is best" is a deep, deep rabbit hole that is completely OT for this discussion. I focused on USB sources and USB inputs. That is what the PhoenixUSB is designed for.

 

As regards PCIe cards like the JCAT USB XE, or previous stalwarts like the SOtM tX-USBexp, these belong to a subset of sources that people custom-build for themselves. Standalone units, like the PhoenixUSB, the tX-USBultra, and the ISO-Regen, are applicable to all sources.

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, rickca said:

@austinpop, any chance you could compare the Phoenix to the JCAT USB XE with a high quality 5V LPS like Optimo 3 Duo?

 

This would be interesting, but needs to wait until I can move to a future custom build where I have multiple PCIe slots to hold both the JCAT Net Femto and JCAT USB XE.

[trailblazers_song]

34 minutes ago, austinpop said:

Guys, I can only do so much in one review. In my "real-life" profession, there is a phrase — don't boil the ocean! I chose to focus this review on 2 things:

• the USB - USB path
• users who don't build their USB sources.

Products like the Gaia mentioned above, or the well-established MUTEC MC-3+ and Singxer SU-1, are digital-to-digital converters (DDCs) in that they actually convert from one digital input format to another. The whole decision of "which input type is best" is a deep, deep rabbit hole that is completely OT for this discussion. I focused on USB sources and USB inputs. That is what the PhoenixUSB is designed for.

 

As regards PCIe cards like the JCAT USB XE, or previous stalwarts like the SOtM tX-USBexp, these belong to a subset of sources that people custom-build for themselves. Standalone units, like the PhoenixUSB, the tX-USBultra, and the ISO-Regen, are applicable to all sources.

 

Understood. I do enjoy your meticulous review. Thanks

[mozes]

Outstanding review as usual, thanks Rajiv for your time and effort in putting together this review!

[Superdad]

5 hours ago, audiofool1982 said:

EX---> curious cable usb ---> ISO regen with LPS ---> Phasure Lush^2 ---> MSB analog Dac. 

Will the Phoenix USB reclocker over take the ISO regen in my setup?

 

It would, but realize that your ISO REGEN already has five separate Linear Tech LT3042 ultra-low noise regulators, a USB3.1 hub chip selected for best signal integrity, and an ultra-low-phase noise Crystek 575--plus true galvanic isolation via the costly Silanna ICE08USB chip. Combine that with the LPS you already use it with and the form factor allowing you to preserve SI and impedance match by plugging directly into the DAC with no additional cable, and I'd say you are already doing pretty well for about 1/10th the price. 

[I promise this will be my only comparative comment in this thread.]

[all300b]

Nice review.  I'm curious as to what the clock in the sending device - in this case the Phoenix - is actually doing.  In your setup, the clock in the Chord Scaler should be acting in asynchronous mode to control the data stream.  Does this clock interact with the one in the sending device? 

 

[jrobbins50]

@austinpop, thank you. Wondering if you’ve ever had the opportunity to hear, and thus have a point of reference to comment upon, this far less expensive USB reclocking device:

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ideon-audio-3r-usb-renaissance-usb-hub/ JCR 

[PYP]

I find this review interesting for the very reason that I have no intention of moving toward the kind of setup you have.  It helps me better understand the broader universe of setups and the progress that is being made in USB implementation, clocks, etc.  Thanks for laying it out in a way that a novice can easily understand.   And the mini-interview with the designer was really helpful and interesting.  

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, all300b said:

Nice review.  I'm curious as to what the clock in the sending device - in this case the Phoenix - is actually doing.  In your setup, the clock in the Chord Scaler should be acting in asynchronous mode to control the data stream.  Does this clock interact with the one in the sending device? 

 

 

I don't claim to know definitively the reason why a lower phase noise clock on the USB source has a positive effect on SQ. This has certainly been my experience, as has the quality of the power supply. The most plausible hypotheses I've read on this subject are the white paper put out by John Swenson, digital designer of Uptone Audio products. Please have a look.