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  • JCAT USB Card FEMTO Reviews

       (3 reviews)
    Manufacturer: JCAT
    Model: USB Card FEMTO
    Price $: 435

    THE ULTIMATE USB AUDIO OUTPUT

     

    Top quality military grade linear regulators and filters eliminate noise interferences from a PC and guarantee superb sound. Now even better performance with the new 2.0 firmware! 

     

    SPECIFICATION:

      • Audiophile PCI Express USB Card converts PC into a hi-end USB Audio transport
      • Amazing sound quality improvement for all USB DACs & USB-DDCs
      • Ultra-low noise linear regulators and filters eliminate noise interferences from PC
      • No switching power supplies anywhere
      • Femto Clock Technology (Crystek CCHD-957) lowers jitter below measurable levels
      • Industrial grade components with operating temperature range from -40*C to +85*C
      • Enterprise level uDP720201 NEC controller
      • Gold plated high durability EMI shielded USB connectors
      • Two USB 3.0 connectors supporting Low Speed (1.5 Mbps), Full-Speed (12 Mbps), Hi-Speed (480 Mbps) and Super-Speed (5 Gbps) data rates
      • Supports all USB-Audio formats and sample rates
      • Requirements for an optional PSU: 5V/1A min
      • 5V PSU can be supplied from a computer PSU via LP4 connector or from an external PSU via 2.1/5.5mm center-positive DC jack connector (5V Linear Power Supply is recommended for best SQ)
      • Both full-size and low-profile laser cut PCI-e brackets included
      • All x1-x16 lane PCI Express 2.0 slots supported
      • Supported operating systems: Windows (all editions) and Linux

        Manufacturer's product page: https://jcat.eu/product/usb-card-femto/



    User Feedback


    bobfa

       2 of 2 members found this review helpful 2 / 2 members

    I have spent a lot of time with USB cards for improving audio.  The JCAT FEMTO card tops all of the ones I have tested.  This card improved the output from my Xeon based music server rather handily.  It is highly recommended.  See my review here:

     

     

    Link to review
    thuandb

       2 of 2 members found this review helpful 2 / 2 members

    I agree with all Felipe has very well said about the JCAT USB Card Femto.  I'd just like to add a few personal bullet points:

     

    1/. The JCAT card replaced a V2 then a V4 OCXO PPA card, and I never looked back.  It's superior in reliability, precision build, and SQ.  I think it's better than any USB card in the market, period.

     

    2/. It's highly customizable with jumpers.  There are 3 jumper settings with regards to how to power the card (internally powered, externally powered, and all jumpers removed).  Each jumper setting brings about a new higher level of SQ.

     

    3/. It's highly optimizable, just like its JCAT Netcard Femto sibling.  I can use both USB ports or just one for even better SQ.  It's designed and built by a computer audiophile/music lover for us computer audiophiles/music lovers.

     

    3/. It may appear expensive at first, but after using it and enjoying its superb SQ for a while I feel just like Felipe, "It's worth every penny."

     

    4/. The JCAT purchase experiences (I bought more than one JCAT cards) were and always have been precise, prompt, hassle free, and no BS.  In particular, Marcin the JCAT main man has been a gentleman who keeps his promises.

     

    I can't recommend the JCAT USB Card Femto highly enough, but don't take my words for it.  Google the net, look around and you'll see its rave reviews everywhere.

     

    Response from the author:

    Thanks for sharing, Thuan! 

    Link to review
    FelipeRolim

       2 of 2 members found this review helpful 2 / 2 members

    I've been experimenting with computers for over 10 years, and because of that I've experienced a lot and have my convictions consolidated. I started from a notebook, went through countless desktops, and halfway through I bought SOtM tx-USBexp, a real bargain for what it delivers quality. As in Brazil buying things in dollars or euros is always very expensive, and I bought a used SOtM, I always found it very cheap for what it plays. At that time, there was no JCAT USB Card FEMTO, only the first version, which cost more, but not as much as the later launched SOtM sCLK-48.0, and this was what motivated me to switch to JCAT. I never liked anyone who advocated adding countless items to the system in order to "save" something else, and thanks to the consolidation I got, in my experiments, I thought that "penduricalhos" never added much and sometimes even removed. More than that, I always considered devices with the ability to run Windows with superior sound, so the idea of buying a network audio adapter, to later include a USB hub, a battery or linear power supply, a switch, an external clock and plus a lot of things always sounded very bad to me, and in my experiments, it always actually sounded much worse.

     

    It was for these reasons that I considered replacing the SOtM with the JCAT USB Card FEMTO, and it was one of the best purchases I've ever made for my digital transport. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to buy the JCAT Net Card FEMTO, but it's a plan that never left my mind. The JCAT sound is much superior, more natural, plays with incredible precision, an overwhelming spatial image, and even with an extremely clean sound, it never becomes aggressive, tiring, overly shiny. Its naturalness, delicacy and fluidity are the biggest attributes that I can describe, in a direct comparison with the other plates I had and heard (SOtM and Paul Pang). Of course, everything in transport collaborates, but much of this sound came from JCAT, which is powered by a linear ldovr power supply and a Jupiter Pure Silver wiring, a "golden combination" I got and recommend a lot.

     

    I'm hoping that JCAT will continue to improve, but unfortunately prices in Brazil are high and don't help much.

    Response from the author:

    Thank you for the excellent review, Felipe 🙌

    Link to review




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