Review and Measurements of Schiit WYRD USB Filter

[amirm]

Probably not a good example but Benchmark was selling the DAC1 until 2013 or so, and it used adaptive USB.

The DAC1 had internal asynchronous sample rate conversion so accomplished the same (i.e. not using the USB clock as is to drive the DAC).

 

[gvl]

The DAC1 had internal asynchronous sample rate conversion so accomplished the same (i.e. not using the USB clock as is to drive the DAC).

I did say it wasn't a good example But technically it used adaptive USB. And ASRC has its own issues, afaik anyway.

 

[Jimster480]

The ifi iDefender 3.0 is the only USB "purification" (really it does something pretty simple - cuts the USB power out of the equation) product that has actually worked for me. Did wonders for my ground loop hum issues, but my PC's USB output is still cancer and will make certain DACs noisy.

My friend has a Skylake i7 machine that has such a noisy USB interface that it actually makes DAC's screech randomly.
He would tell me that every USB DAC he tried he ended up with random noises or popping in the music.
I think he started to use the optical output from his computer to avoid this problem, and he bought an Eitr too i think it was...

I have personally never had a computer myself with such USB issues, but hes not the first friend to have issues like this in terms of USB power.
Although at no time does that mean that the USB power filters will fix this, or that fidelity would be improved.
It just means that devices that isolate the DAC from the PC are able to FIX problems like this.

 

[gvl]

I wasn't following audio closely back then, but based on my Internet excavations the async USB wasn't really a thing you could buy until 2008/09. Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio who's credited to be one of the async USB pioneers showed his first async DAC at the 2008 CES. The mentioned Arcam rDac was a big deal at the time as it was one of the first reasonably priced async USB DACs from a mainstream vendor.

 

[mansr]

Gordon Rankin who's credited to be one of the async USB pioneers

Credited by whom other than himself and his sycophants (the audio press)?

 

[gvl]

Credited by whom other than himself and his sycophants (the audio press)?

No idea, he did seem to have a following. Regardless, anyone has many examples of an async USB Dac one could buy in 08/09?

 

[amirm]

Can you run an S/N test?

Here you go:

 

[amirm]

Crossposting the test of SMSL Sanskrit 10th DAC with Wyrd here:

In other words, Wyrd does NOT make for a more powerful power supply than the native one out of the computer's USB port. And it doesn't improve performance with this DAC either.

 

[gvl]

@amirm, I have a cheapo Chinese PCM2704 16-bit adaptive USB DAC laying around, if there is any interest I can send it in so we (and by we I mean you) can drive the last nail in if the Wyrd's loan window permits. Or maybe you can find one already in one of your drawers...

 

[MZKM]

Here you go:
View attachment 18999

Thanks.

 

[amirm]

@amir, I have a cheapo Chinese PCM2704 16-bit adaptive USB DAC laying around, if there is any interest I can send it in so we (and by we I mean you) can drive the last nail in if the Wyrd's loan window permits. Or maybe you can find one already in one of your drawers...

Thanks but I don't think that answer matters. Any time I invest on this, is time not used to measure something new.....

 

[Jimster480]

@amirm, I have a cheapo Chinese PCM2704 16-bit adaptive USB DAC laying around, if there is any interest I can send it in so we (and by we I mean you) can drive the last nail in if the Wyrd's loan window permits. Or maybe you can find one already in one of your drawers...

It would make little sense to test this.
its been proven that the Wyrd does nothing at all.

If you want to go and search for a product that it might possibly be able to help; you are being a Schiit fanboy by trying to find a use case for a useless and flawed (and overpriced) product.

 

[amirm]

If you want to go and search for a product that it might possibly be able to help; you are being a Schiit fanboy by trying to find a use case for a useless and flawed (and overpriced) product.

He is being helpful so let's not blame him.

 

[Jimster480]

He is being helpful so let's not blame him.

Alright alright

I had one of these before:
https://www.amazon.com/OUOU-Headpho...45090526&sr=8-9&keywords=usb+3d+sound+adapter

I think that it is Async aswell.... I used to use it for a cheap headset to talk on Mumble/Ventrilo back in the day.
I think the entire setup cost only $20 with both units and I used it for years... Probably from 2005-2010?

 

[gvl]

It would make little sense to test this.
its been proven that the Wyrd does nothing at all.

It does something, denying it would be silly,

 

[Jimster480]

It does something, denying it would be silly,

Yes yes.... its a single port USB hub.

 

[Rollingsound514]

I bought this thing before reading this and I'm stuck with it... Other than POSSIBLY being able to introduce a ground loop by introducing another power supply into a system, can this thing do any harm? If not I'll just keep it in the mix as my USB source is a PC I built myself in 2012 when I had no clue what I was doing... Having it there gives my OCD a rest knowing that the first link in the chain is clean...

 

[amirm]

It can't do any harm. It will just use extra power doing nothing useful. I would sell it and put the money toward something else. May want to do it sooner than later before more people read this review.

 

[Rollingsound514]

It can't do any harm. It will just use extra power doing nothing useful. I would sell it and put the money toward something else. May want to do it sooner than later before more people read this review.

It's too late. haha!

 

[restorer-john]

I still have it some place although our male dog found it and performed a teardown on it:

I like his teardowns!

Perhaps he could do some more for us? Sure beats pictures of cats doing silly things.