Topping HS02 USB isolator early impressions

[Norville]

I couldn't find a lot of information about the Topping HS02 USB isolator online from people actually using one so I thought I'd post some of my early impressions of using it.
I had a pretty bad noise coming out of the USB connections from my PC motherboard. It didn't matter if I had the output actually switched on on my Topping E50 DAC
running through USB or not, there was still noise that seemed to follow the movement of the mouse or when the Graphics card was under load. The only way to make it stop was to remove the usb cable from the motherboard.

I did some looking online and found that a a ground loop isolator would probably do the trick.
So I ordered a Topping HS02, which I found was the most solid option since it could be powered with a separate power supply if the DAC actually needed USB-power which makes it a bit more versatile for other applications. There is a HS01 too, but the 20 dollars more expensive HS02 has the seperate USB-power filtered too.

One could argue that this is a design flaw of the DAC, it should be able to isolate ground loops by itself. I also have a Matrix Element-i which doesn't have any of these problems when connected as a USB-DAC but it is much more expensive on the other hand.

Anyway, got it today and my early impressions are very positive. It's quite small, like a packet of Tic-Tacs and solidly built with metal.
The noise has virtually disappeard when it was plugged in. There still is some very slight noise coming from my active KRK Rokit 6 monitors but it's nowhere
near as bad as it used to be. Seems to be a very solid upgrade for those that have the same problem.

 

[Matias]

The noise has virtually disappeard when it was plugged in. There still is some very slight noise coming from my active KRK Rokit 6 monitors but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be.

Same kind of noise (mouse movement, GPU load) but attenuated, or just constant background hiss?

 

[Norville]

Same kind of noise (mouse movement, GPU load) but attenuated, or just constant background hiss?

No noise following mouse movement or GPU load. I think the speakers themselves have some background noise from the factory and it is with high volume with nothing playing.

 

[Matias]

Yes, then the HS02 solved 100% of the USB noise interference, and now what is left is only the speaker plate amp limitation. The HS02 removed a bottleneck and revealed the next one downstream.

 

[Norville]

Yes, then the HS02 solved 100% of the USB noise interference, and now what is left is only the speaker plate amp limitation. The HS02 removed a bottleneck and revealed the next one downstream.

You are most likely right. I don't mind that noise however, that's really something I can live with compared to how it was.

 

[Loomynarty]

If I had to take a wild guess what IC this isolator is using, it's probably the relatively new ADuM 4165 from Analog Devices. I haven't found any isolator state outright they're using this IC but considering AD are pretty much the only company making USB isolator ICs that actually work, it'd be safe to say it is that.

You can actually buy an evaluation board with said IC installed in it directly from AD to test if you're curious. I'm thinking about ordering one.