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A comment on Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles. Parent comment

Re:Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles by fro0116 on Saturday December 29, 2018 @01:22AM (#18782241)
I don't disagree with the point you're trying to make, but I'm not sure if USB is the best example to make that point.

Case in point: when I used a USB DAC with my NUC there's an intermittent electrical noise that's actually quite audible and distracting (even when nothing is playing). I ended up switching to another cheap DAC that accepts optical input, and the noise completely disappeared. I'm not entirely sure what caused the electrical noise to begin with, but that it existed means there's some potential for USB to mess with the audio signal.

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Re:Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles by sk5t on Saturday December 29, 2018 @01:43AM (#18782315)
It could be a ground loop hum, not USB's fault really, but you do get electrical isolation with toslink.
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Re:Audiophiles in Japan Are Installing Their Own Power Poles by thirdsun on Thursday January 03, 2019 @03:55AM (#18813757)
Can confirm. Using my SPL Crimson audio interface with a cheap USB hub leads to clearly noticeable noise and distortion (particularly when silent). Connecting the interface directly to the Mac Mini removes the issue.
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