Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 2/10
Stereo Times EditorialMasthead
Publisher/Founder Clement Perry
Editor Dave Thomas Senior Editors
Frank Alles, Key Kim, RussellLichter, Mike Wright, Bill Wells,
Norm Luttbeg
Current Contributors
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 3/10
The USB Disruptor is a very effective USBtweak accessory thatwas conceived by software expert Rob Priore in Waltham, Mass.Rob is a longtime audio and computer aficionado who, to hissurprise, found that different types of USB cables could affectaudio quality just as analog interconnects and speaker cablesdo. But Priore decided to attack the problematic USB interfacemore as a digital computer issue than an analog audio issue. Priore knew from his experience with computers that there are
all kinds of switching and noiserelated issues taking place in our computersevery second. He also knew that the 5volt power USB power source wasparticularly dirty and compromised and this highly contaminated power iswhat is feeding our audiophile USB DACs, most of which do little if anything torectify this issue. Enter the USB Disruptor. Priore’s idea was to literally disconnect the computer’s internal 5V powersupply from the USB cable and then insert his own clean 5V supply into a veryshort USB pigtail adapter thus circumventing all the noise and interferencethat would normally be taking the superhighway into your DAC’s sensitivecircuitry. The USB Disruptor was born. I have to say that I have used more than a few highquality USB DACs inpursuing my own computeraudio adventures and my latest reference DAC’sare the Benchmark DAC2 HGC and the highly lauded PS Audio DirectStreamDAC. Listening to my systems with these overachieving DACs is a highlypleasurable and engaging experience, and to be honest, I couldn’t imaginehow the sound quality could get much better. But one day, while perusingAudiogon.com, I spied an advert for the USB Disruptor that caught myattention and made sense. Mr. Priore was nice enough to ship me the USBDisruptor for evaluation and review, though I wasn’t sure how muchimprovement his Disruptor would be able to make to my already excellentquality DACs. Wow, was I in for a shock!
Mark Abell, David Abramson,Dave Allison, Michel Aublanc,Ron Cook, Lewis Dardick, MikeGirardi, Moreno Mitchell, DennisParham, Christiaan Punter, DanSecula, Don Shaulis, Greg
Simmons, Eric Teh, Greg Voth,Ed Van Winkle and Stephen Yan
Music Reviewers: Carlos Sanchez, John Jonczyk,John Sprung and Russell Lichter
Site Management Clement Perry
Ad Designer: Martin Perry
2015 RMAF
Tweek Geek
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 4/10
Many audiophiles who use USB DACs normally hook their laptops or tabletsdirectly to their DAC via USB cables costing anywhere from about $6 for themost basic cable to the current crop of highend USB cables that can cost over$1,000. Yikes! I personally never bought into the megabuck USB cable school of thoughtand was satisfied with my $50 DHLabs USB cable and left it at that, thinkingit wasn’t going to get much better. Well it got better alright, but not because Iinstalled some glorified audiophile USB cable, but because I installed RobPriore’s USB Disruptor. So throw out what theories you used to believe, this is where it gets real. Iknow many of you are thinking that the USB Disruptor cannot be that goodbecause it doesn’t come with the usual hyperinflated “audiophile” price tag.But Priore is charging a fair price based on his costs for parts and assemblyand is selling the product direct to the consumer. If you’d like him to chargeyou more so that your friends will be impressed you may be able to talk himinto doing so but it isn’t required. But more to the point, I think Priore has hitthe nail on the head in designing the USB Disruptor and knowing what to fixand how to fix it.
The Setup
My setup for this experiment couldn’t have been simpler. All I needed to do to
High Fidelity Cable
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 5/10
My setup for this experiment couldn’t have been simpler. All I needed to do toinstall the Disruptor was to plug the Disruptor’s USB adapter into my DAC,plug the small power supply into an AC outlet, and then reconnect my USBcable taking care to plug in the computer end last. Easypeasy! I used my Lenovo G500 laptop feeding the PS Audio DirectStream DAC, whichfeeds either my modified Dignity Audio 300B amps and Wavetouch GrandTeton SE speakers or my Melody Onix Sp3 MkII amp with the SilverlinePrelude Plus loudspeakers.Both my PS Audio DirectStream DAC and the USB Disruptor were plugged intomy Monarchy Audio P100 AC regenerator to assure clean power delivery to mydigital source components. The SoundIn all honesty I was not prepared for the level of improvement theunassuming USB Disruptor would provide. Listening to the 300B/Grand TetonSE setup first, I was amazed at how large and how quiet the soundstage hadbecome. I first put on a live 24bit/192kHz recording of the Alan Segal Quintetplaying “Billie’s Bounce” (no kids, you can’t buy this recording—my friend Izzyfrom the NJ Audio Society recorded it live with no compression or otherprocessing allowed!). “Billie’s Bounce” began with a bunch of the musicians talking to each otherand some were moving toandfro on the stage while they did so. From thehall echo and the depth of the soundstage I could get a good sense of thewidth and depth of the venue, and I swear I could hear every word andutterance of the different players as they quipped and generally harassed eachother. When they actually got around to playing the selection I was amazed atthe natural shimmer and “air” of the cymbals and the sharp crack of the drumheads being struck—then the sax chimed in and I was hooked. It was truly animmersive, livesounding event taking place before my face. And I had a similar experience when I played a recording of Prince performinglive in a small club back many years ago and that recording was only CDquality, yet on the DirectStream DAC it didn’t seem to matter much. The bandbegan jamming to a tune called “People Without” and I was amazed at thereproduction of the instruments’ fast impactful transients. With that funkysynthesizer, drums, bass and Prince’s inyerface vocal I was back in the 80’sagain. I could hear the decay of the synth’s ambiance coming off the walls. Iwas literally in that club and I was mesmerized and lost in the cool beats andsounds going on around me. The band was whistling together and I could hearthe cymbals crashing and the drumsticks clicking on the drum rims. It wasjust freakin’ awesome! AQ Jitterbug vs USB Disruptor
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 6/10
AQ Jitterbug vs USB Disruptor
Before the USB Disruptor arrived I hadpurchased an AudioQuest Jitterbug, and when Iplugged it into my computer by itself I believedthat it did in fact offer audible improvements inclarity, and it seemed to provide slightlycleaner and more distinct bass as well. Butwhen I removed the Jitterbug and installed theUSB Disruptor I was truly amazed by themagnitude of the improvements the Disruptorallowed—such as less noise, even greaterclarity, and a huge soundstage that allows thelistener to hear deeper into the acoustic spaceof the particular recording venues. Later when I reinstalled the Jitterbug alongwith the Disruptor I felt that the sound did notimprove; instead it became a bit brighter andless dimensional. So I removed the Jitterbugand never went back to it. My conclusion is thatthe AQ Jitterbug is like a Band Aid, while the USB Disruptor is more of acomprehensive solution—one that provides much larger gains in systemperformance. And the USB Disruptor will only set you back a mere $79 (at thetime of this article).
Act TwoAs if the system was not already sounding spectacular, Rob Priore sent meone of his DaBigGenius™ USB cables (photo right). I must say I had mydoubts that the sound could actually get any better. But now I had switched tothe Silverline Prelude Plus speakers with the Onix 5881 tube amp. I had justinstalled new Siemens E88CC goldpin driver tubes and I confess that thesound became ultradetailed and focused but perhaps a bit less musical. Andwhen I say I could clearly hear every minute microdetail on my recordings Iam not joking. Things like singer’s lips parting and breath being drawn, andhearing the exact moment when the closing notes grow fainter and then fadeout at the ends of tracks were mere child’s play for this system. Installing DaBigGenius™ USB resulted in the sound becoming more musical.
The instrumental timbres were enhanced
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 7/10
The instrumental timbres were enhancedand the soundstage appeared to have evenmore depth and body. The system wassounding so good I had to pinch myself tosee if I was dreaming. In fact, I hadreceived the new HiFiMAN Edition X($1799) headphones and I was suitablyimpressed with them being the mostmusically convincing headphones in myexperience—and yet, my Silverlinespeakers reproduced every minute detailwith the same kind of clarity and authority. To be clear, the Edition X headphones arethe best headphone I have yet heard (fullreview coming soon) and they are beingpowered by the headphone amp inBenchmark’s DAC2HGC DAC, the mostdetailed and musical headphone amp I’veever had the pleasure of hearing and owning. And while the Edition X phonesproduce the most dimensional and believable soundstage I’ve witnessed withheadphones, with the USB Disruptor in the system, the Silverline speakersdisappeared into a soundscape so vast that it virtually enveloped the roomwith me in it. And at the same time the ultraclarity and minutiae of thepresentation were uncannily preserved. My point is that it is often said that very good headphones will provide greatermusical nuance and fine detail than any speaker system and I would normallyagree with that. But with the USB Disruptor and DaBigGenius™ USB cable inmy system the fine detailing performance of my speakers equaled that of oneof the very best headphones currently available and surpassed theheadphones in terms of a providing a more expansive, natural, anddimensional soundstage. ConclusionAfter my euphoric experience with Rob Priore’s USB Disruptor and hisDaBigGenius™ USB cable I stand amazed and humbled in the knowledge thathe has developed a couple of simple, unassuming (and unabashedlyinexpensive) USB products that may take your computerbased audio systemsto new heights, as it did mine. Audiophiles may think I am overstating the efficacy of this smart USB solutionor they may assume that I must be on some kind of wonderful drug. I canassure you that neither of those suppositions is true. This is just a simple caseof being thoroughly impressed by superior mindblowing musical bliss. Ultra
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 8/10
of being thoroughly impressed by superior mindblowing musical bliss. UltraHighly Recommended!
frank alles
ManufacturerTruth in Systems, LLC 11 Indian Road Waltham, MA 02451 5088389180 [email protected]: www.usbdisruptor.com Truth in Systems, LLC USB Disruptor Type B, Micro Type B, or Mini Type B Price: $79 USD DaBigGenius™ USB cablePrice: $25 to $55 USD: Depends on length and type—5V or No 5V Comments:
Doug West
07 March 2016 02:53
Excellent review from Frank, will be ordering the USB Disruptor very soon. With my PC based iTunes I am using a10ft run of AQ cinnamon to DAC, a Cambridge DAC Plus. I assume my cinnamon cable can still be used.
On your DaBigGenius USB cable could you do a 10ft run ??? Also please explain the 5V version VS the non 5V.Very interesting stuff here!
Sincerely, DougReply
3/11/2016 USB Disruptor
http://stereotimes.com/post/usbdisruptor/ 9/10
Frank Alles
07 March 2016 17:24
Hello Doug, thank you for your nice compliment on my review.
To answer your questions I see no reason why your 10ft AQ Cinnamon cable would not work with the USBDisruptor. That said, Rob Priore says that he likes to keep DaBigGenius USB cables to 2meters max to preventnoise from creeping in, and says shorter lengths are more noise resistant. You may be able to get him to makeyou a longer custom DBG cable, but he will probably tell you it won't be "optimum". That being said, I think yourcable would work fine but you could run the question by Rob Priore to get his take on it.
As far as the 5V vs the NO5V versions go, you can use either one with the Disruptor without any sonicdegradation. The 5V version is less expensive because it's less labor intensive, but with the Disruptor theyshould work the same.
If however, you are using a DAC that does not require the 5V from the source (computer) you could employ theNO5V DBG cable. Most DACs do require the 5V from the source but to be sure you can check with the DAC'smanufacturer.
In the case where your DAC does not require the 5V "handshake" from the source computer it would have itsown internal 5V power supply so the 5V from the source would only act to inject more noise into the DAC. In thatevent it is likely that you could still benefit by using the NO5V DaBigGenius USB cable, which would stop the5V from the computer. Happy Listening!
Frank A
NAME:
EMAIL:
URL:
Reply
