Starting with my DSF files of The Who’s 1967 tongue in cheek album The Who Sell Out, I was ready to jet off into the radio dial of ‘60s crass commercialism.
Analog to digital converter usb windows#
When given the opportunity, DSD is my preferred digital formal. I find that DSD on average is able to produce a much more natural and easy sonic signature than even high resolution PCM, and is in turn, closer to analogue and the live experience for me. So it’s no surprise that I started off playing some of my DSF files via JRiver Media Center 27 on my Macbook Pro. For those new to computer audio, the player used can make a large difference and I find JRiver consistently puts forth a blacker base for my digital audio files than other programs I have used. iTunes (now Apple Music), Quicktime, VLC, Windows Media, etc are all useful programs, but they are not optimized to produce the cleanest file reads.
Analog to digital converter usb pro#
I currently have in my rotation the Pontus II DAC also from Denafrips-it serves as the output point for the Iris. I used the stock power cord in this case, and plugged the Iris into the PS Audio Power Plant 12 to ensure silent power into the unit. I then took advantage of the Pontus’ I2S connection by connecting the two converters via an Audioquest Forest HDMI cable. The Iris was connected to my Macbook Pro also via an Audioquest Forest USB cable. I did not have the opportunity to connect an external clock to the Iris, but at this price point I can’t imagine many will be using this feature. Still, it exists for those Terminator Plus users and others who may have invested in a high-end clock.
As for outputs, one has a plethora of choices including Coax, Toslink, AES/IBU, I2S HDMI, and I2S RJ45. The Iris contains no on/off switch, meaning Denafrips intend for the unit to remain powered-on most of the time. A detachable power cord is included (unlike some Denafrips units which ship without one). The front panel contains a simple array of LED indicators to display the sample rate of the incoming DSD or PCM information and a single SETUP button to enable or disable external clock-in. The rear panel of the Iris houses one USB input as well as two inputs for external clocks (to sync with the clocks of other DACs such as the Terminator-Plus). The Iris sits at the entry level of Denafrips’ DDC line which also contains the Aio ($1260) and the Gaia ($1710). It contains two FEMTO Crystal Oscillators (operating at 45.1584Mhz and 49.152Mhz) for its clock, along with eight sets of low noise, linear power regulars and an oversized O-Core Transformer to power the USB signal. That signal is isolated by 50-Mbps high speed photo couplers. The result, according to Denafrips, is a near elimination of any jitter in the USB signal. The processing ability of the Iris supports up to 24bit/768kHz PCM and DSD up to DSD1024. Like its DAC companions, the Iris does not support MQA decoding. Users with Windows systems will be relieved to know that the Iris comes with a licensed Thesycon USB driver. So, what is a digital to digital converter (DDC), and why would a listener need one? Not every digital source is created equal, and while many fine streamers, CD transports, and servers are very good at feeding those 1s and 0s to your DAC in a jitter and noise-free way, many USB devices are not so lucky. Computers, phones, tablets, and the like, find themselves as the source of many a digital audio system, and this can lead to a signal that is less than pure right from the start. The Iris and other DDC USB converters take the USB signal from your devices and do two primary things: provide clean isolated power to the USB signal, and reclock that USB signal. It is essentially a conditioner in a similar way we think about power conditioning in our AC line. One of those devices: the Denafrips Iris ( $520) is a ‘digital to digital’ converter, a device classification of which I was hitherto unaware. Many HiFi enthusiasts firmly in the digital camp will decry the hassle of vinyl and analog. For myself, vinyl seems relatively simple compared to the plethora of digital options out there. Sure, things used to be as simple as a good CD player and perhaps an outboard DAC, but those days are long gone. Today, we have infinite ways to get digital music from files, streaming, multiple disc formats, and a seemingly infinite number of devices to sit between those songs and our preamp.
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