Which USB reclocker is as good as the Innuos Phoenix USB?


I read a lot about the Innuos Phoenix USB and everyone sings its praises even owners of expensive gear. The problem is that it is expensive.

There are other reclockers like iPurifier3, the Ideon Audio USB Re-clocker 3R, or the SOtM tX-USBultra USB Audio Reclocker. In forums the feedback is that the Phoenix beats a lot of the reclockers.

Does anyone have experience with a USB reclocker that does as good job as the Phoenix USB?

tjag

@tjag What you should look for in all these reviews is what server is being used, this will tell you what purpose Phoenix serving. I suspect everyone of those servers is not optimizing usb rendering, this means using inferior clocking and noisy usb connected directly to motherboard, not good.

 

The problem with streaming is you can never get back what you lost, nothing that comes after a weak link can be recovered. This means information lost from high noise floor can't magically reappear, bad timing emanating from poor rendering cannot suddenly be re-timed at point of rendering, re-clocker is only band aid. You want to fix things at the source, band aids may help, but the damage remains.

@sns  I agree, internal clocks close to D/A converter IC make sense to me.  Advertisement of external clocks often shows extreme accuracy or long term stability - both unimportant.  Important is the jitter of the clock, that often is not specified and can be increased by the method of delivery (cable, external electrical noise, clock's PS noise).  I would rather spend money on better DAC instead of very expensive "femtosecond" external clock.  AFAIK jitter below about 50ps becomes inaudible, while "femtosecond" suggests 1000x below this level.  It is like buying keyboard able to type million words per second.

 

@sns Thank you for your advice. I have a simple but relatively good streamer ifi Zen with a nice DAC Musician Aquarius. I am not worried that my streamer is better than what these guys have :)

I did read about what gear they used, and it is a variety. One reviewer even tested the Phoenix with the Sonore UltraRendu and reported a positive result.

I don't get why the guy inserted Phoenix between Devialet and ultrarendu. The Devialet has non-optimal usb rendering so I understand the improvment using sonore and phoenix. Reviewer should place UltraRendu directly after Devialet, listen, then add Phoenix AFTER UltraRendu. I'd bet on no better or dimiinished sound quality used in this order. If the guy added Phoenix after having previously used Devialet direct to UltraRendu, I'd suggest further lowering of noise floor with Phoenix here, benefited UR, redundant clocks don't help. I'd also like to know what power supply reviewer uses with UR, quality of this has great impact on noise floor of that unit.

This is the only entry on the net I read someone claiming to have bettered the Phoenix. I don’t know if I believe him because this is a selling ad (Mano ULTRA mkII Music Streamer). By the way the Mano doesn’t have a USB output.

Check what he wrote

"I am only selling because I changed DAC’s and no longer have an I2S input. But this streamer was outstanding and bettered my previous Sonore UltraRendu/Innuos Phoenix USB path at a much cheaper cost"