What exactly does Studio do to eliminate USB/computer noise?
On the audirvana.com site they cover the technology that is implemented depending on the computer system used. Have you studied that yet?
The digital playback process is at the heart of Audirvāna’s proprietary technology.
It prioritizes the music on your computer by minimizing processor activity during playback and always following the shortest possible software path to the audio output. Continuous improvements over the last 10 years ensure the best digital audio playback performance from a computer on both Mac and PC (with the new KERNEL STREAMING mode) and native compatibility with Apple Silicon and windows 11.
Just a sample of the information available to you on the website.
I have studied the information pages. I just wanted more detailed information. But thanks for your reply. i think it’s the best playback software that I’ve heard.
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The bottom line, enjoy the Colonel’s delicious chicken but the recipe is still secret.
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@kkinnon
Audirvana produces a bit-accurate signal to the system USB bus API (Application Interface)… where the computer architecture manages the bus interface… ‘Noise’ as it pertains to digital-audio signals is a function of electronic and mechanical influences in the transmission of the digital-audio signals… ‘Noise’ is typically a product of a number of factors involving RF, EMF and power/ground related elements and clock anomalies that precipitate jitter, Both interface jitter and systematic jitter… In the case of Audirvana, any jitter (noise) would be induced by the computer platform itself.
In simplistic terms, Audirvana by virtue of its design architecture, does not contribute to noise…
So @Agoldnear Would a simpler explanation be that Audirvāna doesn’t eliminate noise but seeks to minimize the potential noise generation?
This paper can give you some hints:
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If we are talking about noise induced jitter on the USB bus, then Audirvana does not generate this noise… The only affect Audirvana would have on this ‘noise’ is if the data-flow is corrupted or interrupted in operations, that would precipitate error-correction request interrupts, buffer under-runs and truncation…
From The Well Tempered Computer reference article linked below: “A bit of noise”
Obvious “bits are bits” is an oversimplification.
The samples are the only part of our digital audio that Is truly digital.
The sample rate is generated by a clock, a analog device with analog imperfection.
Processors and certainly a PC full of all kind of components is a source of noise indeed.The question is how well our DAC is isolated from the source.
If one looks at measurements of modern DAC’s using the USB input one in general hardly see any disturbance at all.
No sign of noise, no sign of jitter. A noise floor as low as -120 dBFS seems common in $1000 DAC’s.
This is an urban legend.
@Cloclo
You will need to provide quantitative evidence to refute the generality in this context… I know you believe a USB interface on a given DAC can be noisy… It is entirely possible… However, as we have gone over this ad nauseam… Most likely this is related to power-supply deficiencies in the DAC architectures.
In the reference article from The Well Tempered Computer: “USB Isolation” linked below, you will see evidence of USB port related noise depending on which port is employed on a Mac laptop:
Please @Agoldnear and @Cloclo it starts to be a habit now that every thread you meet each other a completely unrelated discussion is started which pollutes/obscures the whole thread.
PLEASE start a separate thread together in the lounge or take a room together, but PLEASE not here.
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Amen brother
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This is what I was looking for. I knew Audirvana didn’t introduce noise…the question was does it help to reduce any usb/computer generated noise. Thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated.
Didn’t know this wasn’t the exact place to ask my question. Sorry.
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There is a sys optimiser mode that in theory should reduce system noise.
Sys optimizer prevents macOS from proceeding with Time Machine backups, and Spotlight indexation during the playback. It prevents a theoretical drop in sound quality, if one of these operations was triggered, but does not contribute to the sound quality because none of these background operations runs constantly on the Mac.
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