Depends on the DAC or SPDIF converter and how good or bad your USB setup is. If you're piping straight from a crappy desktop or laptop's built-in USB to a DAC/SPDIF converter that might be sensitive to USB signal quality, it should be more noticeable than, say, cable changes. Less so than tube changes, though. If your USB output and/or input are good or not sensitive to crappy signal, then any changes might not be noticeable at all. All depends on the hardware you're using it with, your hearing ability, and so on. And that's not to say changes will always be positive.Then again, this is just based on my very limited experience with the Wyrd. It's not going to be an OMG change regardless...unless your USB output is THAT bad.
The prototype PS Engineering asked me to audition removes this limitation, allowing cable lengths of hundreds of meters and, in one setup, miles. Clearly, what I used was not entirely similar to the Jitterbug and other isolators and signal regenerators, though close enough I bring the entire group into the discussion. What are the isolation and regeneration devices I first mentioned? Our Ted Smith explains:The Regen is trying to generate a USB signal that’s clean enough that the DAC’s USB PHY (the PHYsical layer, the part that drives and receives the signals over the wire) doesn’t have to “work as hard” and hence doesn’t add as much noise to the power supply. To go at higher and higher speeds it takes more signal conditioning. These days many PHYs dynamically change their parameters to better send and receive signals and using those features can use significant current. The Regen tries to take on the work (with the resultant changing current draws and resultant noise) on the input side so the DAC’s PHY doesn’t have to and then the Regen sends a much more consistent quality signal so that the DAC doesn’t make noise in itself trying to accommodate a signal that’s changing quality.Like jitter it’s another way that a relatively little known effect can end up being manifest noise.
