CAD USB Control
$750.00
The CAD USB Control can be used in any USB Port to reduce high frequency noise on the +5Vdc and Signal Ground.
CAD USB Control
The fourth review of the USB Control just out February 2024 by HiFi+ Magazine! reviewed by the editor, Alan Sircom
“Sounds had more purpose and musical intent, and there was a sense of snap and drive to the musical performance.”
“Yes, they help bring out detail that might be hiding below the noise floor, and yes they help make the soundstage seem larger and more open. They even make the sound more dynamic and expressive. But more significantly, they tie the sound together like it was meant to sound.”
“Once again, the USB Control devices improve the system’s ability to convey musical themes and improve the overall communication between musician and listener.”
“I’m trying not to go overboard here, but I find the Computer Audio Design USB Control devices so good at their job that it’s hard not to be swayed by them. It sounds crazy but the biggest downside to them is they are small; we in the audio world are so attuned to the ‘large, heavy thing sounds better”
Read the full review by Alan Sircom here:
The third review of the USB Control just out January 2024 by The Ear!
“the USB Control helped deliver with greater precision, weight, and drive”
“with a sense of calm being introduced alongside enhanced dynamic range”
“With a string octet piece (Mendelssohn Octets, Locrian Ensemble) the benefit was greater still with the sound totally escaping the speakers and coming into the room, it is as if the instruments have more space to breathe”
“I have to say that although the CAD USB Control is small the benefit it brings to high quality equipment is genuinely big”
Awarded Best Buy by The Ear!
Read the full review by Jason Kennedy and Chris Baillie here:
The second review of the CAD USB Control December 2023 by The Audiophile Man:
“A large swathe, almost a sonic band, a strip that ran right across the upper areas of the soundstage, had gone. Disappeared. This strip was nothing but noise that added glare and shine to the upper mids and a measure of listening fatigue too. That had now gone.”
“What shocked me was the 24bit/96Khz performance of the Sonny Rollins track, St. Thomas through that Chinese streaming amplifier, I mentioned. There’s a drum solo mid-song and well, I have never heard those drum textures before. Certainly not from this box. That was new. “
“I’ve heard anti-noise units like this before, granted at a lower price, the Jitterbug from AudioQuest is one example. This CAD unit? It’s on a completely different level.”
Read the entire review here:
The Audiophile Man USB Control Review
The first review of the CAD USB Control by Gy8 – Roy Gregory:
“don’t let its diminutive dimensions or understated appearance fool you. This thing is kryptonite for the spurious noise generated by USB circuitry”
“Without the USB Control in place, the carefully balanced contrasts between the instruments collapse, the music as a whole quickly descending into a confused and confusing jumble. “
“It’s not just the notes that were more clearly placed. The instrumental spread was more clearly defined, with each instrument both more solid and more stable. “
“it brought a warmer, sweeter balance and removed a hint of glare from the top end, but most importantly of all, it brought a new sense of grace and fluidity to the all-important phrasing of the piece”
“inserting the USB Control into the L1’s firmware port wrought what can only be described as a transformation in terms of immediacy, presence, the palpable sense of an all-embracing acoustic and most importantly of all, the shimmering harmonics and texture that add that vital tension and bite to the music.”
Read the full review by Roy Gregory right here:
The new CAD USB Control design resulted from our research and development of the CAD Ground Controls, 1543 MKII DAC and the many USB cables we have produced over the last 13 years.
In our experience, reducing unwanted high frequency noise in audio systems significantly improves sound quality.
The frequency of noise varies in every audio system and in each domestic environment – even the time of day on mains power. The USB Control reduces this unwanted high frequency noise across an extremely broad frequency spectrum, from KHz up into the GHz range.
The CAD USB Control is optimized specifically to reduce high frequency noise in audio components by connecting to unused USB ports.
The USB Control is a small thumb-sized device that can be inserted into any available USB port – including software update ports on any components in your audio system.
The CAD USB Control will reduce higher frequency noise on both the Signal Ground and +5Vdc power. This +5Vdc power is used in all USB connections, but in many audio components this same +5Vdc is also used in crucial audio circuitry.
Like all CAD noise reduction products, the CAD USB Control reduces high frequency noise using CAD developed technology. The USB Control is designed to improve rhythm, timing, soundstage, and musicality of your music and will not “slow down” and harm sound quality as some other noise reduction products can do.
No need to power down your audio component when you insert or remove the USB Control.
Music servers, routers, network switches, digital interfaces, etc. can all benefit from a reduction in high frequency noise. Anywhere you have an unused USB port in your audio system simply plug in a CAD USB Control and enjoy!
“Interestingly, while its impact on the analogue components was in the realms of dimensionality, presence, immediacy and timing, in the case of the digital pieces, it was more about layers of information and overall organisation. The two are clearly related, but they’re also quite distinct. On top of which the benefits easily outweigh/justify the price being asked. The USB Control might not look like much, but this is one audio book that shouldn’t be judged by its cover.”
Roy Gregory, Gy8 May 2023