iFiiDefender+ External USB Audio Ground Loop Eliminator (Type A - A)

When I moved house and setup up my guitar and synth bits in the new place, I was treated to the most horrendous ground hum, staticy, zuzzing noise through the monitor speakers from the USB audio interface attached to my desktop DAW system. I never had this problem at the old place aside from a very small hum which a small Behringer Hum Destroyer/Suppressor fixed.This little iDefender fella removed most of the noise, leaving only a very faint electrical connection sound in the distance if you put your ear to the speaker and which you'd easily forget about when audio was coming through. So, it did the job it was supposed to do but it is quite expensive at £60.The reason I say "check you really need it" is because I did little more investigation and found a better and cheaper solution for my setup. As I had never had a real problem before, my Steinberg audio interface had always been connected to the Mackie monitors via mono 1/4" cables. Apparently, these are called Unbalanced. The Steinberg and the Mackies both support TRS (stereo) cables otherwise known as Balanced. No idea what all that means but professional stuff all generally supports Balanced. I bought a pair of TRS audio cables from Amazon (RUXELY 6.35mm TRS Instrument Cable) for a grand total of £12 and voilà. ALL the noise vanished. Nothing evident even with your ear up against the speaker. Didn't even need the Behringer.Problem solved. iDefender not required. iDefender returned. Balanced is clearly the way to go and I probably should have known this but I'd never had this problem before in the previous 15 years with all sorts of kit and different interfaces. Balanced TRS cables on everything from now on. That said, if that doesn't do it in your situation then the iDefender will likely get the job done.

It was quiet pricey for such a simple solution (ground loop noise elimination) but it did not work sadly for me. Will not recommend for someone who has an audio interface like Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 taking power via USB.

I initially balked at the idea of paying nearly £60 for a USB ground loop removal device but, after trying two other cheaper (£10-15ea) alternatives, one removed the noise but at the expense of removing USB connectivity entirely, the other didn't work at all. So I pulled the pin and bought the iFi iDefender+ and wow, no switches, no gimmicks, it auto-senses if you have external power plugged in on the side port and removes the ground loop noise issue entirely! Absolutely fantastic!In my case it was a Roland TR-6S drum machine which is entirely USB powered and it generates a tremendous amount of (unwanted) "computer hum and buzz/chirp" noises on the line-out 1/4" ports as a result of the CPU and LED lights inside it when connected to my powered USB hub - but when connected to a separate USB power supply (IKEA Rallen desk mount) it is as quiet as a mouse until you actually play some beats!By contrast a Roland SE-02 synth has no issue as it has its own external power supply and even when connected to the same USB hub, no noise issues at all and hence no need for a ground loop removal.

At first I thought the stick was defective as I had terrible interference when used with an AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt. Adding external power helps, but I was still getting some noise . Powering the unit from my PC didn't work (again, I got some noise), nor did powering it from the wall using a USB 3.1 C cable. I think the problem was that quick charge or fast charge was introducing noise in this case. You want the oldest, dumbest 5V power supply you can find that still works with USB C. The solution for me was to use an old USB 2.0 A to C cable along with an iPhone wall chargerWith the iPhone charger powering the unit, I can turn my external amp up to 100% (way too loud to listen comfortably or safely) with no signal playing and I get no noise whatsoever - no buzz or hiss. At sensible listening volumes music is crystal clear.The eliminator comes with a USB C to barrel adapter, but I didn't have a suitable power supply on hand for that. If you do what I did and use a phone charger with a USB C cable, be prepared to try a few different cables until you find one that plays nicely with this unit.

This is an excellent piece of tech that does exactly what it says, eliminates ground loop issues. It totally worked for me and I would highly recommend it.Before buying this item you must establish if you actually have a ground loop issue. I had a noise coming through my studio monitors which sounded like I could hear the computer working if that makes sense, I could even hear a sound when I moved the mouse. After watching a few videos on the internet (recommended) and trying a few remedies, I opted to purchase the iDefender and was so glad I did as it resolved the issue immediately.Note, this only works on a USB powered audio interface and the item also requires a separate 5V/2A power supply. It’s a bit particular about which power supply it needs, so choose one with a barrel end connection and an in-line noise reduction magnet. There’s a short barrel to usb C adapter in the box. You must power the iDefender otherwise it won’t work.I bought this power supply from Amazon and it worked perfectly.https://amzn.eu/d/j0qptp9Not cheap but highly effective, and highly recommended. Just do your research and get the correct power supply.

Always a bit sceptical with products like these but this one worked.My son had interference through his Yamaha HS5 speakers but only when playing games. No problems with Spotify or YouTube.This device seems to have cured the interference that we believe was coming from the CPU or graphics card.