This sounds like a gimmick to me, with "catchy" marketing and all...

[AudioDoctor]

It is my understanding that there is a switching power supply inside our computers, so I am not sure how a USB type C Linear Power Supply would benefit.  Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/musiclinear-your-clean-power-for-computer-audio#/

[opus101]

Computers tend to have more than one switching regulator inside - the main one being a buck to supply a very low voltage to the CPU. But seeing as these switchers are on the secondary side they cannot induce the same kind of noise that an offline switcher can. The bogieman is called 'common-mode noise'. Enlightenment might be found from reading Henry Ott but he's not really for the non-electromagnetically astute reader : http://www.hottconsultants.com/pdf_files/APEC-2002.pdf

[marce]

There are many point of load supplies inside PC's laptops and processor or FPGA based system will have loads. Core voltages, IO voltages, memory supplies etc. etc. I think the most I have put on a single board is 27, not all are SMPS's though, some low power voltages will be derived from LDO regulators...

Look up simultaneous switching noise, then you will sleep easier regarding SMPS's 

[gmgraves]

20 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

It is my understanding that there is a switching power supply inside our computers, so I am not sure how a USB type C Linear Power Supply would benefit.  Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/musiclinear-your-clean-power-for-computer-audio#/

 

There are so many clock and other digital signal "noise" running around inside of a computer that it gets superimposed on everything. By disconnecting the the outgoing USB audio signal from the computer's USB 5 volt power supply and replacing it with an external 5-volt supply from an analog source, the idea is that the cleaner 5-volts, disassociated as it is from all the computer noise, will result in cleaner, quieter audio. 

 

That theory MIGHT hold some water, then again it might not. Every computer is different and some might isolate the 5-volt USB supply from the computer's self-noise better than some others and some USB powered devices such as DragonFly-like DACs might filter that 5-volts better than others, so it becomes like anything else in audio: If you need it (like vibration isolation such as Stillpoints) it will help, if you don't need it in your particular system, then it's a waste of money (like Stillpoints or Sorbothane pucks in a system without feedback issues) and will make no difference whatsoever.  The industry, unfortunately, relies on the fact that most audiophiles are technically naive  coupled with the fact that many of these characteristics are difficult, if not impossible, for the consumer to test for, in order to sell the unwary things that they MIGHT need (but probably don't). Their attitude is that the average audiophile should weigh a possibility against a certainty and BUY these overpriced solutions. 

 

Lest you think that this type of attitude only exists in the high-end audio business, This from a pharmaceutical company researcher (one hopes in jest): "My company both invented and cured restless eye syndrome in a single afternoon!"

[AudioDoctor]

10 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

 

There are so many clock and other digital signal "noise" running around inside of a computer that it gets superimposed on everything. By disconnecting the the outgoing USB audio signal from the computer's USB 5 volt power supply and replacing it with an external 5-volt supply from an analog source, the idea is that the cleaner 5-volts, disassociated as it is from all the computer noise, will result in cleaner, quieter audio. 

 

That theory MIGHT hold some water, then again it might not. Every computer is different and some might isolate the 5-volt USB supply from the computer's self-noise better than some others and some USB powered devices such as DragonFly-like DACs might filter that 5-volts better than others, so it becomes like anything else in audio: If you need it (like vibration isolation such as Stillpoints) it will help, if you don't need it in your particular system, then it's a waste of money (like Stillpoints or Sorbothane pucks in a system without feedback issues) and will make no difference whatsoever.  The industry, unfortunately, relies on the fact that most audiophiles are technically naive  coupled with the fact that many of these characteristics are difficult, if not impossible, for the consumer to test for, in order to sell the unwary things that they MIGHT need (but probably don't). Their attitude is that the average audiophile should weigh a possibility against a certainty and BUY these overpriced solutions. 

 

Lest you think that this type of attitude only exists in the high-end audio business, This from a pharmaceutical company researcher (one hopes in jest): "My company both invented and cured restless eye syndrome in a single afternoon!"

 

 

This isn't on the output side, this is on the input side...

[One and a half]

This device may clean up the front end, but as others have noted, there are more regulators and voltage converters that still create leakage currents.

we also don't know what mitigation is used for the AC.

Left on its own, the output of the computer would still contain crud.

Best spend money towards a USB isolation device instead, far more effective in improving SQ than a supply on the front of a computer.