I have an Intona on the way I’m hoping this will fix it. Would welcome any thoughts on what the issue might be / am I diagnosing it correctly.

interestingly, with the PC on and USB plugged in, but the Gustard turned off (and even unplugged), and rest of the chain on, I still get the noise when I turn the PC off, or unplug the USB from the PC, but leave everything else on (e.g., rest of the chain primed to receive) the noise stops and am fairly sure it’s the USB on my NUC creating the issue for these reasons:

I tried unplugging multiple items, switching outlets etc. I excitedly swapped in my Gustard yesterday, same connections as before with the Oppo, and I’m now getting low-level-but clearly there-beeping / data-type noises in the background (not a steady hum). Had been running that via USB to an Oppo BD105 and using that as my DAC, using the balanced XLR outs, and had no issues. Long-time ASR lurker, first-time poster, but am struggling with a new issue and am pretty sure it’s USB noise-and I’m not using a cheap DAC, but rather one recommended around these parts ). Click to expand.I hope I have the same experience.

Usb 2 vs usb 3 audio audioholics