UpTone JS-2 Power Supply Listening Impressions

[Freann]

Super obvious question – is there an MMK board in the works for the new M1 mac mini? It only draw 25 watts. (Poorly updated – been away from this forum quite a while now) 

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, Freann said:

Super obvious question – is there an MMK board in the works for the new M1 mac mini? It only draw 25 watts. (Poorly updated – been away from this forum quite a while now) 

Not currently.  Could certainly design one, and since it seems the motherboard PS connector for the M1 might be the same as for the 2018 Mac mini (also not supported by our MMK), a new version might cover both (though I am not sure if the fan connections are the same for 2018/2020, so the Linear Fan Control aspect of the MMK for both is not certain).

I recently shared a bit more here:

 

[Freann]

Thanks @Superdad. From my PoV the M1 means a new trajectory for the Mac mini. A SonicTransporter i9 is a totally different proposition money-wise, but not probably not performance-wise. An Uptone´d M1 would be a smoother upgrade, coming from quad i7 mac mini at DSD128.

[coleb13]

I was finally able to purchase a JS-2 power supply for my Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ after reading about it here and also  reading how @austinpopconsidered an essential companion piece of equipment. I'd loved the sound of the Brooklyn DAC+ since I first bought it but I remember its designer Michal Jurewicz saying a significantly better power supply could improve the sound but there was no room for him to include one in the small case. I was hoping to satisfy my curiosity and hear a minor improvement in the sound but what I am hearing is much more than that. My wife, who is a casual listener, remarked that "everything seems much more clear now." I'm delighted to have such an improvement for only about one third the cost of the DAC.

[agladstone]

35 minutes ago, coleb13 said:

I was finally able to purchase a JS-2 power supply for my Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ after reading about it here and also  reading how @austinpopconsidered an essential companion piece of equipment. I'd loved the sound of the Brooklyn DAC+ since I first bought it but I remember its designer Michal Jurewicz saying a significantly better power supply could improve the sound but there was no room for him to include one in the small case. I was hoping to satisfy my curiosity and hear a minor improvement in the sound but what I am hearing is much more than that. My wife, who is a casual listener, remarked that "everything seems much more clear now." I'm delighted to have such an improvement for only about one third the cost of the DAC.

@coleb13 I am in the same place as you! 
after a couple of years of reading about the pairing synergy between the Mytek Brooklyn DAC + and the JS2, and then finally being pushed by @austinpop review and praise of the two together, I also recently got a JS2 (about 10 days ago). I was using other external linear power supplies since I got my Brooklyn DAC +, so my revelation probably was not as dramatic as yours, however I really like what I hear so far and I’m impressed with the performance with the two together. 
I also received an EtherRegen this past week and I’ve been really enjoying the combination of these two new upgrades to my system as they burn in, I can hear more and more details and improvements. 
Next up for me is some much shorter and higher level DC cables and audiophile grade Ethernet cables to complete this round of upgrades. 
@Superdad has done it again!! 

[Mat]

How long is the response of inquiry for uptone JS 2 ?

[R1200CL]

8 minutes ago, Mat said:

How long is the response of inquiry for uptone JS 2 ?

It’s past midnight his place now. You should have a response quite quickly. 

[Mat]

12 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

It’s past midnight his place now. You should have a response quite quickly. 

Thanks.

[Mat]

Already 2 working days still no response ?

[pl_svn]

@Superdad

[Superdad]

12 hours ago, Mat said:

Already 2 working days still no response ?

Hi Rachmat:

Sorry for the slight delay. Please check your e-mail. I just now replied to your messages from Saturday night and yesterday.

 

Demand for JS-2s is higher than ever. We have always built about 25 units every 6 weeks--in batches of 12 or 13 at a time--and while they pre-sell very quickly it is usually only a 2-3 week wait for anyone.  But not in the past month. The batch being built now for shipment by April 7th sold out over a week ago, and the batch we will roll into for shipment by April 28th (likely sooner) is already 3/4ths sold out.  Trying hard to get up to building a steady 25 units every 4 weeks, but with weaving in 200+ EtherREGENs/month that is difficult.

 

As for e-mail response lag time:

UpTone receives on average (not counting quickly deleted SPAM) about 25 inquiries every day. Because we are a small company--with just myself in the office (at least until my new hire begins) and 2-3 staff in production/assembly and shipping--it falls to me to answer ALL e-mail. In fact most weeks I spend about 6 hours per day in e-mail, and that gets woven in with parts ordering, accounting, product development, service work/testing, and telephone calls. 

 

Since I personally reply to every e-mail (though I copy/paste from templates a lot), here is how I handle them... (

--Pre-sales questions (the long ones seeking advice) get answered most slowly. In fact, there are unanswered messages from as far back as late-January/early-February. Usually at the end of the week or on the weekend, I will sit down to tackle a few of those in a sitting.

--Post-sale questions seeking advise are, even if the message is long, pretty quick to handle. So those don't see too much delay.

--Post-sale support issues/problems with a product or repair requests receive highest priority (they get a purple flag and I try hard to end every day with no purple flags!).

--JS-2 order inquiries get handled within a few days. I am quicker about this once we have triangulated next available ship date so complete reservation information and instruction can be given.

--Stupidly, overseas dealer inquiries (other than from our few existing dealers) end up languishing unanswered for months. This is due to three factors: 1) We don't have proper discounts to offer, so most importers will turn away once they find that out; 2) We already have trouble keeping up with demand for our products, so until we can increase capacity adding more resellers will only result in mutual frustration; 3) I have not had time to put together a nice document explaining our terms/conditions/ordering process and how we positively support dealers. Once I do that, it will be a lot easier to reply to those inquiries in a way that paints a complete picture for the resellers to decide about doing business.

 

As you can see, I need help here in the office!  I'll still handle the bulk of all correspondence, but someone else can chase parts, do accounting and inventory--and maybe even some marketing/press/web stuff, though we have to be careful about creating more demand until we can produce more.  

 

None of the above even involves the cool new and radical products we have in the works! 

 

[Mat]

7 hours ago, Superdad said:

Hi Rachmat:

Sorry for the slight delay. Please check your e-mail. I just now replied to your messages from Saturday night and yesterday.

 

Demand for JS-2s is higher than ever. We have always built about 25 units every 6 weeks--in batches of 12 or 13 at a time--and while they pre-sell very quickly it is usually only a 2-3 week wait for anyone.  But not in the past month. The batch being built now for shipment by April 7th sold out over a week ago, and the batch we will roll into for shipment by April 28th (likely sooner) is already 3/4ths sold out.  Trying hard to get up to building a steady 25 units every 4 weeks, but with weaving in 200+ EtherREGENs/month that is difficult.

 

As for e-mail response lag time:

UpTone receives on average (not counting quickly deleted SPAM) about 25 inquiries every day. Because we are a small company--with just myself in the office (at least until my new hire begins) and 2-3 staff in production/assembly and shipping--it falls to me to answer ALL e-mail. In fact most weeks I spend about 6 hours per day in e-mail, and that gets woven in with parts ordering, accounting, product development, service work/testing, and telephone calls. 

 

Since I personally reply to every e-mail (though I copy/paste from templates a lot), here is how I handle them... (

--Pre-sales questions (the long ones seeking advice) get answered most slowly. In fact, there are unanswered messages from as far back as late-January/early-February. Usually at the end of the week or on the weekend, I will sit down to tackle a few of those in a sitting.

--Post-sale questions seeking advise are, even if the message is long, pretty quick to handle. So those don't see too much delay.

--Post-sale support issues/problems with a product or repair requests receive highest priority (they get a purple flag and I try hard to end every day with no purple flags!).

--JS-2 order inquiries get handled within a few days. I am quicker about this once we have triangulated next available ship date so complete reservation information and instruction can be given.

--Stupidly, overseas dealer inquiries (other than from our few existing dealers) end up languishing unanswered for months. This is due to three factors: 1) We don't have proper discounts to offer, so most importers will turn away once they find that out; 2) We already have trouble keeping up with demand for our products, so until we can increase capacity adding more resellers will only result in mutual frustration; 3) I have not had time to put together a nice document explaining our terms/conditions/ordering process and how we positively support dealers. Once I do that, it will be a lot easier to reply to those inquiries in a way that paints a complete picture for the resellers to decide about doing business.

 

As you can see, I need help here in the office!  I'll still handle the bulk of all correspondence, but someone else can chase parts, do accounting and inventory--and maybe even some marketing/press/web stuff, though we have to be careful about creating more demand until we can produce more.  

 

None of the above even involves the cool new and radical products we have in the works! 

 

Thanks Superdad.

sorry for putting it in this forum, I need the answer quickly for deciding which LPS I need to invest.😄

will reply to your email soon.

[agladstone]

 

1) I just got my LPS 1-2 back from @Superdad from repair to power my ISOREGEN and since I now have the JS2, I decided I may as well power the LPS 1-2 with the unused 2nd rail. (Is this “wasteful use of my 2nd JS2 rail)? 
Because I have the EtherRegen in system and the first JS2 rail is powering my DAC, I have to keep the 2nd JS2 rail on the B side of the ER,  my other option would be to directly power the ISO Regen from JS2 2nd rail and use the LPS 1-2 elsewhere?

2) What is the best Voltage to use out of the JS2 to power LPS 1-2? I currently have it at 7V, but not sure what’s ideal? 

3) last, what’s the difference between powering the ISO Regen out of LPS1-2 with 7V vs 9v ??

 

[Superdad]

2 minutes ago, agladstone said:

...I decided I may as well power the LPS 1-2 with the unused 2nd rail. (Is this “wasteful use of my 2nd JS2 rail)?

A little bit of a waste, but that’s okay! 

 

2 minutes ago, agladstone said:

Because I have the EtherRegen in system and the first JS2 rail is powering my DAC, I have to keep the 2nd JS2 rail on the B side of the ER,  my other option would be to directly power the ISO Regen from JS2 2nd rail and use the LPS 1-2 elsewhere?

Well you could use the LPS-1.2 to power the EtherREGEN (set to 12V please—for easiest load).

 

2 minutes ago, agladstone said:

2) What is the best Voltage to use out of the JS2 to power LPS 1-2? I currently have it at 7V, but not sure what’s ideal?

It won’t matter for LPS1.2 performance (it’s just the charging side after all), but the JS-2 is most efficient at 12V (and has greatest current capability at that setting) so it will run cooler if you set to 12V if you choose to use the spare rail to charge an LPS-1.2.

 

2 minutes ago, agladstone said:

3) last, what’s the difference between powering the ISO Regen out of LPS1-2 with 7V vs 9v ??

Excess heat!  Zero reason to power an ISO REGEN with 9V if you have 7V available.

 

Have a great weekend Allen—and all... 

[agladstone]

1 minute ago, Superdad said:

A little bit of a waste, but that’s okay! 

 

Well you could use the LPS-1.2 to power the EtherREGEN (set to 12V please—for easiest load).

 

It won’t matter for LPS1.2 performance (it’s just the charging side after all), but the JS-2 is most efficient at 12V (and has greatest current capability at that setting) so it will run cooler if you set to 12V if you choose to use the spare rail to charge an LPS-1.2.

 

Excess heat!  Zero reason to power an ISO REGEN with 9V if you have 7V available.

 

Have a great weekend Allen—and all... 

Thanks for the speedy response and answers to all my questions!!! 
Definitely appreciated!!
I have to say that with the JS2, the EtherRegen now with at least 1+ week of 24/7 burn in and the LPS 1-2 and ISORegen back in my system again, this is the best my system has ever sounded ! 
Just wow!!!!  

[Re-tread]

Greetings all,

 

Just a brief report on my Listening Impressions from my new JS-2.  Although I inserted a few ancillaries simultaneously (see details below), I will try to focus primarily on the JS-2.  Right out of the box, the JS-2 is really stunning.  Heft, build precision, and top fit & finish.  No slouching here.  [Even the double-boxed parcel and reusable packaging is noteworthy.]  My JS-2 break-in period came in 2 staggered stages, and the scientific method (1 change at a time) was *not* followed, however, I can try to describe my journey and ultimate aural elation.

 

Scope of Delivery/Installation:  JS-2, eRen, 2 DC cables, 1 stock Power Cable, and two (un-related) new ethernet cables.

Note:  I ordered 1 wrong DC cable of 2 from Alex (I specified a 2.1mm for my ISP Modem device, but really needed 2.5mm on device side)

 

Day 1.  Installing the First rail of JS-2 with eRegen:  I had one correct DC cable ship with the JS-2 for my new eRen, which was all [itemized:  JS-2, eRen, ethernet cables, power cord] installed/inserted at the same time.   Here are my observations:

• Amazingly, right out of the gate, the JS-2 & eR combo invited in so much more information into the soundscape
• The highs had much more energy, clarity, strength, poise, and delineation.  Super improvement..!
• Soundscape became deeper, clearer.  Just more clarity in everything.
• My system came to life. A really nice audible uplift, more than I expected 😀.

Day 7.  Installing the Second rail of JS-2 with Modem:  Alex exchanged the incorrect DC cable I specified (dumb me! - but that is what the OEM manufacturer specified, so I thought 😇) very promptly.   Note:  Alex did a great job exchanging and resending me the proper DC cable ASAP.  Thank you, Alex..!    🍻 Two cheers for Alex..!!  🍻

 

When I finally connected Rail 2 to my Modem, Rail 1 already had 146-hours of continuous play time (break-in time).  Here are my observations when installing the 2nd Rail to my ISP Modem.

• The LED lights on my Modem instantly became a brighter color, and emitted more of a 'solid' color (SMPS was removed, with JS-2 inserted)
• With the SMPS removed from my Modem, the noise floor fell further, and a predicted but previously unrecognized irritation went away.  Images seem to shake less.  Less fuzz.
• I got a real sense of the JS-2 output "newness" when connecting the 2nd rail.  The dynamics were a bit rough on the first 2-days (maybe 3).  At first, I thought the 12v output was overdriving my Modem, so I lowered the output to 9v after the first day.  I got a little worried, but I found this quote from JS (in this thread on Sep-6, 2015) stating, "Small transient behavior WILL change overtime during the first couple of days. For example when driving a computer the highly transient load will cause some voltage noise on the output (the JS-2 is very good at minimizing this, but it isn't perfect). The exact details of this noise will change during the first few days of use."  So 6-hours later, I moved Rail 2 back to 12v, and never looked back.  It all smoothed out after a few days. Thank you, John...!

As of tonight, I have 723-hours on Rail 1, and 577-hours on Rail 2.  I would say the entire scope is all settled-in now.  Together, the whole package has really taken my system to new heights.  A really nice uplift.  The JS-2 is never too warm, and has plenty of headroom (amperage) on reserve for my low duty device.  I suspect this reserve is 'good to have' for the maintaining the output sweetspot (but that is my speculation).

 

In closing, I would really like to thank Alex for his support, and excellent communications.  Really stand-up and stand-out.  And, to Alex and John on the special products.  I am really looking forward to see what UpTone releases next.

 

Re-tread

[Superdad]

21 hours ago, Re-tread said:

Just a brief report on my Listening Impressions from my new JS-2.  Although I inserted a few ancillaries simultaneously (see details below), I will try to focus primarily on the JS-2.  Right out of the box, the JS-2 is really stunning. 

• Amazingly, right out of the gate, the JS-2 & eR combo invited in so much more information into the soundscape

 

Hi Ed:

Thank you for your write up and all your kind words.  So glad to know that you are enjoying your new UpTone toys.

 

21 hours ago, Re-tread said:

As of tonight, I have 723-hours on Rail 1, and 577-hours on Rail 2.

 

You are the first person we have ever encountered who has kept such an accurate timer on usage! 

I'd say your pieces are now fully "seasoned....

 

All the best,

--Alex C.

[Re-tread]

Greetings Alex, I just happened to have a spreadsheet at my desk that tracks that info, based on calendar and insertion time.  Modern technology lends itself for such self indulgences w/o much effort.   I tend to track new items for the first 600-hours, so I know where it is (I am) in the break in process.  😎   Thanks again!

[hpfish]

I have the Matrix x Spdif powered by LPS1.2 and the EtherRegen powered by the supplied stock ps.    If I buy the JS2 can it power both Matrix and ER?  Would  SQ be better going with JS2 or just buy another LPS1.2?  

[Mat]

How hot the uptone JS2 ? Is it ok to turn on all the time ? Can i put the etherregen on top JS2 ? 

[Superdad]

On 4/24/2021 at 1:50 PM, hpfish said:

I have the Matrix x Spdif powered by LPS1.2 and the EtherRegen powered by the supplied stock ps.    If I buy the JS2 can it power both Matrix and ER?  Would  SQ be better going with JS2 or just buy another LPS1.2?  

 

Our JS-2 can easily power both your Matrix X-SPDIF 2 and the EtherREGEN simultaneously. However, if you are connecting the EtherREGEN in the conventional way--with network and server, etc. on 'A' side and your streamer/renderer endpoint (whatever is feeding USB to your Matrix in your case)--doing so would defeat the special isolation of the EtherREGEN.

 

Allow me to explain:

The JS-2’s DC outputs are “floated” (though the chassis and shield of the transformer are grounded to AC mains for safety). 

Yet the two -VE/0-volt “grounds” of the JS-2’s independently regulated outputs are common to each other (because we have only one transformer secondary, one set of Schottky diodes, one large filter choke). 

 

Power to the EtherREGEN is directly to its ‘A’ side (the ‘B’ side gets power through an isolating regulator). So using the shared -VE (“ground”) JS-2 to power both the the EtherREGEN and anything downstream of it will somewhat defeat the EtherREGEN’s isolation. Though you could mitigate that by turning the EtherREGEN around and running it in the B>A direction (that is, network feed into the 'B' port, DAC/DDC-attached streamer/renderer endpoint alone from one of the 'A' side ports).

 

[We went to extra trouble and expense to make the EtherREGEN symmetrical about its moat (i.e. differential clocking and reclocking and all super voltage regulation is the same both sides) just so that B>A performance would be equal to A>B. Main reason we did it was for optical endpoint users (opticalRendu, Lumin X1), but there are other uses for B>A connection, such as multiple endpoints or as above, to be able to utilize a shared 0-volt/-VE "ground" multi-rail supply such as JS-2.]

 

Or you could just buy another UltraCap LPS-1.2. 

 

[Superdad]

8 hours ago, Mat said:

How hot the uptone JS2 ? Is it ok to turn on all the time ? Can i put the etherregen on top JS2 ? 

 

The JS-2 runs quite cool with most all typical loads.  It is most efficient (least heat dissipated) when asked to output 12V--even continuous at high amperage (max. output current at 12V is 7.4A--assuming 120/240V AC input, a bit lower with 110/220V mains feed). That is because regulated drop at 12V is very small, so almost nothing lost as heat. And as 12V current limit is approached, the drop is even less, so it remains just cool/warn even under full load at that voltage.

5V output is different story:

The regulated drop--from raw DC voltage into main regulator board--to 5V output is large, so more heat is dissipated. Our torture test for each JS-2 (and part of final Q.C. burn-in to get special thermal pads to phase-change/melt and to go through stages of tightening regulators to heat sink) is 5V at 4.5 amps continuous.  An hour at that and you could stand the unit on its side a cook a sausage on the left-side heat sink (doing so will void your warranty as sausage grease makes a mess we won't clean up! ) But who on earth has any 5V/4.5 constant load to power? Still, we design for that and a JS-2 could run for years with such load continuous.

 

Yes you can leave your JS-2 powered on 24/7/365. I have not turned mine off except a few times in five years. (Mother Earth I promise I am energy "green" in many other ways!)

 

You could put your EtherREGEN on top of a JS-2, though we don't advise it much. Our large inductor/choke (at the right-front when looking at the face of JS-2) does have a collapsing magnetic field--which quickly weakens within a few inches of distance. So I would avoid putting the EtherREGEN in that quadrant of the top. (and we usually suggest people putting sensitive gear next to JS-2 to put such gear to the left of the JS-2--viewed from front.) While our custom, shielded R-core transformer is under the front-left quarter of the unit, it does not emit much field at all--so EtherREGEN could be okay there.

 

Sorry if I am giving long answers to short questions today. It is Monday and I procrastinating dull other work such as our taxes and parts ordering. 

 

 

 

[Mat]

12 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

The JS-2 runs quite cool with most all typical loads.  It is most efficient (least heat dissipated) when asked to output 12V--even continuous at high amperage (max. output current at 12V is 7.4A--assuming 120/240V AC input, a bit lower with 110/220V mains feed). That is because regulated drop at 12V is very small, so almost nothing lost as heat. And as 12V current limit is approached, the drop is even less, so it remains just cool/warn even under full load at that voltage.

5V output is different story:

The regulated drop--from raw DC voltage into main regulator board--to 5V output is large, so more heat is dissipated. Our torture test for each JS-2 (and part of final Q.C. burn-in to get special thermal pads to phase-change/melt and to go through stages of tightening regulators to heat sink) is 5V at 4.5 amps continuous.  An hour at that and you could stand the unit on its side a cook a sausage on the left-side heat sink (doing so will void your warranty as sausage grease makes a mess we won't clean up! ) But who on earth has any 5V/4.5 constant load to power? Still, we design for that and a JS-2 could run for years with such load continuous.

 

Yes you can leave your JS-2 powered on 24/7/365. I have not turned mine off except a few times in five years. (Mother Earth I promise I am energy "green" in many other ways!)

 

You could put your EtherREGEN on top of a JS-2, though we don't advise it much. Our large inductor/choke (at the right-front when looking at the face of JS-2) does have a collapsing magnetic field--which quickly weakens within a few inches of distance. So I would avoid putting the EtherREGEN in that quadrant of the top. (and we usually suggest people putting sensitive gear next to JS-2 to put such gear to the left of the JS-2--viewed from front.) While our custom, shielded R-core transformer is under the front-left quarter of the unit, it does not emit much field at all--so EtherREGEN could be okay there.

 

Sorry if I am giving long answers to short questions today. It is Monday and I procrastinating dull other work such as our taxes and parts ordering. 

 

 

 

Thanks Super Dad.

 

Just got my uptone JS2 and LPS 1.2.

The Journey begin.😀

[Mat]

How long to break in UpTone JS2 ?

[PYP]

4 hours ago, Mat said:

How long to break in UpTone JS2 ?

Mine sounded good after a few hours, better after a few days and fully matured in a month.  In my setup, the LPS 1.2 had a similar break-in.  Both are powered on at all times.  The JS2 runs cool and the LPS 1.2 hot.  I don't stack anything on either (well, the LPS 1.2 is on its side so it would be nearly impossible to put anything on it).   

 

I just added them to my setup and enjoyed the music.  That was my break-in process.