Uptone Audio Regen

[Superdad]

Gentleman: Thank you all for your color input. To be honest, I did it just for fun, to see who is hanging out here, and to give you something to talk about while we move the Regen towards production. Glad to see that black for the extruded part of the case is acceptable to most, since with the samples I have here the black looks nicer. This thing will be hidden behind your DACs anyway, so the color combo is mostly about marketing appeal.

 

Yet this is a perfect--and harmless--small example of what happens with any crowd-design project. I only asked about color preference and got more than a half dozen different responses (admittedly from among 14 options). I now have much more empathy--and pity--for firms that attempt to take input from the "crowd" on the functional and technical design of their products.

While I am not entirely in the Steve Jobs camp of "No focus groups, we tell the customers what they want," I know that the other extreme of community/committee design often results in madness and delay.

 

 

Gary asked a good question with regards to power. The answers are:

 

a) No, it is not powered from the USB bus. Even with the ultra-low noise regulators being used, it would kind of defeat part of the purpose of the device to do so;

 

b) Since the device uses two (of the somewhat pricey T.I. TPS7A4700 ; $4.60 each at my quantities) regulators, one for delivering better 5V bus power, the supply needs to be greater than 5V for that regulation to work. 6V or 7V will be required. I'll check with John as to if 9V would result in too much heat from the drop.

 

c) I plan to provide with the Regen a small, 6V, 3 watt, regulated linear wall wart (probably this one from Jameco unless I find a better for the price or less expensive equivalent.

 

d) Of course everyone is free to use a better PS with the Regen. A spare output from a JS-2 (set at 7V) certainly works nicely!

 

Thanks again for your interest. I will report more in few weeks as it progresses towards production.

 

Happy Holidays and New Year to all!

 

--Alex C.

[One and a half]

Thanks Alex for the answer to the power question. The 7V output sounds OK, wow, the device can run to 36V, so provided the PSU supplies say a minimum of ~ 5V x 1.25 should be OK.

 

Silver is fine for the colour BTW, with red pin striping, of course

[jtwrace]

c) I plan to provide with the Regen a small, 6V, 3 watt, regulated linear wall wart (probably this one from Jameco unless I find a better for the price or less expensive equivalent.

 

--Alex C.

Just to be clear 6Vdc right? 6Vdc @ (3W) = .5A Correct?

[Knuck]

Hi Alex,

 

Add one to my JS-2 order please.

 

Brian

[Superdad]

Just to be clear 6Vdc right? 6Vdc @ (3W) = .5A Correct?

 

Correct. 6-7V DC, 0.5A is fine. That little Jameco I linked to should be okay since the power really gets cleaned on our board as well. But I will of course listen to it versus my JS-2.

 

 

Hi Alex,

Add one to my JS-2 order please.

Brian

 

Thanks Brian, but your JS-2 will be coming to you in January and I expect these little Regens are a couple months out. Postage for the little fellas will be almost nothing though, so don't worry about that.

[gsquared]

Hi Alex,

 

Count me in on this too! BTW, I got your email message. I'll reply shortly.

 

- Gary

[jtwrace]

Correct. 6-7V DC, 0.5A is fine. That little Jameco I linked to should be okay since the power really gets cleaned on our board as well. But I will of course listen to it versus my JS-2.

Thanks. I look forward to your thoughts. Also, will you have an early adopter program before the official release?

 

Thanks Brian, but your JS-2 will be coming to you in January and I expect these little Regens are a couple months out. Postage for the little fellas will be almost nothing though, so don't worry about that.

:-(

[Superdad]

Also, will you have an early adopter program before the official release?

 

Thanks again for your interest everyone.

 

As for an "early adopter program" Jason:

Since all parts are surface mount and the little chassis have to be machined/printed in a good size batch to be anywhere near affordable, we will be going straight to production. So the price will be the price (I think special discounts pervert business models, force the real retail price to be higher later, and make later buyers feel badly). Early adopters will be those of you who buy one from the first run (I'm guessing 50 or 100 is all I'll be able to capitalize to start).

 

Ciao!

 

ALEX

[zerung]

EOI. BG if possible.

[tboooe]

Count me in!

[Elberoth]

Thanks again for your interest everyone.

 

As for an "early adopter program" Jason:

Since all parts are surface mount and the little chassis have to be machined/printed in a good size batch to be anywhere near affordable, we will be going straight to production. So the price will be the price (I think special discounts pervert business models, force the real retail price to be higher later, and make later buyers feel badly). Early adopters will be those of you who buy one from the first run (I'm guessing 50 or 100 is all I'll be able to capitalize to start).

 

Ciao!

 

ALEX

 

+++++++1

 

Guys, don't be cheap ! Alex is putting a lot of his time into this, investing a lot of money, for sth which is still a hobby, not a real business. Don't make the life harder for him. Support him.

[jtwrace]

Thanks again for your interest everyone.

 

As for an "early adopter program" Jason:

Since all parts are surface mount and the little chassis have to be machined/printed in a good size batch to be anywhere near affordable, we will be going straight to production. So the price will be the price (I think special discounts pervert business models, force the real retail price to be higher later, and make later buyers feel badly). Early adopters will be those of you who buy one from the first run (I'm guessing 50 or 100 is all I'll be able to capitalize to start).

 

Ciao!

 

ALEX

 

OK. I wasn't really asking for a discount per se. Anyway, get some prices going and lets get it going! ;-)

[Superdad]

Alex is putting a lot of his time into this, investing a lot of money, for sth which is still a hobby, not a real business. ... Support him.

 

Thanks Adam. But don't tell that to my wife! All this IS supposed to be a real business and contribute to our household and help get our kids through college (or at least out the damn door).

 

And I already do feel supported by the great members here. You guys are awesome with your enthusiasm.

 

My primary goal is to bring John Swenson's best and most practical designs to market. Each one will hopefully help capitalize the next so we can then get the more ambitious (and groundbreaking) projects out to the world. The Regen is pretty simple, but the long gestating follow-on, the UpTone/Swenson USB>Ethernet Audio Bridge is what will really put us on the map. (OEMs, DIY, and then retail is how that plan goes.)

 

Again, thanks to you all!

--Alex

[issac]

Hi Alex.

 

Please put me in the list as early adopter... I want one!

 

Issac

[jexby]

BB or BR

wouldn't matter to me if the lil box was Lime and Neon Yellow!

just want to know when and where to sign up!

[One and a half]

I'm keen to try, but am unsure.

 

Every time, I've used "something" in the USB signal line in front of the MPD-3, the results have had a negative impact. This occurred with the iFi USB and the purifier, in combos or on their own. The output sound suffered, a real gritty sound, the resolution went downhill very quickly.

 

I conclude maybe incorrectly, the filtering in the DAC's receiver and the ifi products did not work out. Could the packet noise end up in the ifi product and make things worse by amplifying them or worse, changing the frequency in a vicious circle?

 

I hope the USB-Regen is a little different and is able to really knock the packet noise on its head.

[BobL]

BB or BR

wouldn't matter to me if the lil box was Lime and Neon Yellow!

just want to know when and where to sign up!

 

+1;BB nice but not essential.

[issac]

I prefer SS Silver Silver ... My Mac, my uptone will be glad with silver enclose.

I think for PC users BB will be the basic enclose

[BobL]

Alex:

No rush about this, glad you could get some holiday. Just one point for when you are properly back:

 

"I'll be provi(di)ng USB A>B solid adapter so tiny box can go at the DAC and not introduce another USB cable.)"

 

Great idea, but the back panel of my DAC (now M-DAC, soon(??) to be John Westlake's redesign, the M-DAC 2) is pretty crowded, and even this tiny box could have problems. Any idea how long this adapter will be?

 

At least for the original M-DAC, and perhaps for others (Benchmark, MF M1, Qute?), if the long dimension of the box is vertical, it might be easier to fit in; I can always jack up my DAC if needed, but I can't re-engineer the back panel!

[Jud]

Alex:

No rush about this, glad you could get some holiday. Just one point for when you are properly back:

 

"I'll be provi(di)ng USB A>B solid adapter so tiny box can go at the DAC and not introduce another USB cable.)"

 

Great idea, but the back panel of my DAC (now M-DAC, soon(??) to be John Westlake's redesign, the M-DAC 2) is pretty crowded, and even this tiny box could have problems. Any idea how long this adapter will be?

 

At least for the original M-DAC, and perhaps for others (Benchmark, MF M1, Qute?), if the long dimension of the box is vertical, it might be easier to fit in; I can always jack up my DAC if needed, but I can't re-engineer the back panel!

 

I think the long-dimension-vertical orientation is a very good idea, though my own DAC has plenty of room around the USB input. That brings up something else, which I'm sure you've already thought of: adequate provision for strain between the adapter and the circuit board, due both to the weight of the box (low though it might be) and any tug/weight from the USB cable. (I'm just recalling a handful of reports of bent adapters on the AQ Dragonfly, though that hasn't happened to mine.)

[JohnSwenson]

I think the long-dimension-vertical orientation is a very good idea, though my own DAC has plenty of room around the USB input. That brings up something else, which I'm sure you've already thought of: adequate provision for strain between the adapter and the circuit board, due both to the weight of the box (low though it might be) and any tug/weight from the USB cable. (I'm just recalling a handful of reports of bent adapters on the AQ Dragonfly, though that hasn't happened to mine.)

The orientation of the box is going to be determined by the adapter. The one I have now has the long dimension horizontal, you would have to find one with a 90 degree rotation between the A and B ends. I haven't found one, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

 

John S.

[Jud]

The orientation of the box is going to be determined by the adapter. The one I have now has the long dimension horizontal, you would have to find one with a 90 degree rotation between the A and B ends. I haven't found one, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

 

John S.

 

Hi John. This certainly sounds eminently reasonable, but then how do you plan to get around (almost literally) the potential problem BobL mentioned for DACs that have other connections next to the USB input along the horizontal plane?

[ristretto]

…and don't forget DACs like the Grace m920 that have a mini B USB input. There are A > mini B adapters available, but normally they're quite long i.e. the leverage of the Regen box and the long adapter will most likely be too much for the poor small mini B. i think i'll have to find a decent 10 cm USB A > mini B cable to connect the Regen to my Grace.

[One and a half]

…and don't forget DACs like the Grace m920 that have a mini B USB input. There are A > mini B adapters available, but normally they're quite long i.e. the leverage of the Regen box and the long adapter will most likely be too much for the poor small mini B. i think i'll have to find a decent 10 cm USB A > mini B cable to connect the Regen to my Grace.

 

I have the m920 as well, and a cable is the way to go, but a quick look is proving not that simple. Alternatively, the ifi Purifier is supplied with a gold plated USB B female to mini B male adapter. Toss the Purifier, and just use the adapter.

[4est]

The vertical connectors always seem to be the most problematic IMO. They tend to rotate out if there is any gravitational pressure on the cable/connector. As for the mini USB jacks, I see those as outliers, and should be dealt with as thus. I mean no offense, but are we to expect a small start up to provide everything to everyone?

I have the m920 as well, and a cable is the way to go, but a quick look is proving not that simple. Alternatively, the ifi Purifier is supplied with a gold plated USB B female to mini B male adapter. Toss the Purifier, and just use the adapter.