Uptone Audio Regen

[weedos123]

John

Yes I tried turning everything on and off in all the combinations I could think of. I also connected the dac via an unpowered usb hub, I didn't have a powered one, and the dac wasn't found. The dac doesn't function without drivers and the drivers cannot see the dac when plugged in via a hub of any description that I have. So we think it's the dac/drivers. Hence Alex is going to speak with Exasound. He is waiting for Euro driver to try his as he has the same dac as me.

 

Paul

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Superdad]

Have you tried your DAC with another hub?

 

When I was first playing around with a regen prototype I wound up in a situation where a DAC would not work, it turned out the software was accessing the DAC with it's full USB path which now includes the hub. But this software was using the path when it first "discovered" the DAC which didn't include the hub. To see if this is the issue try having your software re-discover DACs and see if it now shows up correctly. Doing a hot-plug might also help (turn off computer, unplug DAC USB connection, turn on computer, plug the DAC in).

 

John S.

 

Hi John:

 

I know Paul has tried his exaSound DAC with a generic hub and there too was not able to play music. So it is not an issue with the REGEN (which behaves just like a normal USB hub). He is on OS X, so I did have him look at the USB device "tree" in System Profiler. The REGEN does show up, and maybe even his DAC appears under it (not sure as the screen shot he sent was an unreadable 320 x 180).

 

I just spoke briefly to George K. of exaSound (he was driving down the highway so we agreed to speak again tomorrow), and he said that there should be no problem using his DACs through a hub--thus use of a REGEN should be possible.

 

The exaSound DACs are one of the few I know of where drivers are mandatory even on a Mac. That is odd since the FTDI USB input processor they use is suppose to be UAC2-compliant.

 

You are probably write that Paul just needs to fuss around a bit more with the order of selection. exaSound also requires device election in Audio MIDI Setup.

 

I know there are a few other REGEN owners here with exaSound DACs (Edward/Eurodriver comes immediately to mind but he won't be testing his REGEN until he returns from travel next week). Maybe someone else will chime in.

 

Hang in there Paul!

 

--Alex C.

[weedos123]

Alex/John

 

Here is the screenshot

 

The grey line in the system profile is the regen, it disappears when I unplug it. Audio midi setup and the exasound dashboard speak for themselves. You can clearly see the red line through the dac icon on the menu bar.

 

 

Paul

[Evo1668]

Alex/John

 

Here is the screenshot

 

The grey line in the system profile is the regen, it disappears when I unplug it. Audio midi setup and the exasound dashboard speak for themselves. You can clearly see the red line through the dac icon on the menu bar.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18292[/ATTACH]

 

Paul

 

Paul

Have you tried removing the Exasound drivers or app from the Mac and reinstalling them with the Regen connected?

[JohnSwenson]

There was one DAC I tried that required a driver (under windows), I had to reinstall the driver with the regen plugged in to get things to work.

 

This might work for you.

 

John S.

[hifial]

I find this VERY interesting!!

 

I have the e20 MK III exaSound DAC and have no problem using the Regen WITH my TotalDAC USB cable. BUT I have the same PROBLEM as Paul if I use the Corning USB Optical cable with the Regen.

 

So when I get the chance I will try both the HOT swap of USB that John mentioned as well, if necessary, reinstalling the exaSound drivers. Though I believe I already tried the cable swap.

 

I hope one of the above works as I am oh so looking foreword to hear how well the Corning cable improves the sound quality even more with the Regen.

[Pascal64]

And what about REGEN with Audirvana ?

is it transparent ? (Audirvana see the DAC or the REGEN)

is direct mode still available ?

 

regards,

pascal

[jexby]

Yes Audirvana only sees the DAC and direct (Int) modes works same as without Regen.

[Pascal64]

Thank's

[jtwrace]

Hello,

I'm quite new here; as a matter of fact, I think this is my first message... Here's the question: in a configuration like this one

 

NAS > switch > network player/computer > Regen > DAC

 

is it anymore useful to upgrade anything upstream of the Regen, for instance LPSUs on NAS, switch, and/or network isolation with FMCs ?

 

There are so many opinions on this stuff. IF you have the funds the JS-2 LPS from UpTone Audio (maker of the REGENerate) is killer. You can see them at UpTone Audio

[weedos123]

Following the untried suggestions above, I uninstalled the exasound drivers using appDelete, rebooted the mac, turned on the the regen and dac, re installed the drivers and rebooted. Unfortunately still no joy, the exasound dashboard still says no dac is connected.

 

Looks like going to have to wait for Alex to talk to George at Exasound.

 

Paul

[absoluteBeginner]

thanks for your answer; I'm wondering about ordering a regen, given the fact that isolating the network with FMCs gave already good results...

[Ben-M]

Well, I couldn't bear the talk and I joined the Uptone team with a Regen. Here's looking forward to it when it gets here some time in July. Shipping is slow going over here in China, but I've got faith it'll be worth it!

[jtwrace]

thanks for your answer; I'm wondering about ordering a regen, given the fact that isolating the network with FMCs gave already good results...

 

Well, there is no doubt that taking a noisy SMPS out of the chain (whether feedback into the AC line or not) has the chance to help. Luckily for us, Alex & John have chosen an SMPS that they think is superior to the others on the market without buying an LPS. Further, there are many explanations on what they're doing with the power supply and why many people (In John's opinion) choose power supplies wrong. My best advise is if you're going to use a REGEN is to use the SMPS that comes with it or purchase a JS-2 if you have other items you can power from it. This is the best case as the JS-2 has multiple outputs (5A) that you can even split as long as you do not exceed the current to each output. Hope this makes sense.

[kennyb123]

Luckily for us, Alex & John have chosen an SMPS that they think is superior to the others on the market without buying an LPS. Further, there are many explanations on what they're doing with the power supply and why many people (In John's opinion) choose power supplies wrong. My best advise is if you're going to use a REGEN is to use the SMPS that comes with it

 

Sounds like excellent advice for the reasons you state. Thanks!

 

Can't wait to receive my REGEN!

[jtwrace]

Sounds like excellent advice for the reasons you state. Thanks!

 

Can't wait to receive my REGEN!

 

You're welcome but I'm really just regurgitating (as much as I can) what Alex & John have said. Of course the JS-2 is the ultimate but the SMPS that they have chosen is the next best at this time. Perhaps Alex and/or John can chime in if I'm totally off my rocker.

[jexby]

Of course the JS-2 is the ultimate but the SMPS that they have chosen is the next best at this time.

 

in my back-n-forth listening, I don't agree with the above statement-

as the iFi iPower 9V was a slight improvement over the SMPS superdad has chosen.

 

without many iFi iPower out in the wild yet, I am comfortable being in the minority at this time.

and $50 for an iFi iPower SMPS is always going to be personal value choice.

[jtwrace]

in my back-n-forth listening, I don't agree with the above statement-

as the iFi iPower 9V was a slight improvement over the SMPS superdad has chosen.

 

without many iFi iPower out in the wild yet, I am comfortable being in the minority at this time.

and $50 for an iFi iPower SMPS is always going to be personal value choice.

 

Well, that is your subjective opinion. John has made this determination with objective data since the whole REGEN is based upon what he has learned not only about the USB stream but including power supplies. I don't know if you've read his many posts but they're eye opening. To me at least. As usual though you're welcome to your own opinion and thoughts.

[jexby]

Well, that is your subjective opinion. John has made this determination with objective data since the whole REGEN is based upon what he has learned not only about the USB stream but including power supplies. I don't know if you've read his many posts but they're eye opening. To me at least. As usual though you're welcome to your own opinion and thoughts.

 

agreed. not saying John S is wrong about anything he's written.

yet also didn't read they had iFi iPower for comparison, if I missed some info would appreciate a link.

did read that one day superdad was going to get his hands on iPower in future for fun. ;-)

 

would love to see John S/superdad measurements between iPower and the default SMPS.

more data besides my subjective hearing is always welcomed!

[jtwrace]

Great!

[Superdad]

Alright boys, simmer down. I was going to let this pass when it popped up a couple days ago, but now I see I need to set the record straight:

 

I alone chose the Mean Well GS25A07-P1J for inclusion with the REGEN, though early on John did give a nice nod to the Mean Well brand based on his many past, non-audio related experiences with the quality/reliability of their units.

 

I had a bunch of physical, economic, and electrical criteria (likely detailed 15+ pages ago here), and I bought a whole range of available units (both SMPS and LPS of various brands) to test with the REGEN. This one sounded the best to me.

 

(And of course the JS-2 sounds better; though none of the PS units I tried--save for the really nasty one that came with the Geek Pulse--at all got in the way of the REGEN doing its er, REGEN "thing".)

 

iFi clearly has the volume and the channels to go to their Chinese SMPS supplier and specify in some improvements that still fit in the wall-wart form factor. That's great. And I would not be at all surprised if the RENGEN performs a little better with the iPower.

 

John (jexby), I am a bit curious as to where you got yours since while chatting with Rich B. at Signature Sound (NY) last night, he told me that the iFi distributor said that no iPower units were yet "in country." Did you get if from someone in Europe? Which voltage did you get?

 

As for measuring power supplies--and measuring what really matters with respect to what sounds the best (and it is all about noise, it's more about impedance, speed, recovery, and broadband crap)--that is a whole other can of worms. John started talking to me about making a test jig for easy, real world, in-use, under-load test that folks could use at home to actually see a very key performance aspect of any power supply and make comparisons. Only problem is, the comparisons would be valid ONLY at their home since the method has no calibration and any compares between two people would be totally invalid.

 

Ciao,

--Alex

[jtwrace]

Once again, I cause confusion. I'll go away now...

[SolarFlight]

Was the iPower available when the Regen was developed? I'm quite convinced we got the best power supply available at that moment :-)

[Superdad]

Once again, I cause confusion. I'll go away now...

 

It's okay Jason. Your enthusiasm is always appreciated. Just try to avoid assumptions.

 

By the way, John finally received his Kickstarter-funded 3D printer this week. (I forget which one it is, but based on his descriptions of it to me, it does have some really neat technical innovations in it--especially for the low price.)

He told me that one of the first projects he is going to attempt is an adjustable scissor-lift for the REGEN that would assemble from a single printed piece. I begged him to work on other projects instead . Engineers and their new toys...

[Superdad]

Was the iPower available when the Regen was developed?

 

No, it wasn't. Even if it was, do you really think iFi would sell me hundreds of them for a buck or two over their cost? I pay between $11-14 for the Mean Well (plus $2 for the power cord).

 

I suppose if we got into a position to buy 1,000 SMPS units, then John could also spec mods to make an upgraded unit. But frankly we have other, more innovative plans to address a power upgrade for the REGEN. With as many as are selling, don't you think my brain is racing to plan the add-on for it? (Cue the sound of an evil laugh. )