Uptone Audio Regen

[Cycleman]

UpTone Audio Regen order UA web #1585 Incoming...

 

Hmmm...does "incoming" mean you received shipping notice?

 

I ask, because I'm order #1521, and have not heard yet about shipping.

 

Dave, who feels much patience about this but is curious

[Duke40]

UpTone Audio Regen order UA web #1585 Incoming...

 

I have a multi DAC system. Does the Regen come with drivers and acts like an USB converter- or is it pass through deal where the DACs drivers are needed?

 

Thanks

 

No drivers are needed for the Regen.

If your computer requires drivers for your DAC, then you still need them installed.

 

The Regen improves the USB signal, reducing the phase noise, which then improves the Signal Integrity (hope I got that right), so I would not consider it a USB converter ... more of a USB signal improver. Hope that helps.

[crazychile]

Hmmm...does "incoming" mean you received shipping notice?

 

I ask, because I'm order #1521, and have not heard yet about shipping.

 

Dave, who feels much patience about this but is curious

 

Curious about this as well. I'm order #1497 and no shipping confirmation yet....

[HumanMedia]

Is there any issue with running the Mean Well power supply with reversed input polarity?

 

Probably not since it's a switching power supply but thought I would ask anyway. I know it can affect other components in a negative way and potential issues with the non-fused neutral now being live, but the Mean Well supply? Reason I ask is that I have a universal power board that takes any type of plugs but is wired with euro polarity (live and neutral are swapped compared to the same prong config in US).

[jtwrace]

Is there any issue with running the Mean Well power supply with reversed input polarity?

 

Probably not since it's a switching power supply but thought I would ask anyway. I know it can affect other components in a negative way and potential issues with the non-fused neutral now being live, but the Mean Well supply? Reason I ask is that I have a universal power board that takes any type of plugs but is wired with euro polarity (live and neutral are swapped compared to the same prong config in US).

 

Not unless you want a dead REGEN.

[firedog]

UpTone Audio Regen order UA web #1585 Incoming...

 

I have a multi DAC system. Does the Regen come with drivers and acts like an USB converter- or is it pass through deal where the DACs drivers are needed?

 

Thanks

 

It's a pass through. It's essentially a audiophile grade USB hub.

[zilch0md]

I like think of the USB Regen as a "washing machine" that cleans a serial stream of black and white marbles, each of which arrives covered in a grey slurry or mud that the Regen at least partially removes, making it much easier for the DAC to decide, "Am I looking at a white marble or a black marble?"

 

When certainty replaces interpolation, we can hear the difference.

[Jud]

I like think of the USB Regen as a "washing machine" that cleans a serial stream of black and white marbles, each of which arrives covered in a grey slurry or mud that the Regen at least partially removes, making it much easier for the DAC to decide, "Am I looking at a white marble or a black marble?"

 

When certainty replaces interpolation, we can hear the difference.

 

You were good right up until "interpolation," which pretty much every DAC does, even with a really nice, clear bitstream coming in. (The interpolation part happens after the DAC decides what the values in the bitstream are.) I like the black and white marble thing, too.

 

But maybe an even closer analogy is a person with a hearing aid trying to have a conversation in a crowded room. Other conversations and background noise make that person concentrate really hard to understand what's being said, perhaps raising their blood pressure and heart rate. If a divider is pulled between that person's table and the rest of the room, lowering the level of the noise, then it's much easier to understand the conversation, and blood pressure and heart rate can return to normal.

 

The Regen is the room divider; the person with a hearing aid trying to have a conversation is the PHY chip in the DAC's USB receiver circuitry; and the blood pressure and heart rate are the self-noise created by the PHY's activity.

 

Edit: I suppose closer yet would be moving the person with a hearing aid to a separate room and giving her and her friend cell phones with noise reduction circuitry. Then the cell phones, which reproduce/regenerate the friend's conversation, are the Regen.

[rickca]

Testing and prepping for shipment the final 60 REGEN "amber" upgrade kits

Alex, please remind me ... are the upgrades coming by USPS first-class mail rather than priority mail? If so, does that mean we won't get any shipping notice by email?

[devs]

Not unless you want a dead REGEN.

Nonsense. He is talking about the polarity into the Meanwell SMPS, not into the Regen (which is DC and should indeed not be reversed).PS. I didn't test reversing polarity of AC input of the Meanwell and any influence it may have on SQ since I had other issues with the Meanwell. But electrically seen you're OK and safe.

[jtwrace]

Nonsense. He is talking about the polarity into the Meanwell SMPS

 

I missed that part but that means that one is not using the ground. Not a good idea either!

[preproman]

Hmmm...does "incoming" mean you received shipping notice?

 

I ask, because I'm order #1521, and have not heard yet about shipping.

 

Dave, who feels much patience about this but is curious

 

No, just that it's ordered.

[Superdad]

Alex, please remind me ... are the upgrades coming by USPS first-class mail rather than priority mail? If so, does that mean we won't get any shipping notice by email?

 

Regular mail (hopefully going out today!). But you should still get a notice. Just don't expect to be able to track it accurately.

[jtwrace]

regular mail (hopefully going out today!). But you should still get a notice. Just don't expect to be able to track it accurately.

 

i can"t wait!!!

[Superdad]

i can"t wait!!!

 

ALL the rest of the REGEN "amber" upgrade kits are going out to original "green" buyers TODAY!

 

Oh, and Jason, yours is going via Priority Mail. Not that it will do much good since Friday is the postal holiday for the 4th--so the only amber for you this weekend is going to be the beer you drink.

 

 

 

And this pile of JS-2s plus accessories is not due to go out until tomorrow, but we may hump and get them out today too. I actually plan to take the weekend off starting Friday. Going to L.A. to pick up 13 year old son from UCLA Tech Camp and see our daughter's off campus summer apartment (the "BOOT house", populated by UCLA's Benevolent Order of Trombonists).

 

[zilch0md]

Anyone...

 

I have a friend (and prospective USB Regen buyer) at Head-Fi who is wondering if, in general, there's any reason to avoid combining the output of two linear regulated 5V 1A power supplies of identical make and model in a parallel circuit to deliver 5V 2A.

 

The actual load will be something less than 500 mA, so it's a given that a single 5V 1A linear regulated power supply would provide sufficient current, but theoretically speaking, is there any reason to avoid combining their outputs in a parallel circuit?

 

(The two power supplies would be plugged into the mains without isolation transformers or any other kind of power conditioning.)

 

Concerns include any possible damage to the two power supplies, to the load (which is a USB-powered DAC), and the potential negative impact on sound quality.

 

Thank you!

 

Mike

[Superdad]

I have a friend (and prospective USB Regen buyer) at Head-Fi who is wondering if, in general, there's any reason to avoid combining the output of two linear regulated 5V 1A power supplies of identical make and model in a parallel circuit to deliver 5V 2A.

 

The actual load will be something less than 500 mA, so it's a given that a single 5V 1A linear regulated power supply would provide sufficient current, but theoretically speaking, is there any reason to avoid combining their outputs in a parallel circuit?

 

Sorry Mike, that won't work. The two won't track each other perfectly, and one will end up with the majority of the load. John can explain it better than I can, but suffice it to say it is not a good trick.

[Superdad]

I goofed with the pic of the carton full out outgoing 'amber" upgrade kits. I knew enough to block out Jason's address but left his last name exposed. I asked Chris to pull the pic for me. Sorry Jason. Here is a safer version:

 

[jtwrace]

Thanks! Very much looking forward to it.

[HumanMedia]

I missed that part but that means that one is not using the ground. Not a good idea either!

 

No it's definitely using a ground. This is an extremely common situation internationally if using adapter plugs with North American plugs. 99% of adapters do not correct input polarity. I've only ever found one that does. Also all multi-plug power boards also do not correct input polarity and are wired for the polarity for the region they are sold in. So any adapters or multi-plug power boards purchased outside the US will not provide the correct input polarity to US plugs and thus the Mean Well inputs. Most switching supplies don't care about input polarity, and many components don't care either. But some do, and some definitely don't sound their best with inverted input polarity.

It's a serious question and one which will apply to all international users using US plugs with adapters and power boards.

[rickca]

Friday is the postal holiday for the 4th

Actually this year the post office is open on Friday the 3rd and closed on Saturday the 4th.

[Superdad]

Actually this year the post office is open on Friday the 3rd and closed on Saturday the 4th.

 

Indeed. I found that out when I dropped off all the "amber" upgrade kits and the six JS-2s at the post office today. Turns out it is just our sleepy little county government that is taking Friday off.

 

Ciao,

--AJC

[Daudio]

ALL the rest of the REGEN "amber" upgrade kits are going out to original "green" buyers TODAY!

 

Yep, got my email notice today. Hooray !!

 

And the notification was very well composed ! Professional and friendly. Nice job !

 

Through, there was no data beneath the "Item # Description Qty" header line ?!?

 

A glitch in the software, from the odd little upgrade thing, probably. But I actually found it kinda amusing, maybe because I was so pleased my Amber is on the way )

[Superdad]

And the notification was very well composed ! Professional and friendly. Nice job !

 

Through, there was no data beneath the "Item # Description Qty" header line ?!?

 

A glitch in the software, from the odd little upgrade thing, probably. But I actually found it kinda amusing, maybe because I was so pleased my Amber is on the way )

 

Thanks for the compliment. No glitch though. I have always said that the upgrade kits were to be handled outside my normal web e-commerce system. I got really lucky in that the wonderful ShipStation system I use for batch processing and customizing freight across hundreds of worldwide orders (this online system has saved me hundreds of hours!) integrates so well with my Shopify web site platform that it actually brought over all the REGEN "green" buyers' address and e-mail info from before I even started using ShipStation (those first hundred orders were a killer on me and the USPS web site--I seem to recall blogging here about it).

 

So I happily used ShipStation to create manual, item-less postage orders for all of you getting kits. Took 20 minutes at my desk. Technology, when it works, is so wonderful .

[zilch0md]

Sorry Mike, that won't work. The two won't track each other perfectly, and one will end up with the majority of the load. John can explain it better than I can, but suffice it to say it is not a good trick.

 

Thanks Alex!