UpTone Audio USB Regen Listening Impressions

[AlainGr]

Installed and playing!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]18050[/ATTACH]

 

And ?

[AlainGr]

I will take it as a very positive result with surprising attributes

[AlainGr]

Ah... I wish sometime to have my stuff delivered with Air Pigeon... The more I read the different impressions, the more febrile I get... In the meantime I will try not to let the reports build too much enthusiastic expectations on my part But it is exciting ! Thanks !

[AlainGr]

Thanks for such a detailed report Hifial. It is mouth watering ! As a JS-2 owner too, I knew that the Regen would be a very interesting addition, but from what I read now, I am eager to listen with it in the chain. Thanks a lot and yes please come back to tell us how things are going when you will have even more hours of listening

[AlainGr]

I got my Regen yesterday and I tried it on my NOS1. It was a lot of trouble, since the position of the NOS1 USB port crosses the analog ICs, but I finally settled for the rigid adapter plus a 90 degrees adaptor. It looks kind of weird, but...

 

Focus, details, air, tone, presence, presence, presence... Have I said "presence" ? The small glare that I can hear from time to time is gone.

 

But I have to specify that my NOS1 is not a NOS1"a". I am not sure it would make such a difference, as I suspect that the Regen and the improved USB port from the NOS1a would be redundant.

 

I have been switching between a Clairixa and a Clearlink plus USB cable. The Clairixa has a natural sound like the Clearlink but there are differences that favour the Clairixa. A little more presence and a deeper sense of bass (though still tight).

 

Now that the Regen is at a place I was not really anticipating (it was for another dac), I need to find a way to make the connection less "dangerous".

 

It has not happened for quite a while, but when I suddenly feel the crave to listen to music I already know and like, that means something to me...

[AlainGr]

I have tried it, but there is some kind of "twisting" effect that prevents a good contact with the USB port... I have to play with it before the system would see the dac and this raised a concern...

 

The Phasure NOS1 is designed with an "H" architecture and the ICs are leaving the horizontal bar of the "H", while the USB port is located at the left branch of this same "H", preventing the Regen from plugging without a torsion...

 

My conclusion after all the "sparage" I did is that for the moment, I need to think about something else, even if the connection seems to hold...

[AlainGr]

Alain, it would be interesting to know whether and how much a Regen might help the NOS1a. To me the Regen moves the sound of my DAC a little further toward that of the NOS1a. I also noticed the sound of the NOS1a changed when I changed cables, and Peter told me it was more subject to this than the NOS1. So perhaps the Regen might make a bigger difference with the 1a?

 

Hi Jud,

 

I talked to Peter today and I intend to send him my NOS1 to have it upgraded to the NOS1a. At first I was hesitant, but hearing what the Regen did to the NOS1, I know now how much the NOS1a will deliver the goodies And I will also test with and without. Though I know what you mean, I tend to have a bias toward a no difference, but have I been wrong before .

 

I intend to send it soon, but it may take a while before I will be able to do this test... But I will

 

One thing is for sure: with these two, I am (can I say this here) "The King of MY PLACE"

 

Edit: See ? I did not read what Jason wrote before and I am already wrong

Edit2: I will retry the comparison with the Clearlink as it is one of the best cables with the Clairixa (for the few I have compared I must say). They really sound natural.

 

Jud, have you done the "out of the room test" ? You play music, leave the room and see if it sounds like the band is in here It is doing this with some recordings

[AlainGr]

There is one more thing I would like to say about the Regen... What it tells me is how much there is "stuff" to clean coming from the PC. It really is the "Achilles heel" of the chain... I wonder if what I read about 40 years ago (the source is the most important) still holds true... A better speaker with an average source will be ruthless, while a better source with a less excellent speaker should let pass better sound ?

 

What if someone tries to put a Regen at the output of the PC USB and one at the input of the dac ?

[AlainGr]

Well I tried the Regen at the computer end out of curiosity - it certainly is no where as good having the Regen at the DAC end, but I heard an impact to lower registers that was quite amazing....well I just had to go and order another Regen to find out..(number 1175) roll on June

 

Interesting Thanks !

[AlainGr]

Anybody tried to connect mac mini with regen by adapter and then regen with DAC by another adapter?

 

I have not tried this (I do not have a Mac Mini), but I suppose that it is very easy to try this with a any laptop, since the USB ports are usually at a more practical height than the USB ports of a desktop...

[AlainGr]

Well, my dad came down for a visit and thought I'd let him listen (audiophile for 40 yrs) as we usually do. I didn't tell him what I was changing or doing. All I said was "tell me what you hear". We started out with the REGEN and then I removed it. Needless to say he went back home on the airplane with my REGEN. :-( Can't wait for my amber to arrive!

+1

[AlainGr]

My dad was pretty much my favorite guy on earth while he was alive, so right now I'm a big fan of you.

+1

[AlainGr]

No excuses Alex, you can rest after I have received my amber REGEN ! If you like I will send over a colleague of mine to set up an intravenous drip to keep you hydrated. We can also arrange an indwelling urinary catheter too. Far less disruptions to workflow that way ! whaaaahhahaaaa ;-)

 

Ha ha ha ! You are funny and scary

 

Would you happen to be the new Frederic Winslow Taylor of the 21st century ?

 

Kind regards,

[AlainGr]

Hi Ogs,

 

I also am of the first to have the Regen green, then got the amber board. I must say that the Regen green is a marvel for me and that it added a very nice improvement to my NOS1 dac (not the NOS1a, I can't tell, I haven't upgraded yet to the "a" version).

 

When I tried the amber version, I felt there was something less accurate. Contrary to you, I do feel the LF are more prominent with the amber, but in the upper part of the spectrum, something is darker (for a lack of better words).

 

I have my USB controler card "floating" from the PC chassis. At the dac end, the USB port is already isolated from the chassis, but has a cable connected to it (the chassis) inside. I detached that cable inside the dac. So the 2 ends of the USB link are detached from each component chassis.

 

Not being technical, I can't explain if that is causing the amber to not perform as it was intended (with the resistors), but when I put back the green Regen I find better SQ overall. Maybe less LF, but a clearer image up to the HF..

 

I have yet to try the Regen with another PC without a "floating" chassis ground (I hope I describe this correctly). Maybe the amber Regen will be the better version.

[AlainGr]

Hi Alain

 

actually I think 'darker' is a good sign. The power supply seems more important with the Amber, but I will not find out until we can buy the new supply from Alex. JS2 is probably an extremely good PS, but it is too pricey for me right now. Very interesting that you find the Amber to have more bass than the Green in your system.

Hi Ogs,

 

I will follow this thread in hope to read more about your journey between the two Regens. It may help me to better understand what is happening on my side.

 

Thanks

[AlainGr]

Hi Sanderman,

 

I am not sure if this is the case, but I will refer to one answer from John (Swenson) about this kind of problem...

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/uptone-audio-regen-22803/index106.html#post461084