UpTone Audio USB Regen Listening Impressions

[jtwrace]

You're right. Got confused because we have some JS-2 LPS owners with ULN-2 and ULN-8.

 

Ah yes. You could use the JS-2 to power the Metric Halo LIO-8 too.

[jtwrace]

I purposely left off a whole bunch of what Waldrep would surely consider "fringe" DACs--assuming he had ever heard of them. Metrum, TotalDAC, AMR, iFi, Chord, and others could also have been listed. I probably should have included mention of some "pro-sound" brands he would have been familiar with that REGEN users own. Metric Halo and Lynx Hilo come to mind.

 

The results are in..Regen: The Results Are In | Real HD-Audio

[jtwrace]

Some of the venom in this thread is ridiculous. Geez, it is audio not life and death. Mark isn't some kid in his PJs in his mom's basement commenting on the internet. Give him some credit for what he has accomplished in the industry. You find the Regen makes a big improvement in your system. Great. By all means yell from the mountaintops. But there is no need to denigrate someone who doesn't or doesn't think that the improvement is as great as you do. As for the Regen, I have yet to hear it so can't comment on it. I do have the Wyrd which I bought, not to improve the sound, but to eliminate drop outs I was having. It did this beautifully BTW. My experience with the Wyrd vis a vis SQ improvement sounds a bit what Mark's friends were describing with the Regen. Very subtle. Was I hearing things? Maybe, but since the dropouts were almost totally gone, I didn't really care. The AQ Jitterbug, that is a different story. The SQ improvements were noticeable and better yet, verifiable, just by pulling the thing out of the unused USB port on my Mac. maybe mark will run a test on the Jitterbug.

I guess we hear differently...if the Wyrd solved the dropouts I'm certain that would sound better to me.

[jtwrace]

Yes, but the underlying SQ didn't really change much more than a smidge

 

If there were dropouts then it was unlistenable (to me).

[jtwrace]

Finally am getting around to trying two REGEN Ambers in the same system. I have one at my ARIES and one at the Vega - both with solid adapters. Hmmm.

[jtwrace]

BTW, even though John Westlake shows the results of the tests and it shows the REGEN is cleaning things up, he evidently disagrees with JS's thoughts on the subject pink fish media - View Single Post - MDAC First Listen (Part 00101001)

 

Even better is post #5 here. SO much talk about that lately...

[jtwrace]

You might see what two together (connected with a solid adapter) running into the DAC does as well.

 

Really? This is CRAZY!

[jtwrace]

You might see what two together (connected with a solid adapter) running into the DAC does as well.

 

Really? This is CRAZY!

 

OK, the results are in. ;-)

 

To me, my subjective ears, ONE REGEN Amber sounds better than two REGEN Ambers. I'm probably going to get blasted but that's OK. Two was definitely more forward but with the same clarity; but it tricks your (my) brain (I think) into thinking it has more clarity because it's more forward.

 

Again, my system, my ears, my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if one had two on the USB line whether it was split on the ends of the USB cable or directly inline before the dac.

 

OK, back to the fun...listening!!!

[jtwrace]

Glad that mess is over. Back to the music.

 

[jtwrace]

I would happily trade all rights to it for a JS-2 !

touché

[jtwrace]

Oh shit...

[jtwrace]

Mark has five B&W 801 speakers

 

Why such mid-fi speakers? I'm joking but do not think they're all that great. Of course, IMO.

 

 

[jtwrace]

I see you're still rockin' the DCX.

 

That's correct. Also have a Hypex DLCP. Read at how I use it though. Makes no difference whatsoever.

[jtwrace]

new measurements and such:

 

Science Thread: Review of Audioquest Jitterbug and Uptone Regen USB Conditioners

 

No idea on what his background is but I'm not impressed to say the least. There are so many things wrong with his test. Too bad but as they always say, bad data is worse than no data. Sadly, as someone who collects data everyday and really enjoys it and lives by it, this is the classic example of a improper test IMO/IME. Even worse, it really clouds the people that really don't know what to look for and why. Hopefully in time John S will publish his findings as well as another that I know that is working on it.

[jtwrace]

agreed, have not been to that site before but the measurements didn't seem vetted by anyone else prior to posting.

(common I know)

 

a couple questions/concerns:

1. he didn't use the "hard adapter" after Regen, to connect to the DAC. but instead the short pigtail USB cable.

(we know the short USB cable is not good).

2. did he really test Regen with a Meridian Explorer? never was impressed with that product, but would the DAC itself have any bearing on his measurement graphs?

 

I'm not going to say much about what I'd do or think how it should be done but I'll say this. Testing the unit every possible way (DOE) is truly the proper way to determine what each way will yield. Further, yes, seeing the output of the dac (after the REGEN) certainly does pass through the dac so therefore the dac does have influence. However, this isn't a bad things if once again you're able to prove that the dac doesn't matter as the data coming out of each does indeed improve or not improve. These are the basic problems with this test and many of them in audio or not. The whole idea is to eliminate variables and it takes a lot of time and thought out planning to do so. Not just throw an (new concept) instrument on the bench and produce data. This is where the designer (John S in this instance) really does need to produce some data and an explanation. At that time, he can either choose to explain in depth or not depending on IP or if a patent has been filed. This is how it works typically in the "real world". ;-) Either way, enjoy the REGEN!

[jtwrace]

I'd love to try a Paul Hynes linear power supply like the one I have on my Empirical Off-Ramp 3 USB Converter.

 

Depending on what the Off-Ramp draws for current you might think about making a "Y" and then you can run both devices from the SR3.

[jtwrace]

My Off-Ramp draws 12vdc plus it draws that .5v from the Regen. I don't think it would be a wise thing to do.

 

But if John Swenson says it would be ok to do,,,, then I'm all over it!

 

Yes, I know. That's why it's an SR3-12. "SR3" means that it's capable of 3A @ 12Vdc. the "-12" = 12Vdc. You just need to know what the Off-Ramp draws for current at 12Vdc. I suspect it's very low so you can use the SR3 for both.

[jtwrace]

Yes, I know. That's why it's an SR3-12. "SR3" means that it's capable of 3A @ 12Vdc. the "-12" = 12Vdc. You just need to know what the Off-Ramp draws for current at 12Vdc. I suspect it's very low so you can use the SR3 for both.

 

OK, I see that it draws 1A @ 12Vdc according to here. You will be fine to make a "Y" and power both from that SR3.

[jtwrace]

I stated in my first post #1804 that the Off-Ramp 3 was a USB converter, shouldn't be much confusion there. When i used the word draw, I had in mind the 5V USB cable current that my Off-Ramp uses but is now being supplied by the Regen, which is why I'm not comfortable using a 12V 3 A Hynes power supply for the Regen, even if I'm using a splitter to power both the 12v dc 1a Off-Ramp 3 and the Regen. I'd be much more comfortable with 9v or 7v.

 

Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the advise.

 

No idea what John S would think but you could use a "Y" and then use one of these before the REGEN to drop the voltage to 9Vdc. I've used these on many data systems when logging at 50kHz and they were fantastic.

 

I'll be curious to know what John S would say other than wait for the mystery supply.

[jtwrace]

Many converters use Switching Techniques which may not be a good idea to use before a Regen as even the artifacts from the supplied +7.5V SMPS plug packs have been shown in posted measurements.

e.g. LM2596 SIMPLE SWITCHER® Power Converter 150 kHz 3A Step-Down Voltage Regulator

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm2596.pdf

 

Perhaps it would be a good idea to wait for John's Mystery supply ?

I realise that E.E.s don't generally like giving subjective impressions, but has John posted anything about how his Mystery PSU compares with the +7.5V SMPS Plug pack when powering his Regen ?

 

Yes, I'm quite aware how they work. However, if one has issues with the SMPS through the AC line this may solve that.

[jtwrace]

Given that they are dirt cheap on ebay, perhaps you could try a couple ?

 

LM2596 DC Buck Step Down Voltage Adjustable Converter Power Module Regulator CN | eBay

Yeah I don't need them...

[jtwrace]

As Alex K. notes (and Alex C., "Superdad," has mentioned), an SMPS will put noise into the power coming from the wall unless there's something to stop/condition it both between the SMPS and the wall (e.g., some sort of power conditioning), and between the SMPS and the DAC (e.g., the mystery PSU add-on).

 

I do agree the SMPS helped UpTone to offer the Regen for a very nice price, leaving it to customers whether they wanted to spend more on power supplies, which I think is as it should be.

 

I agree and am very happy with the UpTone Audio JS-2.

[jtwrace]

We're working on it. Hoping to reveal a whole lot more in January.

 

Meantime the REGEN elves are working fast to get the toys out to everyone:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]22649[/ATTACH]

 

So let me get this straight, part of the QC process is to play ping pong with each JS-2 and REGEN? WOW, you really are special. ;-)