iFi iUSB 3.0 usb regenerator (with xxx pictures)

[westy]

Try this .

 

 

USB Audio - USB DisruptorUSB Disruptor

[Slippers-on]

I use a Furman Elite 15 PFi. How would that help?

[westy]

The cleaner the AC the better everything performs. Presently I am using 3 dedicated lines. One for my digital which is connected to a PS Audio P-10 Regenerator, one for my Amps and the other for my subwoofers.

[canali]

sorry guys....need your help and so thought I'd respark this thread.

 

i'm new here and am not very audio or computer savvy.

 

my setup is simple: toshiba laptop (6 yrs old) being used to listen to my music

(sure might upgrade in a yr or so...but for now it's fine).

 

just bought an iFi micro idsd to replace my Dragonfly 1.2v.

 

for listening to music i do the following:

...use the dragonfly as a dac from laptop to listen directly to my iems

(sony xb90ex or sony mdr 7550)

or to my cans (sony closed mdr 7520)...just bought some senn hd650 cans, too.

 

or i'll also use the dragonfly as a dac to hook into my headphone tube amp.

(so would be replacing this with the iFi micro IDSD).

 

so what solution would be best suited to me? i don't plan on getting any $2k dac

would an older iFi 2.0 usb and purifier 2 work as well as the new usb 3.0 (or is that overkill for my needs)

gemini cables needed too?

 

would the uptown regen be best?

 

sometimes in this area of tweaks it is easy to go crazy, entering the placebo affect/ 'voodoo' area since it gets subjective in any effects rendered.

 

i'm just trying to avoid that $$$$ trap, thanks, given my own gig isn't sophisticated.

sure might get the oppo 105 D in the future but not right now.

 

thanks for your feedback and suggestions.

[lmitche]

Canali, there seems to be a new solution in this space every few weeks. And the products do seem to be getting better with time. I'd advise that you wait a few months until things settle down. You will be be able to gauge consensus by keeping an eye on these forums.

[canali]

thanks Imiche:

 

one retailer suggested this (his usb 3.0 was sold...explained my gig to him)

nano – iUSB3.0

 

brand new out (released today)...and might fit the bill

the new iFi USB 3.0 Nano

[canali]

anyone compared both the nano usb 3.0 and micro usb 3.0?

[sdube]

I really hope to get a reply to this query.

Could anyone please let me know about a 3 way dc adapter, which can power the Ifi USB 3 and two Regens: I use a JS-2 to power the Regens, so I take it that with the 3 way dc adapter I would be able to power all three from the JS-2? Thanks, SD

[beerandmusic]

does anyone sell a regen type product (similarly priced) that you don't need to wait 2 weeks for, and are there any chinese knockoffs yet?

[wwaldmanfan]

does anyone sell a regen type product (similarly priced) that you don't need to wait 2 weeks for, and are there any chinese knockoffs yet?

 

There have been a few used REGEN's for sale popping up on this forum as of late. We know you have OCD and require instant gratification, but two weeks is not that long to wait for a new one. We all waited months when they first came out.

 

I don't know if the Chinese have knocked off the REGEN design, but it is gauche of you to ask that question here, when Alex and John have done so much to enhance our listening pleasure. They deserve our support.

[beerandmusic]

There have been a few used REGEN's for sale popping up on this forum as of late. We know you have OCD and require instant gratification, but two weeks is not that long to wait for a new one. We all waited months when they first came out.

 

I don't know if the Chinese have knocked off the REGEN design, but it is gauche of you to ask that question here, when Alex and John have done so much to enhance our listening pleasure. They deserve our support.

 

the latest version of the used ones are available? I remember reading something awhile back ago about a new version came out shortly after the first version....

 

As far as supporting Alex and John, they have more business than they know what to do with if there is a wait on their product. I think competition is good anyway, keeps technology improving and prices down. Isn't there someone else on this forum that also is selling their flavor? Why should we buy Alex vs theirs or anyone elses...Shouldn't our buying be based on our desires? I am not sure i am following your logic. Would you only buy a regen from them regardless of product offerings?

[Ultrarunner]

does anyone sell a regen type product (similarly priced) that you don't need to wait 2 weeks for, and are there any chinese knockoffs yet?

 

Seriously? You can't wait two weeks and you'd rather support someone who tries to copy Uptone's products?

[Superdad]

the latest version of the used ones are available? I remember reading something awhile back ago about a new version came out shortly after the first version....

 

This is entirely the wrong thread for your questions given that the title here is "iFi iUSB3.0 usb regenerator," iFi Audio's more elaborate $399 answer to the UpTone USB REGEN (which I am totally cool with--competition is good).

 

But to be clear, only the first 98 of the 2,900+ REGENs sold were of the early "green" version (so called because the power LED was green as opposed to the subsequent amber/orange), and ALL 98 of those first buyers took me up on a $45 PCB upgrade offer. So the chances of you finding a used REGEN "green" are pretty slim.

 

And BTW, more boards arrive from our PCB house this Tuesday evening, so we will be shipping again by Friday. 2-day, insured Priority Mail shipping anywhere in the USA for $8.

[beerandmusic]

Seriously? You can't wait two weeks and you'd rather support someone who tries to copy Uptone's products?

 

I am not sure there weren't products in engineering long before uptones. If someone has a better product, of course i would go to the better product. It's nice to hear there are those that would only buy his product, but i have no allegiance especially if i can buy a better product for less and faster. I am not saying it exists, that is my question.

 

To be honest, i am surprised there are people that would buy uptones product if there are better out there? There has to be some rationale? Price, convenience, quality, aesthetics? Many people say you can use a better power supply. So if one came out with a better power supply for less money that sounded better (even subjectively), you would still buy uptones? It's nice to think you could support him as a regular user here, but only if the product itself justifies it?

[beerandmusic]

This is entirely the wrong thread for your questions given that the title here is "iFi iUSB3.0 usb regenerator," iFi Audio's more elaborate $399 answer to the UpTone USB REGEN (which I am totally cool with--competition is good).

 

But to be clear, only the first 98 of the 2,900+ REGENs sold were of the early "green" version (so called because the power LED was green as opposed to the subsequent amber/orange), and ALL 98 of those first buyers took me up on a $45 PCB upgrade offer. So the chances of you finding a used REGEN "green" are pretty slim.

 

And BTW, more boards arrive from our PCB house this Tuesday evening, so we will be shipping again by Friday. 2-day, insured Priority Mail shipping anywhere in the USA for $8.

 

Thanks for the info. Yea, i wouldn't think used ones would be available, but someone mentioned there were. I am happy with buying a used one as long as it is not the first version. I also can wait 2 weeks, i was just curious if any others were out there. I really haven't read the threads closely about the inatona and thought maybe there were others out there also, especially someone posted a link "in this thread" about another product (but it "just" replaced the ps, not regenerated the signal).

 

Side note also OT, would you say the ps replacement or regen carries more weight in improving the quality of the signal? or would you say 50-50? I am sure it depends on if the dac already has the usb isolation or not, but I am thinking of it for a cheap korg dac. I will have 2 dacs, both a teac nt503 (which has the usb isolation) and the korg which does not.

 

I have a real dilemma, but perhaps i should start a new thread for that...but since i have your attention, and you seem to be an expert, maybe you can help.

 

I love audiogate software. I hate the interface, but to me it makes dsd sound the best. Unfortunately it ONLY works at dsd levels with Korg dacs. I have a sneaky suspicion that i will like the audiogate/korg with a usb device better than a more expensive dac.... i don't know why, but there software always makes the biggest difference in sq. My dilemma is I NEED A WAY to make audiogate do dsd to a better dac than the korg. I do hear better bass and better other subtle differences with other dacs than the korg, but the audiogate software overall sounds better than any other software.

[Superdad]

Side note also OT, would you say the ps replacement or regen carries more weight in improving the quality of the signal? or would you say 50-50? I am sure it depends on if the dac already has the usb isolation or not, but I am thinking of it for a cheap korg dac. I will have 2 dacs, both a teac nt503 (which has the usb isolation) and the korg which does not.

 

Happy to answer your questions, but it would be inappropriate for me to do so in this thread. Please bring your questions over to the main USB REGEN thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f27-uptone-audio-sponsored/uptone-audio-regen-22803/

 

 

I love audiogate software. I hate the interface, but to me it makes dsd sound the best. Unfortunately it ONLY works at dsd levels with Korg dacs. I have a sneaky suspicion that i will like the audiogate/korg with a usb device better than a more expensive dac.... i don't know why, but there software always makes the biggest difference in sq. My dilemma is I NEED A WAY to make audiogate do dsd to a better dac than the korg. I do hear better bass and better other subtle differences with other dacs than the korg, but the audiogate software overall sounds better than any other software.

 

Good question, but again, really not for this thread. If you are speaking of Korg Audiogate software conversion of PCM-to-DSD, that falls under the topic of off-line DSD conversion, to which there is a dedicated thread here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/offline-upsampling-20999/

[YashN]

I love audiogate software. I hate the interface, but to me it makes dsd sound the best. Unfortunately it ONLY works at dsd levels with Korg dacs. I have a sneaky suspicion that i will like the audiogate/korg with a usb device better than a more expensive dac.... i don't know why, but there software always makes the biggest difference in sq. My dilemma is I NEED A WAY to make audiogate do dsd to a better dac than the korg. I do hear better bass and better other subtle differences with other dacs than the korg, but the audiogate software overall sounds better than any other software.

 

There are two things here: either you do offline up-conversion to DSD or real-time.

 

With offline conversion, there's no reason why the Korg/Audiogate pairing should be better. I use Audiogate with my iFi iDSD Nano and it sounds great. Do I feel the need to buy a Korg + Audiogate combination? No. I would buy a Korg DSD recorder though.

 

For offline, you can try Yuri's software as well and I think Mansr has integrated code for Sox to do that too.

 

For real-time conversion, try HQ Player, and better still, try HQ Player in client-server mode with a network-attached device running networkaudiodaemon.

[Indydan]

I bought an iFi iUSB 3.0 yesterday, along with a Wireworld Silver Starlight 12 inch USB cable to plug between the iFi and the DAC. A Shunyata Venom USB goes from the Mac Mini to the iFi.

 

Right away without giving the device and WW USB cable time to burn in, the improvement is significant. Lower noise, more clarity and the music is simply more "there". I am very happy so far!

 

I have included a picture of the supplied wal wart power supply, iFi's own iPower. As can be seen, it is a rather large and substantial wal wart. It feels solidly built compared to most wal warts.

[Indydan]

Well the iFi iUSB 3.0 and Wireworld Silver Starlight have about 10 hours pf playing time so far. There are a few sonic improvements. But, the music has slowed down. It has lost a beat and is much les snappy and rhythmic than it was.

 

I know from experience that certain devices and cables can slow down the music when they are not burned in. has anyone else had this experience with the iFi iUSB 3.0? Or the Wireworld Silver Starlight USB cable during the burn in process?

[canali]

totally agree man:...i'm fully into supporting good quality, innovative vendors

like Uptone and others.

F**k all those who make cheap knockoffs, stealing the sweat and labour of others' ideas.

hell, they even given the chinese as a whole a bad name, when there are

many good chinese firms nowadays trying to be innovative and original in audio

(dunu, hifi man etc).

 

will be laying low to see what usb conditioning goodies arrive from various companies over the next few months, for my own iFI micro idsd as desktop dac...just got the ipurifier 2 for a song (have it hooked into a mercury cable from my laptop).

personally i'd love to support uptone.

 

Originally Posted by beerandmusic

does anyone sell a regen type product (similarly priced) that you don't need to wait 2 weeks for, and are there any chinese knockoffs yet?

 

 

I don't know if the Chinese have knocked off the REGEN design, but it is gauche of you to ask that question here, when Alex and John have done so much to enhance our listening pleasure. They deserve our support.

[feelingears]

Well the iFi iUSB 3.0 and Wireworld Silver Starlight have about 10 hours pf playing time so far. There are a few sonic improvements. But, the music has slowed down. It has lost a beat and is much les snappy and rhythmic than it was.

 

I know from experience that certain devices and cables can slow down the music when they are not burned in. has anyone else had this experience with the iFi iUSB 3.0? Or the Wireworld Silver Starlight USB cable during the burn in process?

 

@IndyDan You might have power source issues that depend on time of day and such. (I didn't see your system listed in the post.) Just a thought. Hope you update us after a while/weeks.

[Indydan]

@IndyDan You might have power source issues that depend on time of day and such. (I didn't see your system listed in the post.) Just a thought. Hope you update us after a while/weeks.

 

You can see my system here:

 

View Profile: Indydan - Computer Audiophile

 

In the "About me" section.

 

Thanks for your reply. I have never had issues with my system performing differently at different times of the day.

 

The speed and rhythm came back after a few more hours of playing music. For the past day and a half, the sound quality has been stunning! I am pretty sure the slowing of the music was due to the cable or the iFI burning in. I listened to a ton of music later in the day after making that post, and also today. Everything is good!

 

I will post my impressions as the time goes by and the iFI and WW cable burn in. So far, I am thrilled with the upgrade.

[ginetto61]

... As I mentioned, the Uptone Regen gets a big thumbs up from me. In it's stock form, the difference was notable with every DAC I tried ranging from $3500 to $900. Some galvanically isolated DACs paired with awesome music servers like the Antipodes server might see much more modest improvements, if any ...

 

Hi very good point.

lack of galvanic isolation is a design flaw both trivial and very common.

The 1st thing i learnt in pc audio is how polluted is the power coming from the pc.

A serious manufacturer should provide an isolated dac and a nice approved usb data only cable.

But this would be too simple. Too effective.

Thanks for the very interesting advice.

Regards, gino

[Superdad]

Lack of galvanic isolation is a design flaw both trivial and very common.

The 1st thing i learnt in pc audio is how polluted is the power coming from the pc.

A serious manufacturer should provide an isolated dac and a nice approved usb data only cable.

But this would be too simple. Too effective.

 

Not entirely correct. All DACs that use digital isolators place then AFTER the USB PHY and processor. Isolation and improved signal integrity BEFORE entering the DAC (i.e. with hub-based devices like the iFi iUSB3.0 or UpTone USB REGEN, etc.--as well as galvanic isolators such as the Intona) is still effective with DACs that claim to "galvanically isolate" their USB input because once the DAC's PHY and processor generate ground-plane and packet-data noise and voltage spikes, it is very hard to get rid of the effect. Here is some more in depth on that topic from John Swenson:

 

"Isolators [after the USB input PHY and processor] help but are not nearly the panacea many people think. Lets travel through the system and look at both the power and signal and what happens to them as we go through the system.

 

So lets start with a USB receiver with bursts of high frequency noise on both the power and ground planes. This PG (power/ground) noise will modulate the data being sent to the isolators. It will slightly increase jitter and the amplitude of the pulses will vary with the noise.

 

This noisy power also goes into the driver side of the isolator. The signal going across the barrier (light, EM waves, magnetic field etc) gets modulated by this PG noise as well. The PG noise also changes the threshold of the input receivers, adding jitter to the signal.

 

On the other side of the barrier we have a couple things happening, the varying signal level, caused by the PG noise in the driver, also causes the receiver current to change, even with no signal applied. Thus the receiver causes PG noise on the "clean side" directly related to the PG noise on the "dirty side" It is definitely attenuated, but not by nearly as much as most people expect. Then we also have traditional logic noise caused by the fact the output is a normal logic signal, every time the output changes it creates noise on the PG planes on the clean side. The jitter on the signal created by the PG noise on the dirty side is still there PLUs jitter introduced by the isolation scheme. This jitter changes the spectrum of the logic noise on the PG planes on the clean side.

 

So then we feed the signal through a reclocking flop, which is supposed to get rid of all that jitter on the input. Well it helps, but no reclocking flops are completely effective. The PG noise at the flop still causes jitter to show up on it's output, PG noise changes the threshold where the flop detects the "switch" of the clock, thus increasing jitter on the output.

 

The result of this chain is that PG noise on the "dirty side" can still make it through to the "clean" side. It IS attenuated, but not completely gone.

 

Cascading such stages can theoretically help, but in order for that to work the reclocking clock has to get fed back through the isolators which significantly degrades the clock so it turns out cascading doesn't help much. (a two-stage cascade does make things better, but not by a huge amount)."

[MHzTweaker]

My iFi micro USB 3.0 has died 29 days after I purchased it. There is no support number for this product that I can find. So far this company has not responded to any of my requests for help. I will contact Music Direct this morning to return this defective product and ask for a refund. At least they have a 60 day return policy.

 

I cannot recommend this shoddy product by a company that no support mechanism.

 

I will look elsewhere for something that can clean up the USB connection.

 

$400 is a lot of money to me. I am VERY disappointed and disgusted by my entire experience with iFi