Which one to buy: UpTone USB REGEN or Intona USB Isolator?

[PhilR]

The Itona does not work with my Berkeley Alpha USB either.

 

My signal path is Aurender N100H > Curious 200mm > Itona > Curious 0.8m > Berkeley Alpha > Blue Jeans AES 1m > Lyngdorf TDAI 2200 (internal DAC)

 

Not too thrilled about throwing more devices at my system to make the Itona work..

[PhilR]

In order to facilitate placement of the Intona on my rack, I tried reversing the order of the sequence of the curious cables/Intona from:

 

Server>1.0m >Intona>0.2m>Berkeley USB Converter>DAC

 

To:

Server>0.2m>Intona>1.0m>Berkeley USB Converter>DAC

 

Unfortunately, placing the smaller curious cable before the Intona didn't work. I went back to the original setup and it continued to work without problems.

 

I just re-tried both of your configurations with my identical Curious Cables, server, and Berkeley USB converter, neither worked. Is there a particular start-up sequence you are using to turn on your server and Berkeley? Or does your first setup work when the Itona is plugged in no matter what is powered on?

[PhilR]

I was able to get my Itona working with my Berkeley Alpha USB converter by feeding it into an Uptone Regen as others here have done sucessfully. I plugged it into the Regen using the hard adaptor that comes with the Uptone product.

 

Compared to the Regen running solo, I found that the soundstage narrowed a bit, becoming deeper and more focused instead. It was easier to isolate particular instruments across the stage, but ultimately was not as engaging as the wider soundfield. Not a night & day difference, but enough to generate a preference.

 

Daniel at Itona told me via email that they are working on a fix, I will keep waiting for the opportunity to try the Isolator by itself when they get the issue solved.

[PhilR]

A quick update. I've been emailing Daniel at Itona about the unit's lack of compatibility with the Brekeley Alpha. He has two options for those with compatibility issues. One can either return the unit for a firmware update, or for those with basic DIY skills, he is circulating a portable programmer for a potentially faster fix. I'm on the DIY list and will report back once I've upgraded the unit.