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

[Yoshimitsu]

There is a better one than the Intona and the Uptone.

 

I have it and it's 100% transparent, it just eliminates the noise, it costs the same as the Intona but is 3.0 compatible and looks prettier with an aluminum case  which is also better from a technical perspective (heat dissipation, shielding etc).

 

From what i have heard the Intona isn't fully transparent.

 

https://shop.alldaq.com/Schnittstellen/USB-Isolatoren/ALLDAQ-ADQ-USB-3-0-ISO-PS::143382.html?MODsid=kvdsb1meahdmbsjb7d7gjrk5j5

 

There is a review on youtube from  Hans Beekhuyzen Channel, i can confirm that his review is pretty accurate coincides with my experience. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ho32Ht1njk

 

[juanitox]

Quote

This model is not approved for medical applications.

 

i prefer a product approved for it as audiofool is really a medical application 😁

[Yoshimitsu]

That hardly matters,  it still does a better job for audio than the Intona and the power supply is medical grade

[carlmart]

It's still expensive, costing more than my Topping D50.

 

[juanitox]

and again ,      fresh members posting 3 post just about it  looks like more another fake advertising than a serious rewiew.

business  strike again..😁

[John769]

17 hours ago, Yoshimitsu said:

From what i have heard the Intona isn't fully transparent.

 

 

17 hours ago, Yoshimitsu said:

There is a better one than the Intona and the Uptone.

 

 

So it's 'better' without actually directly comparing them yourself?

[Yoshimitsu]

1 hour ago, juanitox said:

and again ,      fresh members posting 3 post just about it  looks like more another fake advertising than a serious rewiew.

business  strike again..😁

Lol no

 

And you shouldn't do such accusations out of the blue. Just trying to help. I had a ground loop with my PC so i did a lot of research. Just sharing what i found

 

I payed 264usd for that thing here in Switzerland, but the Intona would have costed pretty much the same. If i was on a higher budget i would have bought an USB isolator from Japan, because i am sucker for japanese stuff, but i managed to resist.

 

There are other isolators too, i am gonna list them from cheapest to most expensive:

 

1. Delock USB 2.0 Isolator with 3 kV Isolation, around 141.00 USD but has no reclocking

https://www.delock.de/produkte/G_62982/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en

https://www.reichelt.de/delock-usb-2-0-isolator-with-3-kv-isolation-delock-62982-p214749.html?r=1

 

2.  Wyred 4Sound Recovery around 150usd

https://wyred4sound.com/products/digital-converters/recovery

 

3. Ciúnas Audio USB Hub 200 euroes, however the ground isn't isolated so it's no good if you have a ground loop, you have 30 days trial which is pretty neat. if i understood it correctly it runs with rechargable batteries, to avoid noise from a power supply

https://www.ciunas.biz/product-page/iso-hub-internal-power?lang=de

 

4. USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Isolator around 239.00 USD without taxes

https://pro.intona.eu/en/products/7054

 

5. Alldaq USB 3.0 SuperSpeed-Isolator

https://www.alldaq.com/adq-iso/

 

6.USB-029H2-RP 290.00 USD, from a japanese company

https://www.fa.hdl.co.jp/en/plink/usb-029h2-rp.html

 

7. Uptone ISo regen 325 usd

https://uptoneaudio.com/products/iso-regen

 

8. IFDI nano iGalvanic3.0 around 350usd

https://ifi-audio.com/products/nano-igalvanic3-0/

 

 

 

 

[Yoshimitsu]

41 minutes ago, John769 said:

 

 

So it's 'better' without actually directly comparing them yourself?

Well no i didn't compare them directly myself but, from what i have read from people that bought it that the Intona adds a sort of unnatural sheen to the sound, that's what Manisandher said in the thread here https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/34683-usb-audio-cracked-finally/#comments, among others who have bought it.

 

The Alldaq on the otherhand is 100% transparent it doesn't add anything. It costs the same as the Intona but is USB 3.0 compatible + aluminum casing which is always better.

 

at the end of the day i don't care

 

[Mercman]

Yoshimitsu might be discussing the older Intona Model 7054 that has a plastic case. The 2 newer Intona models; USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 have aluminum cases and improved specs compared to the 7054.

 

 

[asdf1000]

18 hours ago, Yoshimitsu said:

it costs the same as the Intona but is 3.0 compatible and looks prettier with an aluminum case  which is also better from a technical perspective (heat dissipation, shielding etc).

 

https://pro.intona.eu/en/products/7055-c#features

[Yoshimitsu]

4 minutes ago, Em2016 said:

 

https://pro.intona.eu/en/products/7055-c#features

 

100euros more maybe better maybe not

[asdf1000]

2 minutes ago, Yoshimitsu said:

 

100euros more maybe better maybe not

 

Only mentioned because it's USB 3.0 and in a metal box and you said "but is 3.0 compatible and looks prettier with an aluminum case  which is also better from a technical perspective (heat dissipation, shielding etc)."

[Yoshimitsu]

2 minutes ago, Em2016 said:

 

Only mentioned because it's USB 3.0 and in a metal box and you said "but is 3.0 compatible and looks prettier with an aluminum case  which is also better from a technical perspective (heat dissipation, shielding etc)."

 

It costs 110 dollars less than the intona so it might still be the better buy, if we would assume that they perform equally well.

[Jud]

6 minutes ago, Yoshimitsu said:

if we would assume that they perform equally well.

 

If we always assume that, then of course there is no problem - cheaper is always better. 🙂

 

I am also not sure what your prior statement about "100% transparent" means in a situation where we are presumably trying to block noise.

 

But in any case, enjoy your isolator, and thank you for adding to the list that people might consider. If it is possible to open the case and take a photo of what is inside, particularly the PCB, that would be interesting.

[Yoshimitsu]

7 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

If we always assume that, then of course there is no problem - cheaper is always better. 🙂

 

I am also not sure what your prior statement about "100% transparent" means in a situation where we are presumably trying to block noise.

 

But in any case, enjoy your isolator, and thank you for adding to the list that people might consider. If it is possible to open the case and take a photo of what is inside, particularly the PCB, that would be interesting.

 

I  could do that, what i mean by 100% transparent,  it doesn't alter/color the sound, it simply removes all the noise and puts the signal back to it's original clock.

 

In a system where there is very little noise, let's say you are using a battery powered laptop and you have good cables, a good dac... with or without the alldaq isolator there might be very little difference in sound quality.

 

But if you are using a desktop PC and a lot of noise is getting carried over via USB the difference will be much bigger. It simply not doing anything to the sound signature

[Jud]

2 hours ago, Yoshimitsu said:

 

I  could do that, what i mean by 100% transparent,  it doesn't alter/color the sound, it simply removes all the noise and puts the signal back to it's original clock.

 

In a system where there is very little noise, let's say you are using a battery powered laptop and you have good cables, a good dac... with or without the alldaq isolator there might be very little difference in sound quality.

 

But if you are using a desktop PC and a lot of noise is getting carried over via USB the difference will be much bigger. It simply not doing anything to the sound signature

 

The concept of an "original clock" may not be all that helpful. What matters is the clocking process in the DAC, and upstream signal integrity might conceivably affect that.

[Yoshimitsu]

I think i was wrong, reclocking is one of those terms that gets misused a lot. Anyway most usb isolators use reclocking, intona and alldaq included, same thing.

 

The japanese one on the other hand, regenerates (repeats) the signal with an IC repeater, I think that's a more costly approach .

[Peti]

I have been using the Intone 3.0 in my system for a while and since y'day it stopped working, meaning, the computer won't detect the dac if it goes through the Intona. When the dac is directly connected to the laptop, it works like a charm. I tried to test all my usb cables, and it was always the same result, so I ruled out the cables as the source of the problem. anyone could help me out on this with a good advice? This little thing makes a nice difference in my system and I intend to keep using it. Thank you

[Yoshimitsu]

2 hours ago, Peti said:

I have been using the Intone 3.0 in my system for a while and since y'day it stopped working, meaning, the computer won't detect the dac if it goes through the Intona. When the dac is directly connected to the laptop, it works like a charm. I tried to test all my usb cables, and it was always the same result, so I ruled out the cables as the source of the problem. anyone could help me out on this with a good advice? This little thing makes a nice difference in my system and I intend to keep using it. Thank you

 

Which Intona do you have? The newer gen?

[bilboda]

Did you hook it up to a power supply? A usb charger should work. If it does, you can consider a better unit. Mine is powered by by a LPS. 

 

[Peti]

Yes, it is the new 3.0 version

39 minutes ago, Yoshimitsu said:

 

Which Intona do you have? The newer gen?

I have never used a power supply before and it worked perfectly until y'day.Just tried it with an external power supply and HQPlayer still can't see the dac via the Intona. Damn! what could happen?

[Yoshimitsu]

2 minutes ago, Peti said:

Yes, it is the new 3.0 version

I have never used a power supply before and it worked perfectly until y'day.Just tried it with an external power supply and HQPlayer still can't see the dac via the Intona. Damn! what could happen?

I have a similar issue with my Alldaq USB isolator, sometimes it doesn't get recognized when i boot up my PC. The only way of fixing that is unplugging the wallwart and plug it back in. Sometimes, however it's enough to disconnect the USB cable either from the PC or from the Isolator to your DAC.

 

Next time the PC isn't detecting the DAC try disconnecting the DAC from the Intona and connect it back in. Try both variants, disconect  from the PC the USB cable that goes to the Intona .

 

Then it should work, however it maybe that you need to do that everytime you turn on your PC. 

 

Feel free to ask me if i didn't express myself clearly, i am not good at explaining these things in english ^^

[Peti]

Thanks for the advice. I use XMOS usb connection as I have a Woo WA8 Eclipse DAC/amp. I have read that XMOS sometimes does not play well with the Intona USB 3.0 and I might need a firmware upgrade? Do I need to send it back to Germany for the update, really?

 

I have been trying to connect/disconnent the dac to see if it helps, but nothing so far!

[Yoshimitsu]

My DAC has XMOS aswell, maybe that's the problem?

[Peti]

Yup, it might be, but I don't get why it worked before without a glitch and all of a sudden nothing? I'm puzzled by this.