AlainGr Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Hi Jjh1585, I don't own a Berkeley Alpha USB, but from what I read on the Berkekey website, the USB receiver and processing are powered by the computer, meaning that the Berkeley needs the power from the PC. It seems that the power and current coming out of the Intona output are not enough, creating this situation. In this thread, there are also reports where some USB cables seems to deal better with this situation. Daniel (of Intona) is supposed to check about this. I can't say when we will have a report about a solution. My system does not use the power from the PC. Regards, Alain Link to comment
jjh1585 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Thanks for the reply's (advice). The problem was with the Berkeley. The Off-Ramp works no problem. I am using Mavericks as the Off-Ramp requires a driver and I have to stay with Mavericks. I wanted the Berkeley in the system because it does not require a driver. I did try my regen after the Intona. I think that should cover the power issue. I read a response from this thread that some xmos firmware is not yet compatible with the Intona post# 89. I was wondering if anyone else had an issue. Link to comment
tubesound Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Found a pic for the internal view from here: Intona High Speed USB isolator! - Page 4; isolation is provided through Silicon Lab's Si8660. Link to comment
Blake Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I wanted the Berkeley in the system because it does not require a driver. I did try my regen after the Intona. I think that should cover the power issue. Can you please clarify the above? Are you saying Intona > usb cable > Regen > usb cable > Berkeley works, or it does not work? Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | dual Rythmik E15HP subs Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC Link to comment
jjh1585 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Blake The Intona does not work with the Berkeley in my system with any configuration. I wanted to see if anyone else had successfully used an Intona and Berkeley in any configuration. The Intona works just fantastic with my Off-Ramp 5. Apple has changed OS X several times since mavericks. The driver for the Off-Ramp 5 will not work with El Capitan. This is why I would like the Berkeley back in my system. Link to comment
One and a half Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Found a pic for the internal view from here: Intona High Speed USB isolator! - Page 4; isolation is provided through Silicon Lab's Si8660. [ATTACH=CONFIG]23484[/ATTACH] Wonder what the small connector is for on the input side. AS Profile Equipment List Say NO to MQA Link to comment
cmarin Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I received my Intona Industrial 1/5. I have been attempting to use it with a Berkeley Alpha USB. I could not make it happen. Has anyone used one with the Berkeley successfully? I switched to an Off-Ramp 5. Wow as others have stated it was a huge improvement. I have spent way more money on usb cables that are collecting dust. It is a must have for my system. 2012 Mini > Curious 0.8m > Intona > Curious Regen Link > Regen > Curious Regen Link > OffRamp 5 > Empirical Audio BNC > SFD 2 MKIII I've been able to successfully use the Intona (industrial version) with a Berkeley Alpha USB with the following configuration: Zalman PC (Windows Server 2012R2/Audiophile Optimizer in ultimate core mode) > Curious 1.0 m USB cable > Intona > Curious 0.3m (Regen link) USB cable > Berkeley Alpha USB > AES cable > DAC Link to comment
Blake Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I've been able to successfully use the Intona (industrial version) with a Berkeley Alpha USB with the following configuration: Zalman PC (Windows Server 2012R2/Audiophile Optimizer in ultimate core mode) > Curious 1.0 m USB cable > Intona > Curious 0.3m (Regen link) USB cable > Berkeley Alpha USB > AES cable > DAC That is good news. I would be using that same setup, except that I would use my MacBook Pro and my Curious Cables are all the short link variety. Does Intona offer a return policy if the product doesn't work in a customer's particular setup? Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | dual Rythmik E15HP subs Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC Link to comment
PhilR Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 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.. Synology DS1515+ > PS Audio P10 > Innuos Zenith Mk II running Roon Core > IsoRegen/LPS-1 > Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 > Tekton Double Impact Speakers Link to comment
cmarin Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 The Intona webpage has a "purchase order terms and conditions" link on the Intona isolator page. It appears to offer a 14-day return policy subject to conditions. You may wish to read it and/or contact Intona directly to confirm the return policy terms. Link to comment
blankdisc Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Wonder what the small connector is for on the input side. most likely for firmware update. Have been running Intona for a few weeks now. still amazed by the improvement it brought. sometimes we audiophiles spend a fortunate on a cable or footers and still have to convince ourselves whether it did anything. Intona has no problem. it is really the most effective audio accessory i have bought outside of major system components. I can also confirm that getting it to work is a tricky business. Sometimes the exact same setup would fail repeatedly and suddenly start to work. But once the connection is established, it is stable and will stay on...until one of the components on either end is turned off. Main system: iMac A+ -> LH Lightspeed USB -> Schiit Yggy DAC -> Nordost TYR XLR IC -> Pass Labs XP20 Preamp -> Nordost TYR XLR IC -> Pass Labs XA60.5 Mono Amps -> MIT ACT MA SC -> Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy 8 Second desktop system: iMac A+ / TIDAL -> LH Lightspeed USB -> LH Labs Geek Pulse Infinity -> Nordost TYR RCA IC -> Firstwatt J2 -> MIT AVT2 SC -> Omega Super 7 mini Link to comment
Blake Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 The Intona webpage has a "purchase order terms and conditions" link on the Intona isolator page. It appears to offer a 14-day return policy subject to conditions. You may wish to read it and/or contact Intona directly to confirm the return policy terms. Thanks, will do. Reading the various reports in this thread, it seems to be very random whether it will work or not in a given system with the Berkeley Alpha USB. This reminds me of when I purchased the iFi iUSB when it first came out a few years ago and was getting hit or miss results using it with different usb cables and some would not work (Mapleshade Clearlinks back then). EDIT: Well that was fast. I just sent an email to Intona asking about returns and within a few minutes Intona responded, noting that the Intona is returnable within 14 days of delivery. Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | dual Rythmik E15HP subs Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC Link to comment
Elberoth Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I have one on order. Adam PC: custom Roon server with Pink Faun Ultra OCXO USB card Digital: Lampizator Horizon DAC Amp: Dan D'Agostino Momentum Stereo Speakers: Magcio M3 Link to comment
jjh1585 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 cmarin, PhilR thank you for your responses. I was curious to see if Berkeley users were experiencing the same problem. I emailed Intona support. They are working on resolving the Berkeley USB handshake issue. I am really impressed with the way my system improved with the Intona / Regen /Off-Ramp 5 combination (all Curious cabling). Link to comment
HenSch Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Hi everybody, the day before yesterday I received my Intona back from the factory for a firmware upgrade. Before that upgrade I could not get it to work with my Auralic Vega (XMOS input). After writing with Daniel he stated that he had found some compatibility problem with an older XMOS implementation, which the Vega obviously has. After the firmware upgrade everything is working rock stable from the first moment on. Didn't even have to fiddle around with different cable configurations. The Intona is such a great device. Bettering my Regen with Neutron Star Clock mod! All the best, Henning Link to comment
Tribon Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 It would be good to improve Intona by adding switch that will work as Vbus isolator (for DAC’s that doesn’t require 5V) and external connector for clean LPSU (for DAC’s that require nice clean 5V). Furthermore nice aluminium enclosure would be nice. Link to comment
warpeon Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I was reading on a new product by wyred4sound, called usb remedy. The description sounded like intona (galvanically isolation) + Regen (regenerate the accurate signal) + femeto clock in an aluminum case (according to prototype pic). May be that's the ultimate thing? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment
theppd Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 God I feel like I'm getting tired of all of these. Too many little black boxes. MacBook Pro + Roon > Airport Extreme > microRendu + mbps-d2s > Auralic Vega > McIntosh MC275 > Yamaha NS-2000 Wired with: High Fidelity CT-1 Enhanced RCA, Revelation Audio Labs, Fadel Art Coherence PC Link to comment
Jimmypowder Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I was reading on a new product by wyred4sound, called usb remedy. The description sounded like intona (galvanically isolation) + Regen (regenerate the accurate signal) + femeto clock in an aluminum case (according to prototype pic). May be that's the ultimate thing? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk No USB =No buy Link to comment
warpeon Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 The proper name is "recovery USB reclocker" its for USB device Link to comment
tubesound Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 The proper name is "recovery USB reclocker" its for USB device And the Recovery USB Reclocker doesn't do galvanic isolation. From the description, I think it's more similar to REGEN rather than to Intona. Link to comment
davidian Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 God I feel like I'm getting tired of all of these. Too many little black boxes. The Intona comes in white ;-), just ordered one. Mac Pro > Amarra / A+2 > Forza Audioworks FAW Copper Series USB > Bel Canto 2.5 DAC > Horn audiophiles "The Analyst" RCA > Naim Nait 5si > AudioQuest FLX/SLiP 14/4 > Mark & Daniel Ruby Link to comment
Blake Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I bought two Intona's on Sunday to try in both of my audio setups. They shipped Monday morning from Germany and arrived today in Salt Lake City at noon on Wednesday (that was fast!). I just installed the Intona in my desktop system at work, using my .8M Light Harmonic 2G split usb cable to the input of the Intona, and a short 200 mm Curious Cables usb cable from the output of the Intona to my Schiit Bimby. No issues at all! Hopefully the installation of the other Intona into my home system tonight goes smoothly as well and I will not have "handshake issues" with my Berkeley as some other users are reporting. Fingers crossed.... Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | dual Rythmik E15HP subs Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC Link to comment
Elberoth Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I also got my Intona today. I put it between my Jcat USB card equipped CAPS v4 server and Lampi Golden Gate DAC - no issues at all. I tried it with AQ Diamond USB cable and TotalDAC D1 USB cable, and it worked perfect both ways (with TotalDAC filtered cable infront and after the Intona). Didn't have the time to listen yet. Adam PC: custom Roon server with Pink Faun Ultra OCXO USB card Digital: Lampizator Horizon DAC Amp: Dan D'Agostino Momentum Stereo Speakers: Magcio M3 Link to comment
robocop Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I received my Intona Industrial version and connected using my original Benchmark USB cable(1 metre) from computer to Intona and Clarixa(XXhighend 1 metre) from Intona to Benchmark DAC2. Well absolutely no problems, all fired up and music was heard immediately. Certainly has an effect that is very positive the more I listen. More hidden detail is revealed from within the music. Definitely recommend this upgrade. Robert Link to comment
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