ISO REGEN Listening Impressions (kicked off with some measurements)

[BigAlMc]

8 hours ago, scan80269 said:

 

What's also incredible to me is how a USB improvement brought by the ISO REGEN can change the sound of my Holo Audio Spring DAC so much, considering the Spring is currently configured for I2S input driven by my modified Singxer SU-1 DDC with the ISO REGEN located upstream.  In this configuration, USB is one complete box removed from the Spring DAC.  If anything, this is a testament to the importance of signal integrity for an audio transport bus that does not carry actual audio clocking.

 

I'm secretly hoping UpTone can keep churning out products to clean up other interfaces utilized to transport digital audio, such as Ethernet and I2S.

 

 

 

Dagnabbit @scan80269 - I haven't even finished the mods on my SU-1 and now it looks like I need to add an ISO REGEN too! 

 

A nice problem to have tho. And given the apparent queue for ordering the latest Uptone treat it seems I'll at least have time to get the S-1 mods done and get used to it before adding this into the mix.

 

Cheers,

Alan

[BigAlMc]

Ok so I'm finally in a position to post some listening impressions but first an update on issues I raised previously. 

 

I was experiencing frequent dropouts originally. Music playing and just stopping with "no audio device found" showing on Roon on my phone. Anyway I tried flipping the red switch (as advised on this forum) to disable the galvanic isolation and that seemed to resolve the dropouts. 

 

Then a week or so later my Y cable from Ghent turned up so I could power both my SU-1 and my IR with the same LPS-1. 

 

After a day or so it occurred to me to try flipping the red switch back on. I did so and whaddya know - no dropouts! 

 

So who knows where the issue was but best guess is somewhere in the combo of MR, IR and SU-1 powered by two LPS-1's and an iFI Ipower there was an issue causing a little ground to build up. 

 

Guess I'll never know for sure but the main point is its a happy ending with my IR running in its full galvanically isolated glory 

 

Listening impressions to follow.... 

[BigAlMc]

So it occurred to me that I hadn't tested the IR solely in the USB path as I'd only listened to it going into my SU-1. I therefore spent some time this morning trying a few combinations. 

 

Background info:

 

Microrendu as Roon NAA. Powered by LPS-1. Connected using Ghent cable as recommended on the other DIY cables thread. 

 

Singxer SU-1 modded with Kitsune kit for LPS-1. Providing an I2S signal over HDMI to my Directstream DAC. 

 

ISO Regen with USPCB connector.  

 

Both IR & SU-1 powered by LPS-1 using Ghent Y cable. 

 

Curious USB cable (just to annoying the bits are bits brigade ). 

 

Combo 1. MR direct to DAC via Curious cable. SQ was 'good'. 

 

Combo 2. MR to IR via Curious. IR to DAC via USPCB doofer. SQ was 'much' better. Like a 25% whoa jump. 

 

Combo 3. MR to SU-1 via Curious. SU-1 to DAC via I2S. SQ was better than Combo 2. But the change was different. Combo 2 vs 1 was a difference in clarity & control. Combo 3 vs 2 was the same clarity and control but more texture & soundstage. Just felt a bit 'nicer'. And not as much as a jump as 2 vs 1. Say 10%

 

Combo 4. MR to IR via Curious. IR to SU-1 via doofer. SU-1 to DAC via I2S. A slight improvement still. Perhaps another 5%. But very close to 3. Just a little more clarity & control. 

 

I'm glad I took the time to do these tests because (and no offence intended Alex, just being honest) originally I didn't feel the IR added much to my system. I figured it wasn't doing any harm but reasoned that my SU-1 was also doing such a great job that there was less room for improvement. The listening test has convinced me that the IR is indeed further improving the SQ. But it's a fairly subtle contribution. 

 

Conclusions.

 

If you have an MR going into your DAC then the IR is a no brainier. 

 

If you have a direct USB from laptop or suchlike then ditto. A messy USB source will benefit hugely from the IR. 

 

If you have an SU-1 or similar DDC outputting non-USB then we're moving into more YMMV territory. I'm personally happy with my IR and will keep it in my setup as whilst the contribution is more slight, at the end of day it's still improving the SQ and chasing those additional few % is kinda what this hobby is all about. 

 

Hope this is helpful. 

 

Alex/John S - great job, especially at that price point. Now when are you going to provide the Audiophile Ethernet switches we are all waiting for? 

 

Cheers, 

Alan 

 

[BigAlMc]

6 minutes ago, k-man said:

Alan,

 

Great info. How would the combo sound of mR fed by iPower, SU-1 powered by individual LPS-1, Iso Regen powered by 2nd LPS-1? Or was this the previous combo that led to the dropouts?

I have played around with a few configurations, and only in a situation where a Y cable has been used has the dropouts ceased (this is akin to disabling Isolation). I have emailed Alex a few days back to clarify if my components or setup is causing the isolator chip to become unstable, or the chip itself is unstable.

 

Hi k-man, 

 

Before I received my Y cable I tried the MR on the iFI (yes - this was the combo with the dropouts) and the IR on the iFI (though I reasoned I wanted the LPS-1 goodness as close to the DAC as possible and settled on the previous). 

 

In my setup as the IR and SU-1 share the same LPS-1 via a Y cable and are both upstream of the MR source I figure I still have the isolation. i.e. I'm still isolated from any noise downstream. I guess an IR and MR sharing an. LPS-1 is different tho. 

[BigAlMc]

3 hours ago, tboooe said:

Alan, thank you for your write-up.   I also have an IR and SU-1.  I found that powering the IR separately versus sharing an LPS-1 sounded better.  At first I used a cheap 5v battery and now I use my HD Plex linear power supply.  You may want to give it a try.  To me, the IR improvements were not subtle.

 

Hi @tboooe, 

 

Interesting and cat amongst the pigeons time!  As you know I've kinda followed your lead on the SU-1 thread and not regretted any of it. The SU-1 for the money is nothing short of a revelation. 

 

The IR on the other hand in my setup is a slight improvement. So "not subtle" certainly appeals. I considered getting a third LPS-1 (but I'm worried that might distract Alex & John from building my Ethernet switch ). 

 

Hard question to answer but in your experience do you think giving the IR it's own LPS-1 would increase the SQ bump from slight to "not subtle"? 

 

Cheers, 

Alan 

[BigAlMc]

7 hours ago, tboooe said:

Perhaps you could try powering the IR separately with a cheap 5v cell phone charger battery?

 

Hi @tboooe

 

I'll try this as I have one of these. 

 

Thanks, 

Alan 

[BigAlMc]

6 hours ago, ted_b said:

The unit (and as I alluded to, I will include the USPCB here; haven't tried it with and without due to my newly reinvigorated "life's too short" mantra) is powered by their LPS-1 and drives a Kitsune-modded SU-1 (internal ps for now). 

 

Hi @ted_b

 

Sorry but I'm not following this. Do you mean that the IR is powered by an LPS-1 and the SU-1 is powered by something else? 

 

I'm intrigued because the difference you describe in my system I attribute to the SU-1 and then the IR adds a little more. But that's both you and Tboooe saying that the IR ahead of the SU-1 is adding a great deal - so I must be doing something wrong! 

 

Many Thanks, 

Alan 

[BigAlMc]

Thanks Ted for the detailed reply.

 

I guess I need to try Tboooe's suggestion and listen to the system with the IR on a 5v battery supply and compare to the sound with the IR & SU-1 sharing a LPS-1 via a Y cable.

 

It's either that or I've not been listening closely enough as both you and Tboooe seem to be getting more of an impact from your IR's.

 

Regards,

Alan

[BigAlMc]

51 minutes ago, lmitche said:

After an elaborate Audiolinux,/NUC endpoint and Audiolinux/Server tuning session today, I achieved hands down the best sound ever heard here. While already playing at a high level, the system took on a new level of tonal detail, brass instruments sound golden, guitar strings sound real . . . truly beautiful.

 

So just for grins, I thought to test removing the LPS1.2 powered ISO Regen. What a mistake! I put it right back nestled between two Lush cables. Transients just don't hit the same level without the ISO Regen.

 

What a great device.

 

Hi Larry,

 

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere but do you mind confirming, we're talking NUC endpoint USB out to ISO Regen to DAC?

 

Both with Lush originals, not Lush^2?

 

Cheers,

Alan