I’ve had the Directstream DAC (DS for short) since June '20 and I love the sound - a big step up from the my Wyred4Sound DAC, which was very good in its day. I used the Uptone Audio ISO Regen with the W4S for a decent boost in sound quality. When I got the DS I tried it with & without the Regen. I should also note I use the Uptone Ultracap LPS1.2 power supply to power the Regen. The improvement for the DS with the Regen was significant, but not as much of an improvement as I had with the W4S. I wasn’t surprised, since the DS is so good.
In Dec '20 I began having trouble with the DS connection to my PC dropping, requiring a power off/on to get it back. When I took the Regen out of the path all worked fine, albeit a slightly less enjoyable sound. The annoyance got to me & I contacted Uptone for help.
A few days later I got a phone call from Alex Crespi, Uptone’s owner. He offered to help me. He suspected the Ultracap was having problems and had me take it out of the mix. All worked fine again, but without the better power supply to the regen. He had me mail the Ultracap to him for a free repair. He fixed it within 24 hours & hot shot it back to me. Now all is great with no connection drops and a great sound.
I write all this because I have noticed a few posts in this and other forums dissing Alex and his support capabilities. My experience is that Alex is a great guy to work with, and he works hard to support his customers and provide a quality product.
If you’re looking for a step up in sound quality in the Directstream or any other DAC, you should consider the ISO Regen with the Ultracap LPS 1.2 power supply. Uptone has a 30 day return policy if you’re not happy with it.