Uptone Audio Regen and DS

Has anyone used the Regen unit from Uptone Audio with the DS?

I would be surprised if it gives any value wrt. improved SQ given the fact that the DS is so jitter-robust.

There’s a chance that their linear power supply would make things sound a little better - it may not be the most cost effective way to get a linear supply, but… I do get a noticeable improvement here by using a simple USB external powered hub right before the DS and plugging it’s (cheap/switching) power supply into a dedicated power outlet…

I’m doing the same thing with an external USB hub powered by a 5V linear power supply so I guess the Regen will not add much to this.

BTW doesn’t the electrical noise carry to the USB hub from the USB port of the computer on the cable connecting PC to hub?

Yes and no, any ground loop is still a problem, but the extra connection of the new hub’s power supply can “cut a slice out of” the groundloop and provide a lower impedance for some of the ground loop current.

The noise induced on the 5V by the USB signals before the new hub are reduced because the 5V going from the new hub to the DS is provided by the linear power supply.

If the final USB connection is short then the final ground loop can be small.

And if the final USB connection is short then there’s less distance for the USB signals to add noise to the final 5V. A good linear power supply can lower that noise with it’s lower impedance output compared to the typical switching power supplies that are typically used for USB power supplies.

(Still some HF noise makes it thru almost all power supplies, chips, cables etc.)

I’m giving it a try.

June 18th ship with the “upgrade” extra resistors.

There is one comment in the forum relating to the DS that is positive.

Cool, let us know what it does…

I just ordered one. Delivery is July. I guess they are really selling. I own the iFi usb power and the iFi power conditioner. I also have a dual headed pure silver usb and other pure silver usb’s. All has improved the sound quality with my DS.

Frode said I would be surprised if it gives any value wrt. improved SQ given the fact that the DS is so jitter-robust.
I asked the question on the CA forum and got this answer in post #318 - see link below:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/uptone-audio-regen-listening-impressions-24078/

Basically, since the Regen is a USB hub I was asking why this would be better than any hub, say a Belkin, powered by a 5V LPS between PC and DAC and what improvement I could expect given that jitter in the source doesn’t matter to the Directstream.

I’m not technically minded but I gather from John Swenson’s explanation that there is still noise in the signal going to the DAC and this noise induces jitter within the DAC. The Regen minimizes this noise and hence the induced jitter.

Ted - can you comment?

I have earlier in this thread - in general the description from John Swenson is correct - the noise comes from the data lines in the USB cable messing with the 5V line (and to a lesser extent the ground line.) The DS doesn’t care about any induced jitter, but groundloops (which change with most things you might try) and the noise on the 5V line will cause some noise in the DS. I’d not claim that there is no advantage of the Regen with a DS - in general better built devices generate less noise and jitter than commodity devices like generic USB hubs - but the main advantages of the Regen for most DACs is redundant on the DS.

On the ca forum they reccomend the cornel as well. It’s USB cable that is optically coupled . Isolation is the intent. I have one. The new version of the USB hub now does something that the cornel does so it’s not needed anymore.

I posed this question and got no reply. I said if I have a caps server will I still get any benefit from this. As most do not use it this way , I received no reply . I also own an ifi iusb with there cable , it did do something from a laptop but nothing from my servers. It could be me but I think when we get to the level of a good server there is little cables and other tweeks can do. Although USB cables do sound a bit diffrent still. I assum it s the various difference in the specifications of making them. One last thought I also own an offramp and a AP1/PP. NEITHER of witch gave me improvements with the DS dac. In fact both made it worse by dulling the sound. No one has had an answer for me on this. And it did the same effect on. My Hugo . But aside from the two mentioned it improved almost all other dacs when not using my servers. For the money I think it’s worth the try. But as I use servers I am not trying it .

Al

My UpTone USB Regen ( amber version ) arrived this Friday.

Before I get into any listening details, a bit of my USB history.

I never felt that USB was going to be a factor in my listening regiment.

The AES/EBU connecting via Illuminations Orchid was always my reference between my BDP1 and DS.

My USB cable is a Pangea AG and never performed as well as the Orchid.

Prior to ordering the Regen, I picked up a second hand Ifi USB Purifier to try out.

The Purifier definitely had a positive effect on lowering some form of noise that I did not previously perceive.

Normally I shut down my forced air HVAC when I listen, so that no noise can become between the music and myself.

With the Purifier, I could now listen with the forced air on and still hear all of the components of the music.

I also found that I could now enjoy listening at lower volume settings with the Purifier.

This is what pushed me into ordering a Regen to try out.

I also ordered a Jays Audio LPS dedicated power supply to power the Regen.

My initial listening impressions are based on the Amber Regen with Jays Audio LPS ( set to 8.5 VDC ) connected via a Revelation Audio Precept umbilical cord. ( AC power is via a PS Audio P300 )

I have the Regen connected to my DS with the A to B adapter that was provided, I needed to fashion a support to hold it level.

The Regen blocks the Toslink port. ( at least with the metal barrel Toslink cables that I use )

I let the Regen warm up for an hour with some music before listening.

The bass instantly reminded of the PWD II bass tone.

There was a slightly better sense of space along with the same lower noise floor benefit perceived with the Purifier.

About 2 hours into listening, bass fatigue started to set in, so I muted the DS and set up an all night play list.

This morning the improvements are getting more refined.

The bass now has better tone and is much tighter, the fatigue is gone.

The sound fields character has become more organized or delineated with regards to imaging.

The lowered noise floor benefits are still present and are quite noticeable.

If the Regen break in stops at this point and stays as is, I would say that its a keeper!

We will see if it gets any better.

I forgot to mention that the Regen slowed the pace of the music down a bit right out of the box, this diminished after about 8 hours of play.

Thks for all the detail, I have one on order too for July, we’ll see.

The device seems to be a hit amongst us audio heads. It’s cheap enough to try and little too loose

I have said to little a il in many forums theat the week link in our stuff is the USB itself with the source. I never felt laptops do well but it seems little agree with me.

I have owned the off ramp 5 and audiophiles 1/PP

BOth made dramatic improvements to almost any dac I used. I now use a custom built servers and thus seems best for me. But this new toy from what I read seriously lowers the price point of improving our audio.

Great details in your observation and thanks for posting it.

Ted any thoughts and better undertaking of why and how it works

Inform us of you can.

It’s build by someone who understands USB, jitter and grounding issues. Tho I’d argue that some of the things it was designed to do are redundant with some features of the DS, the device does a great job of dealing with noise from the USB and it’s power supply which should help.

Just want to announce, fwiw, that I have a Schiit Wyrd on order (needed something else from them, so I threw this into the order :)) and will also try my IUSB, which is presently deployed in my upstairs system, with the DS DAC. Stay tuned for results, probably next week.

So far I am using the DS with the Bridge II, and am inclined to stick with that as it is stable and sounds great, but if USB sounds the same or very close in my system I may conceivably change my mind, since i keep the server close enough to the rest of the equipment to get away with it.

I’ve had a Regen in my system for 3+ weeks now – The effect is not subtle. I wasn’t expecting much, since I’m using a Bryston BDP-2 to feed the DS (USB, music all on memory sticks-- no empty USB slots; disabled sound card), but the regen took what was an extraordinary sounding combo to another level. The most obvious effect is that everything now has a third dimension. I would note at times before Regen that things such as bells, tambourines, shakers, etc. tended to sound a little flat compared to live – this is gone now. Small instrument sounds now hang in space and can be located in the sound stage.

I think the Regen is a worthwhile investment. Certainly cheaper than an “audiophile” USB cable – I’m using Belkin Gold BTW

Happy Tweaking…

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?18580-Science-Thread-Review-of-Audioquest-Jitterbug-and-Uptone-Regen-USB-Conditioners&highlight=tone+regen

Welcome back, Al

You were not gone long this time.

Please pardon my igorance. I use JRMC Media Network to send (via Power Line Connectors) to Bridge I/DS. Am I able to use this Regen thing in this setup or do I need a direct set up where JR is connected via USB to DS?