Lee Harvey

Hi Clipper, I have stepped away from here and the other forums for a few days. Audio neurosis sets in after while being on these sites. You can drive yourself crazy constantly changing out cables, power supplies, the Regen and the iUSB 3.0. For the past few days I have cut down to just using my Supra cable from my PC to the Regen and then the hard adapters into the iDSD. The Pangea cables and iUSB 3.0 have sidelined for now. I just wanted to give the Supra a chance to break in and keep the audio chain as simple as possible to get a better feel for the Supra. I can see why Alex at UpTone recommends it. It is really a great sounding cable and I feel it complements the Regen very well. Compared to the Pangea Silver cables its a little softer in the highs but it makes up for that with a richer and fuller bass to midrange . Great depth, inner and low level detail without any harshness. You might want to give the Supra some more time to break in and experiment more with placement in you audio chain?

Actually I am using the short power cord that came with Regen's power adapter. That in turn is plugged into my power conditioner.

That looks like the one I purchased and have powering my Regen.

My Supra USB cable just showed up and I just plugged it in. I was using a Pangea silver for the past couple of years. Need to listen to the system with the Supra to see how it compares to the Pangea.

Thanks Alex! I am very happy with your little box and I feel it is a great performance enhancer. I will post my findings about the Supra USB cable later in the week after I receive it. My second favorite room of the show was the Vinnie Rossi/Harbeth room. Vinnie's ILO integrated amp would probably the next amp for me. Also those Harbeth 40.2's were to die for. I was at the show Friday and Saturday and I think I spent between 1 1/2 to 2 hours total in the Lampazator room for the weekend. The most amazing part was that Lukasz told me they were only running 44.1 PCM through the Golden Gate. I could not imagine what DSD would have sounded like through that system?

I was also at RMAF and I agree with you about the Lampazator room. Not only was it the best Digital room I would say it was the best room of the show! Lukasz was super nice guy to talk to. He was also interested in going and checking out other rooms at the show. I sat with him in the ELAC/Audio Alchemy room while Andrew Jones was talking about his new ELAC speakers. This room was also in my top 5 sounding rooms of the show. Congrats on your purchase of the Big 7! I am sure it is wonderful sounding. I visited the iFI guys Friday morning and spoke with them and picked up a iUSB 3.0 from them. My current digital setup using the iUSB and Regen together. I have a Windows 10 PC w/JRiver 21 running everything as DSD 128 output. I am using the USB 3.0 port from the PC with a 3.0 type cable to the iUSB 3.0 with its supplied PS. Then a a Pangea Silver 2.0 cable to the Regen w/LPS which is then plugged into a iDSD Micro with port adapters. I have Supra USB cable arriving this week to put in place of the Pangea. I think running the iUSB to the Regen and then into the iDSD is the best setup I have come across. You seem to get the benefits of both devices in the type of configuration.

I pretty much agree with Michael Lavorgna over on audiostream.com about the Regen. He first posted that on a scale of 1 to 100 where as 100 is changing out speakers the Regen rates about a 20 in what it brings to the table. I think it might be a little more using that scale for determining what a component can add to an audio system. I was using a iUSB with my iDSD DAC to supply power to it. Then I got the Regen about a month ago and yes it is a fantastic product when used with the iDSD. I experimented with using the iUSB between my computer and the Regen and with the iUSB between the Regen and the iDSD. Either method using the iUSB degraded the sound over just using the Regen plugged directly with an USB adapter to the iDSD provides. I have since sold my iUSB power supply and ordered one of these off Ebay that was suggested earlier in this thread to power the Regen which powers the iDSD: 30W DC9V HiFi Linear Power Supply Regulated PSU for DAC Amp Digital Display | eBay

You are correct about those being Wagner EVA pads. I found them out on Amazon and they work better than the rubber and cork versions of HVAC pads. I have all my gear on bamboo cutting boards from IKEA and then those rest on the Wagner pads. Really damn effective vibration draining/isolation solution for a reasonable price. The Wagner pads are here on Amazon DiversiTech MP-4E E.V.A. Anti-Vibration Pad, 4" x 4" x 7/8": Automotive Disc Brake Pads: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Here is a couple of shots of my home setup with the Regen hiding behind and directly hooked to my iDSD Micro.

Leave it in for a few days and see if it blooms. The upgraded Schiit USB card blocks the 5 volts DC on its input and supplies its own power. I have a iFI iUSB PS that I had hooked up to my Bifrost before I got the upgraded USB card and it made a real improvement to the Bifrost's sound. After I put the upgraded USB card in the Bifrost the iUSB didn't make any difference if it was hooked up to the Bifrost or not. I spoke to Jason and Mike about that over year and a half ago and that was one of the mods that the upgraded card has over the original USB card. I still have my Uber'd Bifrost but have not tested it with the Regen I got two weeks ago. The Regen is a big improvement over the iUSB sonic wise when it feeds my iDSD Micro and I run all of my music in DSD 128 mode from JRiver. It's hard to say how much of an improvement the Regen will do for your Bifrost at this time since it is limited only playing back PCM. Using JRiver or HQPlayer to up convert PCM files to DSD 128 is another big upgrade that makes music sound more vinyl like.

I have tried three different Grado cartridges on three different turntables over the years. They all had a hum to them. One hummed even with an extra turntable motor shield on it. Over on Audiokarma there is a Grado Hum database thread:Grado Hum Database - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums Folks have listed what Grado cartridge and what table they used. I have found the Shure M97 cartridge a better performing unit for the under $100 category. I am trying to move up to the next level of turntables and cartridges. You may have had good luck with the Grado's but I really have not.

The VPI would be at the top end of what I could afford. As for Grado cartridges I feel they are junk. I have owned three Grado's over the years and they all have a 60Hz hum to them. At that price I have heard a Pro-Ject Xtension 10 with a Sumiko Black Bird MC cartridge and it sounded fantastic. If I could stay under $2K for turntable with arm and cartridge that would be great.

I have looked at the Marantz before but I have not heard one. I don't know if there is a dealer any where close to me that I could go hear the Marantz to evaluate. I also would need to decide on a phono amp that would work with moving coil cartridges too.

Except for a few things I have downloaded from HDTracks I always buy the CD. I would rather have a physical copy of an album that I can rip to play on my computer front end. MOG helps me find things to listen to before committing to purchasing of an album. I am not going to buy another "boat anchor" CD player ever again. DAC's keep improving at a faster rate than CD players can keep up. As for Vinyl I am currently auditioning new turntables at this time. I am currently looking at turntables(with arms and cartridges) in the $1500 to $3000 range.

I was using a iFI iUSB power supply in line with my MacBook and Bifrost before I did the USB and Uber upgrades. It added focus to the pre-modified Bifrost. Now that the Bifrost has been upgraded and had a few weeks to settle in, I have found that the iUSB makes the modified Bifrost edgy sounding. I have removed the iUSB from the chain and don't see a need for it anymore. I will still use the iUSB with my Modi because it does help it sound better. The upgraded Bifrost now sounds fantastic with my new Exposure 2010S2 integrated amplifier. It's now the most transparent system I have heard.