zilch0md Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The USB Regen has only been in use for about two hours, but wow! And I mean WOW! The recorded information has been there all along, but now I can hear it. Stunning! I just shuffled onto one of my favorites: Jackie Gleason's version of A Taste of Honey (1996 Digital Remaster), from the album The Romantic Moods of Jackie Gleason. It's not an ideal recording, but with the USB Regen, it sounds perfectly clean - the cymbals are now cymbals instead of sounding like two blocks of styrofoam being rubbed together. Timbre and texture of the brass is very realistic and the muted trumpet solo is goosebump city. The crescendo finale, which has many layers, gets sorted out very nicely, too. Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am, from her album Girls and Boys, has always been enjoyable for her vocals and rhythmic clapping, but the percussive bass at the beginning of this track has more punch and texture than I've ever before heard it. The detail in this recording seem endless with the USB Regen - from the fingers squeaking on guitar strings to the low level stray sounds picked up by the mics in the studio, I'm really amazed. Jesse Cook's Into The Dark, from the album Gravity, is nothing but inky black whre it's supposed to be black and the acoustic guitar is just excellent. That's enough gushing for now, but THANK YOU John and Alex for this spectacular little magic box! --- Here's what I'm using at the moment... Tidal HiFi or ripped 44/16 FLACs > iPad 3 > CCK > 0.7m Supra USB 2.0 cable > UpTone Audio USB Regen with included USB A-to-B adapter (powered by TeraDak U9VA LPS - EI core, 1A, adjusted for 7.0V DC output) > USB 2 module of the Metrum Acoustics Octave MkII NOS DAC > Metrum Acoustics Aurix > Sennheiser HD 800 The Metrum Acoustics components and the TeraDak LPS are plugged into a Tripp-Lite is500 isolation transformer (with the secondary's neutral still grounded, as shipped from the factory), that itself is plugged into a Tripp-Lite LC1200 line conditioner. --- And now to let the Regen and the Supra cable do some burning in as I pry myself away to get to bed at 2:43 AM. :-) Mike Link to comment
edbk Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Back for an update on the regen powersupply: -As reported earlier the meanwell powersupply made my regen a downgrade in stead of upgrade, main issue was an intolerable harsness and quickly setteling in listening fatigue. -Eurodriver's JS-2 made it obvious it was in fact the meanwell. -I've been expermineting with diy powersupplies to get the best sound out of the regen. I now have it running sounding absolutely brilliant. It's extremely sensitive to even the component level! -I tried several cheap ebay lt-1085 and basic lm317 based teradak supplies, listenable but not sure it was an actual improvement over not using the regen at all.. and still listening fatigue after say 30 minutes of listening, also still some sibilance there. -For non believers in boutique parts please stop reading here -Then I used a standard ebay LT1764 regulator board and changed out the 100uF rubycon stabilising capacitors for elna silmic II, this removed a lot of harshness and/or digititis. Sounded even a litle too soft! I then moved to a Mundorf mlytic 47000uF main storage capacitor which sounded much cleaner and larger then a 10 x 4700uF nichicon he capacitor bank I tried before. Together it was maybe a tad too "clean" now, a mundorf evo/oil 0.1uF bypass on the large mlytic added just a little warmth, was really pretty great at this point! Now we get into insane territory, mounted a padis fuse and put in an oyaide r-inlet. Actually made quite another improvement, even swapping powercords after that has a noticable effect on the sound. -Anyway, its really sounding brilliant at this point, I´m in the re-exploring my album collection stage now! Picture attached for entertainment value! Link to comment
zilch0md Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 ^ That does it! I can't solder, so I'll get a JS-2 for my Regen! OK, maybe just a mystery device with 217 parts (soldered by someone else)... --- Congratulations edbk - I envy your DIY satisfaction! Mike Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 [ATTACH=CONFIG]19694[/ATTACH] What kind of wood is used here? Looks very audiophile. Link to comment
edbk Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Wood is from the local building supply depot i see ive made some typo's, the 100uF silmics are 1000uF. The modded regulator board is from audiowind. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 With regen (first green and amber now) I hear much clearly the difference between various preferences in HQPlayer (filters, etc.) It helps the selection of optimal mode. In other words, regen is not just a small piece of miracle itself, it makes possible better setting of other parts of audio. Link to comment
Guidof Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 With regen (first green and amber now) I hear much clearly the difference between various preferences in HQPlayer (filters, etc.) It helps the selection of optimal mode. In other words, regen is not just a small piece of miracle itself, it makes possible better setting of other parts of audio. Good point! That's what I found too. In my system, the Regen prompted me to further adjust bass levels (via my DSPeaker Dual Core), as well as to slightly increase the distance from speakers to listening position. For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment
zilch0md Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Well into my first day with the USB Regen, I want to quickly add that albums by Boston and Electric Light Orchestra have always provided challenging examples of "noisy" treble using my rig - with lots of "hash" and confusion in the highs. The USB Regen has "healed" these albums! They are no longer annoying. :-) Link to comment
sandyk Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I then moved to a Mundorf mlytic 47000uF main storage capacitor which sounded much cleaner and larger then a 10 x 4700uF nichicon he capacitor bank I tried before. Electrolytic capacitors have a broad resonant frequency where the impedance is much lower. Parallel a pile of the same type and capacitance and you will get a deeper notch in that area. A more neutral sounding capacitor bank may use a number of capacitors of different values in parallel. How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
Priaptor Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Question. Those of you who are using this, do you still find any need to use an audiophile USB card or can the signal from the MOBO USB with the REGEN do the trick just as well. Thanks Link to comment
Jud Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Got one of the Chinese LPSs and set it up on the Amber, with the iPower running the Green. Haven't bothered to test any other configuration, nor to do any direct comparisons to the previous setup (iPower on the Amber, MeanWell on the Green). I will simply say that listening to music last night was wonderful. To quote myself from the Album of the Evening thread, the Heiliger Dankgesang from Beethoven's late violin quartet Opus 132 from this NativeDSD download was just sublime: One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
Haninger Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Got one of the Chinese LPSs and set it up on the Amber, with the iPower running the Green. Haven't bothered to test any other configuration, nor to do any direct comparisons to the previous setup (iPower on the Amber, MeanWell on the Green). I will simply say that listening to music last night was wonderful. To quote myself from the Album of the Evening thread, the Heiliger Dankgesang from Beethoven's late violin quartet Opus 132 from this NativeDSD download was just sublime: [ATTACH=CONFIG]19716[/ATTACH] I'm thinking about doing this as well. Are the REGENs in series? If so, are you using a rigid connector between them? Thanks. Link to comment
Jud Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I'm thinking about doing this as well. Are the REGENs in series? If so, are you using a rigid connector between them? Thanks. Yes and yes. One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature. Link to comment
Lionelh2 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I have the Green into the Amber REGEN configuration and today I was able to power both from my SOTM battery supply. Quite an improvement in SQ over the MeanWell PS. Waiting for my Chinese LPS to see where it takes things. PS Audio P5 Power Plant>HQ Player Mac Book Pro BootCamp Win10>NAA Mac Mini BootCamp Win 10>REGEN Green>REGEN Amber>IFI iDSD Micro>BHSE>Stax SR-009 Link to comment
Al Jones Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Received the SBooster BOTW P&P ECO 6V LPS today. First impressions, compared to SMPS only and SMPS plus SBooster Ultra Regen add-on, are very, very positive. Al J. Modem/router + Keces DC-116 12V LPS - SGC Sonic Transporter + Sonore 12V LPS/Edwards Audio ISO-1 mains isolation transformer - Meicord Opal LAN cables - Aqvox Switch + Sbooster 9V LPS/Uptone LPS-1 - Etalon Isolator - Sonore Signature Rendu Special Edition + Mad Scientist Heretical USB data-only cable - Sonore Ultradigital + Uptone LPS-1 - PS Audio I2S-12 cable - HQ Player - Holo Spring Level 3 DAC - iPeng on iPad 2 - MK Sound 300 monitors - Mad Audio Scientist Tungsten Carbide footers - Niels Larsen NLE speaker cables - Walker Audio Reference Plus HIGH Definition Links - 2 MK Sound MX350 subs - Shakti Stones - Herbie's Super Sonic Stabilizers - Herbie's Tenderfeet - Stillpoints ERS EMI/RFI sheets - Gutwire Ultimate Ground + Entreq Minimus + Silver Minimus grounding boxes - Symposium Rollerblocks - Symposium Ultra platform - Akiko Tuning Sticks Link to comment
davide256 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Teradak has an 8.5v DC LPS on fleabay, is this safe for the REGEN? Regards, Dave Audio system Link to comment
YashN Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 With regen (first green and amber now) I hear much clearly the difference between various preferences in HQPlayer (filters, etc.) It helps the selection of optimal mode. In other words, regen is not just a small piece of miracle itself, it makes possible better setting of other parts of audio. Very interesting observation/feedback, AnotherSpin. Dedicated Line DSD/DXD | Audirvana+ | iFi iDSD Nano | SET Tube Amp | Totem Mites Surround: VLC | M-Audio FastTrack Pro | Mac Opt | Panasonic SA-HE100 | Logitech Z623 DIY: SET Tube Amp | Low-Noise Linear Regulated Power Supply | USB, Power, Speaker Cables | Speaker Stands | Acoustic Panels Link to comment
Jiffi32 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Question. Those of you who are using this, do you still find any need to use an audiophile USB card or can the signal from the MOBO USB with the REGEN do the trick just as well. Thanks Nope, Audiophile USB still makes a difference. customer server+AudiophileOptimizer >>UltraRendu (SR4) >> Lush(JSSG360) >>> IsoRegen(SR4) >>> Lush^2 >>> blu2 >>Blaxius^2D >> Dave > HD800(SDRmod) Link to comment
ElviaCaprice Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Nope, Audiophile USB still makes a difference. Did you test this? And if so, how big of a difference was there? (JRiver) Jetway barebones NUC (mod 3 sCLK-EX, Cybershaft OP 14) (PH SR7) => mini pcie adapter to PCIe 1X => tXUSBexp PCIe card (mod sCLK-EX) (PH SR7) => (USPCB) Chord DAVE => Omega Super 8XRS/REL t5i (All powered thru Topaz Isolation Transformer) Link to comment
Jiffi32 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 quieter background, more musical with PPA V2 card compared to usb on m/board. How much difference? wouldn't know how to measure that but I felt it was worth using PPA USB over motherboard output. YMMV. customer server+AudiophileOptimizer >>UltraRendu (SR4) >> Lush(JSSG360) >>> IsoRegen(SR4) >>> Lush^2 >>> blu2 >>Blaxius^2D >> Dave > HD800(SDRmod) Link to comment
ElviaCaprice Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thank you Jiffi32, yes subjective was fine. (JRiver) Jetway barebones NUC (mod 3 sCLK-EX, Cybershaft OP 14) (PH SR7) => mini pcie adapter to PCIe 1X => tXUSBexp PCIe card (mod sCLK-EX) (PH SR7) => (USPCB) Chord DAVE => Omega Super 8XRS/REL t5i (All powered thru Topaz Isolation Transformer) Link to comment
reverendo Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 haven't been keeping up with the CA threads, but it seems that using the green and amber REGENs in chain give better results? I'm still using the Meanwell for the amber REGEN and hear that people say the the power supply is not a subtle upgrade. what are the cheaper options out there, since the JS-2 isn't an option due to budget? LDMS Minix Server>Lampizator TRP w/ VC>Gryphon Diablo>Heil Kithara Cables: Douglas Cables 'Mirage'', (Power); Douglas Cables 'Mirage' (XLR); Douglas Cables "GLIA" (speaker cables & jumper); FTA Callisto (USB) Accessories: Furutech GTX-D (G) with cover, MIT Z Duplex Super; Equitech Balanced Power, Sistrum (for Diablo & TRP) Link to comment
drmike Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 can I use an ipad to a regen to a dac? thanks Link to comment
jtwrace Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 can I use an ipad to a regen to a dac?thanks You mean with a camera kit? Hmm. W10 NUC i7 (Gen 10) > Roon (Audiolense FIR) > Motu UltraLite mk5 > (4) Hypex NCore NC502MP > JBL M2 Master Reference +4 subs Watch my Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMw_bZWBMtRWNJQfTJ38kA/videos Link to comment
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