REGEN Amber Impressions

[Nicholas_S]

I own the Corning, not the Mapleshade ; in my shoes if trialing, would you dump the Corning and purchase the Mapleshade, is the difference worth it iyo ?

 

It would be a tough call as I'm certain there are many dependencies that are system specific.

 

My guess is that you would be hard pressed to select a clear "winner" among these three excellent cables in a blind comparison.

 

With that said, the Mapleshade just seems to get along really well with the Amber Regen and the rest of my system. The Corning and Supra will be relegated to other duties and aren't going anywhere.

[Le Concombre Masqué]

thank you Nicholas

It would be a tough call as I'm certain there are many dependencies that are system specific.

 

My guess is that you would be hard pressed to select a clear "winner" among these three excellent cables in a blind comparison.

 

With that said, the Mapleshade just seems to get along really well with the Amber Regen and the rest of my system. The Corning and Supra will be relegated to other duties and aren't going anywhere.

[sligolad]

Got my Amber running last night on a chain starting with a PPA V4 USB card to PPA Red USB cable about 1.2 metres long feeding the Amber then to the supplied USB adapter direct into the Lampi Big7.

Running dual PC JPlay setup with both in Core mode with AO 1.3 on Server 2012 R2 and from the first track I was stunned at the improvement.

I really thought with all Linears and fully dedicated Audio PC setup the improvement might have been marginal but it definitely caught me by surprise.

 

I will not bore everyone with the usual superlatives but a stunning improvement in all the PCM and DSD I threw at it last night so looking forward to more listening pleasure this evening.

 

I am running it off the supplied SMPS and it sounds amazing so looking forward to sticking a feed off the Paul Hynes SR7 12v at the weekend to see if it improves any further.

 

Definitely in my top 2 bang for buck audio investments when compared to all the gear I have gone through in pursuit of PC based playback over the past 3 years. It certainly is a must have for anyone serious about PC Audio.

 

I will be very surprised if DAC manufacturers do not take this design and add it to their DAC USB inputs so I hope John & Alex have some IP or licensing cover on the circuit!

Cheers, Pearse.

[wisnon]

Actually, Pearce...its not so simple.

 

I had a similar idea before and JS or AC replied saying that the Regen works as it does BECAUSE its external.

 

I have it OPTIMALLY internal, the Dac would need a redesign to have separate transformer with separate grounding and separate power plug, not just a secondary winding off the main transformer with shared grounding. Only the fast turnaround boutique labels like Lampizator/CAD/Empirical, etc could do a fast redesign to accomodate this, but to what end? It would likely cost MORE to incorporate one in a dac design than to use it as an outboard accessory costing $175 and change.

[firedog]

Got my amber board to replace original Green. I can't give a good comparison b/c I've made so many changes to my system recently it is hard to isolate them. But my system does sound better than ever, and I think the Amber is part of that.

 

As I write, I'm listening to "Abbey Road" (24 bit version) - I got my first version of that LP for my 13th birthday, and it was the first album I owned (previously only singles) that wasn't part of the family collection. So I know it pretty well. Listening with the Regen, I hear nuances I've never heard before and it sounds better than ever. Need we say more?

[toddrhodes]

I think I'm in the July series of shipments (ordered first part of June IIRC). Can't wait to get this thing installed. In fact I think I'm going to head over to the 'bay and pick up a Supra cable in a minute.

[BobL]

A while ago I reported on the Green Regen- in outline, I found that the effects of the standard version, although they were there, were distinctly muted, or, more politely, subtle. However that was transformed by powering with my Paul Hynes SR5-12, which also runs my 2012 i5 Mini with MMK (Audirvana, Yosemite on SD card, RAMdisk). This was rather different from many others, who found a major improvement with just the Regen+SMPS, and rather less, though significant, change by going to a linear supply. This may be something to do with the Audiolab MDAC which I use- I have not yet seen any report from anybody else with this dac.

 

I returned from holiday last week to find an Amber Regen as well as an S-Booster Filter unit for the SMPS waiting. Just to get back into the "Green" mental frame, I played several tracks, including some I had not tried for some time, and had that feeling of "is my system really this good?" The Green, with a 12v power feed, really had made a major difference.

 

I then put the Amber board into the casing, leaving everything else unchanged, and there was a very clear improvement, though not the game-changer which some have reported. Changing the Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable for a 50cm Supra again gave a useful improvement, as several people have reported.

 

I then tried other supplies to the Regen. Putting back the SMPS more or less destroyed the improvements; this was almost back to pre-Regen days. The S-Booster improved things a bit, and at the price it is good value, but this was still nowhere near the quality of Green with 12v. Finally I tried the small 9v Teradak LPS, and this was better. So far as such 'numerical' judgements mean anything, I would say this was half-way to the quality of the 12v.

 

In summary, for me the most important thing about both Regens is that they really need a good LPS to sing properly. If they are given this, the Green/Amber difference may not be as big as some people are reporting.

 

I will be trying putting the two in series soon, but I'm having a listening session or two first!

[jamesg11]

Yes, let us know if the green-amber mix is worthwhile - & how you power both. Also, does some burn in time help much with the regen(s)?

[davide256]

Received my amber today... very nice on main system, more "beef" in accompanying instrument tone colors, better background percussion details and more slam in drums. Doing something now I gave up on quite a while ago... enjoying Jriver on PC to USB DAC/headphones and actually hearing music vs. grunge with the REGEN inserted in chain.

[BobL]

Yes, let us know if the green-amber mix is worthwhile - & how you power both. Also, does some burn in time help much with the regen(s)?

 

 

The short answer is Yes.

 

With 12v on the Amber, there is a definite improvement when I connect the Green in front of it, powered by the 9v Teradak, and when both are powered with 12v, this effect doubles (roughly...). Now that I've tried it, I don't like taking out the Green even for tests- there is a feeling of losing something!

 

It's difficult to be precise about what I gain, but the comments of HenSch over on the main thread, after his re-clocking, sum it up pretty well:

"There is again an instantly noticable portion of increased air, room information, realism and emotion in the overall sound."

With good modern recordings this applies as much to a full orchestra as to a string quartet. I can't claim that it's as much of an improvement as I get with just the Amber, but it's close.

 

As for burn-in, I think Alex's comment, that it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between getting used to listening differently, and a real change in the hardware, applies here. Yes I think the system is sounding better, but is that just me?

[Jud]

+1 on BobL's post. I have 9v on the Green and 7.5 on the Amber; think I'll "turn up" the Amber to 9v and see if my impressions are any different.

[4est]

When I installed the green before the amber using the 7.5v Meanwell (the amber has a diy lps), I took a sonic hit and have removed it. I ordered a pair of the aforementioned el cheapo 30w/9v units with the intent of modding them with better circuitry.

+1 on BobL's post. I have 9v on the Green and 7.5 on the Amber; think I'll "turn up" the Amber to 9v and see if my impressions are any different.

[ErikM]

I got my Amber over the weekend. I've been burning in new Shunyata power cords but I just couldn't hold off anymore :-) I'm powering the Regen off a CI Audio VDC 9.0 linear supply and I've got to say there's a very nice improvement. I'm going to hold off really commenting until things settle in but so far very nice.. FYI the Regen is between an Aurender N100H and a Devialet 200, using a WireWorld Series 7 Platinum Eclipse USB cable..

[Blake]

When I installed the green before the amber using the 7.5v Meanwell (the amber has a diy lps), I took a sonic hit and have removed it. I ordered a pair of the aforementioned el cheapo 30w/9v units with the intent of modding them with better circuitry.

 

 

Hi 4est, was it determined that you can use one el cheapo Chinese Ebay supply to power two Regens (using a Y adapter)?

 

If so, I assume one CIAudio VDC 9.0 could similarly be used to power two Regens.

 

CIAUDIO : VDC•9.0 - High Current Power Supply

[Jud]

Hi 4est, was it determined that you can use one el cheapo Chinese Ebay supply to power two Regens (using a Y adapter)?

 

If so, I assume one CIAudio VDC 9.0 could similarly be used to power two Regens.

 

CIAUDIO : VDC•9.0 - High Current Power Supply

 

I believe you can.

[Blake]

I believe you can.

 

Thanks Jud.

[4est]

That unit has more than ample current capabilities and will function. However, my question was about the two together interacting via a shared supply. More specifically, how J Swensen feels about sharing his supplies in like or different digital items.

Hi 4est, was it determined that you can use one el cheapo Chinese Ebay supply to power two Regens (using a Y adapter)?

 

If so, I assume one CIAudio VDC 9.0 could similarly be used to power two Regens.

 

CIAUDIO : VDC•9.0 - High Current Power Supply

[sandyk]

That unit has more than ample current capabilities and will function. However, my question was about the two together interacting via a shared supply. More specifically, how J Swensen feels about sharing his supplies in like or different digital items.

 

Hi Forrest

I mentioned elsewhere, that a while back I tried making 2 +5V external Linear JLH PSUs in the one case using 2 separate secondary windings on the transformer with separate filter capacitors and voltage regulators, but they just didn't sound as good as 2 completely separate supplies. Using the same shared DC supply is likely to be even worse, although it may in some cases still sound a little better than with the SMPS plugpacks ?.

 

Regards

Alex

[Daudio]

I believe you can.

 

I have heard that too.

 

What I think is NOT recommended is to share a PSU with the Regen and the PHY chip in the downstream DAC. In fact the separation is part of the design.

One could extend that restriction to an upstream Regen, to get the best out of both, but I guess the PSU separation there is not as important as with the DAC

[Blake]

The other variable is the upcoming Uptone mystery power add-on.

 

I will be running two Regens in serial fashion and will also be purchasing the upcoming mystery Uptone power supply add-on. I was hoping to use 1 El Cheapo, with 1 mystery Uptone power add-on, to power my 2 Regens.

 

El Cheapo would only be powering the Regens. If John or Alex believes each Regen should have its own separate supply, then I would purchase one additional El Cheapo.

[Jud]

I've been waffling around trying to think what to call that eBay Chinese supply - El Cheapo it is!

[jtwrace]

I've been waffling around trying to think what to call that eBay Chinese supply - El Cheapo it is!

 

I was thinking more along the lines of City Power Supply or shall I say

Power Supply.

[Blake]

I've been waffling around trying to think what to call that eBay Chinese supply - El Cheapo it is!

 

All credit for "El Cheapo" must go to 4est, per post #62.

[JohnSwenson]

I have heard that too.

 

What I think is NOT recommended is to share a PSU with the Regen and the PHY chip in the downstream DAC. In fact the separation is part of the design.

One could extend that restriction to an upstream Regen, to get the best out of both, but I guess the PSU separation there is not as important as with the DAC

 

Unfortunately it is a somewhat complicated issue that depends on how the DAC is designed and your whole system. The upshot is that I can't give a hard and fast rule, sometimes powering a DAC and REGEN off the same supply works great and sometimes it does not.

 

For example I have a Bottlehead DAC and a REGEN both powered off the same JS-2, but separate outputs. This gives separate regulators to each, but a common ground. Other people have tried something similar but it causes ground loops that mess up the sound.

 

You really have to try different things and see what works the best for you.

 

John S.

[4est]

Ha- and a pair of them just came in the mail today! I hope that I didn't set myself up...

 

Mine are labelled Breeze Audio fwiw, but El Cheapo is easier to remember. No offense intended.

All credit for "El Cheapo" must go to 4est, per post #62.