Or the driver resonance masked the distortion that listeners were supposed to be hearing and assessing...   If Axion didn't confirm this was the case, how believable is the study? Are the conclusions then useful, especially to other setups? What does it say about their level of technical...

I did indeed read the article, and would say that it qualifies as a nicely run case study, nothing more. Could I draw conclusions from that work, and apply those conclusions to other cases with different listeners and equipment (i.e. headphones as opposed to loudspeakers)???   As an example...

    I am not aware of any peer-reviewed published research (i.e. serious) showing the precise correlation between how distortion in hifi electronics is propagated through the loudspeaker or headphone drivers, then into our hearing mechanisms, and how that is interpreted by our brains.  ...

Agreed. I could use at least 10 of these...

Some info in this article about what iFi showed at the recent RMAF:   http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2015/10/15/rmaf-2015-ifi-you-fi-we-all-fi/

I have had the same experience with the JB as you have had, and found my music to sound quite flat and dull when using one in a chain with a REGEN. The JB is gone for good now, sacrificed to the Recycling Gods.   I have to say that my purchase of the JB was based more on the hype and low cost...

Probably, but haven't tried that myself.

Here's an example of the costs (approximates) - TotalDAC USB 400 EUR, REGEN with shipping (200 EUR), good LPS 200 EUR+ (and you can go from 50 EUR to 1000 EUR here). This solution is clunky, with the TotalDAC filter, REGEN + hard adapter having to sit close to your DAC.

  Many have tried multiple combos with the REGEN, and have confirmed that something like the TotalDAC USB filter, into a REGEN powered by a very good LPS, sounds very good. I am fortunate to be able to confirm exactly this setup myself in my systems, and yes, it is very good. Not an inexpensive...

Keep in mind, that the very best results for the REGEN happen if you are using a very good linear power supply to power it, and some other filter upstream of it (TotalDAC USB filter, second REGEN, iFi iUSB, etc). Considering all that, if the new iFi iUSB2 performs as well for around 400 clams...

This is great news, and I suspected that your new clean power tech would lead to this.   Now if we've gone beyond what can be reasonably measured, what's next???

Range: Micro Model: iUSB

Very exciting tech! Have you achieved the almost unthinkable, is the clean power so clean that you can't even measure those levels anymore?

Absolutely - why would you want to spend a lot of money on a DAC with sub-optimal USB implementation, only to have to buy a REGEN or similar anyways?

Listening to this update now on the iDAC2 (DSD256 from HQPlayer via DoP) and it is good, really good.   The iFi folks definitely deserve to have a beer, and then another!

My iDAC2 is still breaking in and may have a few new tricks to reveal, so it may even end up sounding better than the micro iDSD...

The micro iDSD has only been in the wild for about one year, so no one really knows what the battery life span is. Best to contact iFi with any questions. 

iDAC2 would make a lot sense to partner with your iCAN. I have both the micro iDSD, and recently added the micro iDAC2, and have used both in my headphone setup (switching between the iCAN and a NOS tube amp).   In my setups, the iDAC2 can keep up sound-wise with the micro iDSD. Your choice...

More first impressions - the iDAC2 has muscle down low, with very authoritative bass. I was listening to "Born Under A Bad Sign" from Jimi Hendrix - Blues, and Geek USA from Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream, and the sound was good.    Will definitely have to check if there is more low...

I will add that the switchable DSD filters on the iDAC2 seemed to have a more noticeable effect than the filters for PCM playback. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

My iDAC2 just arrived today. I immediately slotted it into my headphone system, played some DSD264 music (upsampled in HQPlayer), and my first thought was that I was listening to the micro iDSD. So yes, it has the iFi house sound. I'll do more critical comparisons after it has settled in some...

REGEN review in Audiostream is up:   http://www.audiostream.com/content/uptone-audio-usb-regen#61GxkxU42MWyZpE7.97

(Regen with good LPS) + micro iDSD + decent interconnects + micro iTube already gets you into the $1500 range and the combo sounds great. If the iDSD Pro can do better than that for similar money, I won't be too upset about the price.

Completely agree with this, upgrade path modularity and value-for-money are definitely key features of the iFi product line.

My guess is that the lack of information is intentional, so that the exact functionality of the device is not as easily copied.