[KritiKal]

[COLOR=333333]OK, I've been listening non-stop since this little gem arrived today. I did leave for dinner and even set the Tivo for the UFC fights. I've been really confused as I really didn't know what to say other than it's good and I like it. I've been listening to all kinds of material and the normal stuff actually sounded mo better. What was weird was that I actually listen to stuff that I like, not just well recorded stuff. These particular tracks aren't recorded all that well but with the REGEN actually sound good. Then I put on Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" in [/COLOR]DSD[COLOR=333333] and tried the same test with/without the REGEN. The best way to describe it for me is that there is less distortion. It's bizarre. The guitar riff at the beginning sounds almost f'd up without the REGEN and then you put it in and it sounds like something just got fixed. It's really strange but it's staying in my system. In fact, I think I need to order one for my Micro iDSD system. Yikes! Oh but first I need to do something...I'll report back if I'm able to get what I think could be useful for all. Give me a few weeks. [/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]
[/COLOR][COLOR=333333]Bottom line, go [/COLOR][COLOR=417394]order your REGEN[/COLOR][COLOR=333333] from batch #2 due at the end of May. I'd be shocked if you didn't like it.[/COLOR]

Interested to hear how it stacks up in your iDSD system, as that's what I would be using one with. That's if it has different characteristics to what you're already using it in, which I'm guessing it really wouldn't.

 

[Duke40]

  I'm surprised nobody is interested in this product.  It has the makings to be a massive breakthrough.  

The thread is a bit quiet like the Auralic Gemini 2000 thread ... too many people are missing the good stuff !!!
 
Thanks for posting your impressions.

 

[jtwrace]

The thread is a bit quiet like the Auralic Gemini 2000 thread ... too many people are missing the good stuff !!!

Thanks for posting your impressions.

Yes I agree. I'll post a picture later of my iDSD with it hooked up. I need to get a small adapter but it's sublime with the REGEN.

 

[jtwrace]

Here it is.
 

 

 

[514077]

  OK, I've been listening non-stop since this little gem arrived today. I did leave for dinner and even set the Tivo for the UFC fights. I've been really confused as I really didn't know what to say other than it's good and I like it. I've been listening to all kinds of material and the normal stuff actually sounded mo better. What was weird was that I actually listen to stuff that I like, not just well recorded stuff. These particular tracks aren't recorded all that well but with the REGEN actually sound good. Then I put on Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" in DSD and tried the same test with/without the REGEN. The best way to describe it for me is that there is less distortion. It's bizarre. The guitar riff at the beginning sounds almost f'd up without the REGEN and then you put it in and it sounds like something just got fixed. It's really strange but it's staying in my system. In fact, I think I need to order one for my Micro iDSD system. Yikes! Oh but first I need to do something...I'll report back if I'm able to get what I think could be useful for all. Give me a few weeks. 

Bottom line, go order your REGEN from batch #2 due at the end of May. I'd be shocked if you didn't like it.

Uhhh, I kinda did.

 

[jtwrace]

 
Uhhh, I kinda did.

Nice.  Let us know what you think when it comes.  

 

[Duke40]

My impressions and thoughts of the USB REGEN.
 
I am a little bit bitter & twisted about every new gizmo which is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread and failing to deliver or provide modest gains at best (for an exorbitant sum). 
 
That said, I must admit I have been very intrigued about the REGEN, something which base it’s gains on engineering and taking a new perspective. What also really interested me was that it would help minimise the effect/influence of USB cables … I think they do matter to a certain extent , though there are many other things I would rather spend my money on. I also thought the price of the REGEN was very reasonable when taking in the design & quality of parts (shipping price was also very good).
I did have some expectation bias that a positive effect would be provided, but that can be a double edged sword if a significant enough improvement is not provided, that is, it can backfire.
 
So, I thought I would give the REGEN a go.
 
How I tested … rather than just type IMHO, YMMV, "take it with a grain of salt" and all the other disclaimers, I though to type the following to provide a “baseline”.  I also think over hyping products serves no good to anyone, so I will try my best to be balanced.
 
Music : My HDTracks library is quite small, so I thought this may be better to use to detect changes, rather than doing A/B tests (which just ends with me getting tired of my favourite music). Some is well recorded, some not that great ... including Jazz, Vocals, Reggae, Classic Rock genres.
Me : My hearing is still excellent for mids and HF, though poor in LF (some damage in bass region … a bit of a train wreck , rollercoaster, actually in the lower octaves).
Gear used : Modest compared to most .. just used my headphone rig (Audeze LCD-3F & Auralic Gemini 2000 DAC/AMP). Powered the REGEN with a 9V LPS, plugged into a Balanced power supply. Onkyo HF Player with HDTacks music stored on my iPhone 5.
Took out my iFi USB cables and just used USB adapters like those provided with the REGEN to minimise any influence of USB cables.
Bias : Never been a fan of USB (until I got a Vaunix USB hub), or expensive cables (my average is probably $100 and I DIY as much as possible,  with a range of $0 to $200) as I would rather spend my money on audio gear or power tweaks or … music !
 
 
Listening impressions
 
First impressions … nothing … until the 3rd song ... then I was shocked (and yes, I am trying to be balanced rather than overhyping
I like classic rock & it was a Meat Loaf song of all things, “You took the words right out of my mouth” which I consider poorly recorded, though the spoken vocal intro was so realistic, plus I had never previously noticed the room they recorded in before.
 
“Aint no sunshine” from the “World’s Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings" sounded better (tone), “Dusty in Memphis” Dusty Springfield album (backing vocals more detailed), Bob Marley “Redemption Song” (just sounds more clear … like a layer of distortion or haze has been removed).
 
Things I noticed in other songs ...
 
More details … such as for Live music albums … sounds like I am there, hearing the environment more, both the room and the crowd, making it more realistic.
 
Improved Vocals : Inflection of Tone, when this improves then this increases the emotional response.
That is, I “get” the feeling or emotion the singer is trying to convey.
Noticed this on all songs, including from Shelby Lynne, Neko Case and Sheryl Crow songs during my initial listening.
 
Significantly realistic Tone/Timbre : Drums, Cymbals, Trumpet … and to a lesser extent for Tone/Timbre : Piano, Guitar ...
It is not that it highlighted some instruments more … it is that it improved some instruments (drums, trumpet) which did not sound as tonally realistic (before REGEN) as I had already achieved for other instruments (piano, guitar) with other tweaks.
 
Improved PRAT.   I especially like any improvement in Timing, which the REGEN provides.
Elvis “Fever”, I liked the improvement in timing on this song.
 
Bass … it is more detailed, nuanced.
 
Sounds a touch louder as well.
 
 
Other thoughts ...
 
It has been in my Headphone rig for about 4 hours and seems to be improving … burn in ??? …. or maybe I am just noticing the benefits more and more.
 
The impressions above were performed with the REGEN directly attached to my DAC, then 30 minutes ago I just used a $1 USB Male A / Male B adapter to plug my Vaunix USB hub behind it, and I gained further improvements. The REGEN makes some of the Vaunix hub benefits redundant, as the REGEN now provides clean 5V power on the DAC's USB input , though the Vaunix provides an isolated ground  (I don’t really know, just guessing, though the benefits of both products appear to be providing a wonderful synergy … now I just need to get a optical USB cable to get full isolation, that’s my next step).
 
 
Final thoughts ...
 
What I did not notice …. any real difference in soundstaging or imaging as I am testing on my headphone rig rather than my speaker rig 
(I like & prefer the resolution of headphones to detect changes in audio gear & tweaks, though I think they are poor for determining soundstaging changes, speakers are still superior for that). 
Could be benefits, but I did not use the right tool for the job.
 
What I noticed (and wanted) the most ... PRAT, this along with Tone is what I desire the most for my Headphone Rig … and I have obtained a significant improvement that the REGEN is well worth it to me.  Plus the other benefits I noted above.
 
It is a keeper !!!
 
Thank you Alex Crespi & John Swenson for improving USB audio … for me it is a significant advance … like the development of Async was for USB … to my ears the calibre of improvement is in the same league.

 

[Duke40]

For my comments about the Vaunix USB Hub near the end of my review above... I have just been corrected on another forum by someone (John Swenson) who is much more intelligent than me for things related to USB.
I am just a layman who was wondering aloud... John is a brilliant guy.
I actually really appreciated this , rather than let apparent misinformation propogate.   
 
"The Vaunix hub does NOT provide any isolation, it is just a normal hub, with a really good power supply. My guess is that the benefits come from the power supply, because they are aiming at a very robust supply (1A per port), they naturally wind up with low impedance to the hub chip. It may not be highly optimized PDN, but it is highly likely it is much better than most hubs. 
"

 

[KritiKal]

Well, I was going to hold out on this for a week or two as I figured I wouldn't get it any sooner and I could use the money in the interim on other things. But, I'm now worried this batch will sell out before then (even though interest, appears at least, to be low) due to the great reception it has received. I've been following another forum's thread about the REGEN and your review, Duke, has tipped the scales on my hand, making me accidentally press the buy button.

 

[Duke40]

Well, I was going to hold out on this for a week or two as I figured I wouldn't get it any sooner and I could use the money in the interim on other things. But, I'm now worried this batch will sell out before then (even though interest, appears at least, to be low) due to the great reception it has received. I've been following another forum's thread about the REGEN and your review, Duke, has tipped the scales on my hand, making me accidentally press the buy button.

Probably a good idea to buy now .... they are selling like hot cakes  

 
I saw this recent comment from the manufacturer just now on another forum 
 
"FYi, although I was able to bump the second run of REGENs up to 150 units, as of this morning about half of those are already pre-sold."
 
I agree that on this HeadFi forum that interest does seem appear to be low ... though I greatly enjoy both HeadFi and Computer Audiophile and have benefited greatly from both forums, so was just trying to pass on something that I initially discovered on CA.
 
KritiKal,   I am glad my review was of some use ... I did try to present a balanced perspective to make it useful to others (rather than a hype fest).
I do not post much, though thought to make a report that is hopefully of use to others ... just as I have gained from others experiences on HeadFi.

 

[Fujak]

I did it too. But I have to train my patience, since the next Regen will be sent at the end of May. Thank you very much to jtwrace and Duke40 for your excellent reviews. I will add mine, when the Regen will have arrived. Kind regards - Fujak

 

[Duke40]

I did it too. But I have to train my patience, since the next Regen will be sent at the end of May. Thank you very much to jtwrace and Duke40 for your excellent reviews. I will add mine, when the Regen will have arrived. Kind regards - Fujak

Fujak,  Look forward to your thoughts. I am sure the wait will be worth it.
 
Sounds like you got in time for the 2nd batch (May production run).
 
They are now all sold out for the 2nd batch (just checked the UpTone Audio website) and are now up for the 3rd production run which will be shipped around mid June.
 
I have been hearing reports that the USB REGEN pairs very well with the Corning Optical USB cable (so I have ordered one, should arrive in a couple of weeks).
Apparently the USB REGEN + Corning Optical USB Cable has a very special synergy.
I will post my thoughts once the Corning has arrived, and let you guys know the results with the Regen.

 

[Fujak]

I have been hearing reports that the USB REGEN pairs very well with the Corning Optical USB cable (so I have ordered one, should arrive in a couple of weeks).
Apparently the USB REGEN + Corning Optical USB Cable has a very special synergy.
I will post my thoughts once the Corning has arrived, and let you guys know the results with the Regen.

Duke40, I did the same. I also ordered the Corning USB 10m. Unfortunately it's sold out too. So June will be a great month for the audiophiles. . I will report. Kind regards - Fujak

 

[Jon L]

Powered the REGEN with a 9V LPS, plugged into a Balanced power supply. 

 
Regen's DC input says 6-8V, so is 9V not going to harm things?  Have you tried the stock power supply?
 
I do have the Regen on order, and I hate the 6-8V power supply, as it is much easier to find good Lithium battery supply or Linear power supply that fall just outside (5V, 9V for example).  I so wish I could use my Bakoon 5V Lithium battery supply on the Regen 

 

[Duke40]

 

Powered the REGEN with a 9V LPS, plugged into a Balanced power supply. 

 
Regen's DC input says 6-8V, so is 9V not going to harm things?  Have you tried the stock power supply?
 
I do have the Regen on order, and I hate the 6-8V power supply, as it is much easier to find good Lithium battery supply or Linear power supply that fall just outside (5V, 9V for example).  I so wish I could use my Bakoon 5V Lithium battery supply on the Regen 

 
RE   "Have you tried the stock power supply?"
 
... no.    I wanted to minimise the variables when I first inserted the Regen, that is it was just simpler to insert the Regen (with a 9V output from my Linear Power Supply),
so I went from a sound I was used to (with everything run from LPS),   to the sound with the Regen inserted.  
 
I did think briefly about sticking the stock power supply straight into the wall, then I worried I may get ground loops or something else (as the rest of my gear was powered from a LPS),
so it would be best to plug  everything straight into the wall with there stock SMPS, but then I would be introducing too many new variables (and also not the sound that I was used too).
 

RE  "Regen's DC input says 6-8V, so is 9V not going to harm things?" 
 
... I believe  "it depends" on if the DAC that it is connected to requires the USB 5V to power the DAC, or simply just likes to see the 5V for handshaking.
 
Below are two quotes from the UpTone Audio website ... 6 to 9V (1.5A) is fine , which is what I am doing... it is just when you go to 12V that you need to take special care.
 
Quote: from the Regen product page

  (use a nice linear if you want—in the range of 6-9V/1.5A is fine; or even 12V if you are certain that your DAC is not deriving much power from USB bus)

 
Quote: from the Regen FAQ page

 Feeding the REGEN 9 volts requires a drop of just 4V and that of course is just 2 watts to dissipate if the DAC draws full power.  No problem.

 
I am using 9V from my LPS.   No Problem.
 
As my Auralic Gemini is an externally powered DAC (as opposed to something like a CEntrance DACport  for example which needs the 5V to power itself) and the Auralic does not appear to require power from the 5V
for it's USB input, all looks good.   The Regen is not warm at all... I just placed my hand on it, it just feels normal room temperature.
 
I believe it is when you go to 12V and the DAC requires power from the 5V bus, that is when it could get tricky, and then the Regen could get too warm (as it does not have heat sinks)
 
 
RE "I hate the 6-8V power supply, as it is much easier to find good Lithium battery supply or Linear power supply that fall just outside (5V, 9V for example)."
 
Jon,   all may not be lost as far as alternative options for power supplies (I too am not a fan of anything SMPS ... the stock one that is supplied with the REGEN is apparently quite good,
though if I have LPS or even LiPo batteries available, then I will always go that path.  The Regen does not need a LPS or LiPo battery to sound good, though it is more of extracting the last few percent
of REGEN goodness , according to other threads I have read ...  in comparison to using the stock SMPS).
 
Just remembered this ..... See below from the FAQ section on the UpTone Audio website .... this is straight from the manufacturer (so it outweighs anything I wrote above).
It is lengthy and detailed. still I think it is a worthwhile read.
 

 

QUESTION: The DC power input jack on the REGEN specifies 6~8 volts.  I know that the 7.5V/2.93A/22W SMPS that comes with the REGEN was selected as best "sounding" for the price, but I have a some other small linear power supplies that I would like to try with it.  
Can I use a 12 volt DC supply? Can I use a 5 volt supply?   

SHORT ANSWER: Yes, but only if you are certain that your DAC's USB input does not draw ANY power from the 5V USB VBUS wires.  You can test this (without the REGEN) by taping over USB 5VBUS pin 1 (this is easiest to do at the computer 'A' end of the cable with a narrow cut strip of business card stock inserted and folded over). Or use a cable that you know does not connect 5VBUS line. That way you can determine that your DAC's USB input will or won't function without ANY external 5V—not even for computer "handshake."
Once you are certain that no 5VBUS is needed, then yes, you can run the REGEN from a 5V or a 12V supply. The main function, USB hub chip signal regeneration and impedance match runs off of 3.3V from a separate ultra-low-noise regulator, thus 5V input allows for plenty of drop required for that regulator to do its thing.
While it is true that our own JS-2 LPS makes a slight improvement for the REGEN, it is not a large difference and the REGEN sounds GREAT with just the selected stock supply.
LONG ANSWER: The REGEN has two expensive, ultra-low noise adjustable voltage regulators (the wonderful TI TPS7A4700), one for 3.3V for the USB hub chip, and one for 5V for forwarding clean VBUS to the DAC for those that require it.
Linear regulators require that the input voltage be a little higher than the voltage you want them to regulate to.  But the difference between whatever voltage level you feed then and the output voltage they are set for must be dissipated as heat.  The REGEN is in a small enclosure and there is not a heat-sink on the regulators—therefore we must consider that. So although the regulator chips we use can take up to 20V, the drops down to 5V or 3.3V are quite large.  For the 3.3V to run the hub chip and low jitter clock, it really is not a problem no matter the voltage since that part of the REGEN draws almost no current.
Let's look at some examples and the simple formula that Volts x Amps = Watts:
First keep in mind that the USB 2.0 specification allows for a USB device (be it a webcam, a DAC, or a headphone amp, etc.) to draw a maximum of 500mA (0.5 amps) from the USB bus of a single port of a computer or other host.  Thus we plan and specify around that.
Additionally, without a heat sink on the REGEN's 5V regulator, we would not feel comfortable with asking it to dissipate much more that about 2.5~3 watts.  It might be fine a little above that, but for reliability it is preferable to not go over that.
Let's say you have a DAC that uses USB VBUS power for its input circuit.  (This is quite common as it may allow the DAC designer to avoid providing a separate internal PS for the USB input while allowing them to keep the "dirty" USB input circuitry more isolated from the rest of the DAC.)  While it may not draw the allowed full 500mA, let's assume that it does.  If you power the REGEN with 12V, then it must drop that by 7V to arrive at 5V.  So 7 volts times 0.5 amps tell us the chip and circuit board will have to dissipate 3.5 watts.  That is pushing it.  
Feeding the REGEN 9 volts requires a drop of just 4V and that of course is just 2 watts to dissipate if the DAC draws full power.  No problem.
If you know that your DAC does not need any bus power at all—or for sure only just for initial handshake—then you really don't have to worry. Our USB hub chip and clock together draw about 50mA at 3.3V, so it would be almost impossible to overheat that second regulator. Even 20V dropped to 3.3V will, at 50mA be only about 0.84 watts.

By the way, the only reason we chose such a high-wattage SMPS to include with the REGEN—22 watts is overkill—is that I found that size to be a sweet spot.   The quality of the chosen model and and its output capacitance for current delivery, delivered better bass better than from small, cheaper wall-warts. And it is MUCH better, with clearer highs than any of the available inexpensive linear wall warts (all the factory tabletop linears are unregulated units, and those are terrible for this application). Go figure…