- Joined
- Apr 28, 2007
- Posts
- 5,494
- Likes
- 1,084
The question you meant to ask is: "But how do you 'know' that no other cleaning devices should be inserted between the USB Regen and the DAC?"
This is the imperative everyone is referencing and it comes directly from Uptone Audio. Alex Crespi and John Swenson have emphasized this in many posts, both in the USB Regen threads on Computeraudiophile and here in this thread.
It has also been stressed by Uptone Audio that the connection between the USB Regen and DAC should be kept as short as possible.
Lastly, Uptone Audio has stressed the need to use cables that maintain a 90-Ohm impedance. As a manufacturer, Supra USB cables seem to be obsessed with this specification, as you cannot get them to cut you cable of just any length you desire until they've had time to tweak a prototype to achieve the 90-Ohm spec. The spec is assured for their ready-made cables.
I wouldn't know how to measure a cables intrinsic impedance, so I think most of us just have to hope for the best regarding the 90-Ohm requirement.
I've wandered into a discussion of cables, but I feel there's a need for what will hopefully be seen as concise summary of the options:
The USB Regen ships with a short "solid" adapter, but several people have found that some cables that are nearly as short sound better, and that using a 3-wire cable that lacks the +5V wire (when using DACs that don't require power from the USB cable) improves the sound as well - as does blocking the +5V pin of a 4-wire cable, at the source. There's a lot of testimony out there encouraging both solutions - again, for DACs that do not pull power from the USB cable, but also for supplying data to the USB Regen itself, which does not pull any power from the USB cable. Many people have found that blocking the +5V ping of the Regen's USB input cable, or going to a 3-wire cable to feed the USB Regen, improves the sound for all DACs - even though the USB Regen blocks power coming in from the USB cable - due to capacitive coupling of the +5V wire with the data wires, when not blocked or removed completely.
The Elijah Audio Konvertible Lite 160 allows you to disconnect the +5V wire at will - for DACs that never require power from the USB source and even after first allowing a DAC that only needs to see power during a handshake with the source to do so. There are other short, three-wire cables to be found, if you don't need a cable that can be converted at will,
So... we have a lot of people out there who have reported improvements by blocking the +5V pin at the source, as when using the SBooster VBus Isolater or by using 3-wire or a "Konvertible" cable to remove the +5V wire altogether when the DAC does not require power from source (and when supplying data to the USB Regen on the input side).
And... we have a lot of Curious Cable fans who have reported improvements had by distancing the
To my knowledge, only the Elijah Audio Konvertible Lite 160 offers
I've not yet purchased an Elijah Audio Konveritble Lite (for spending my audio budget on other projects at the moment), but to me, it makes a lot of sense as a design that delivers all the features that have been heralded piece meal in other cables. I also have a lot of confidence in Cornan's impressions - having followed his advice several times with other products and/or techniques and never being disappointed.
As to other USB "middleware" devices - by all means, buy them and try them yourself, keeping them on the input side of the USB Regen, between your source and the USB Regen. There are so many variables that I think it silly to try to make a decision about whether these products will help your system, just from reading other people's impressions.
The USB Regen, however, seems to transcend this necessity, given that they've sold something like 2000 of them (or fast approaching that number?) and yet I've only read a handful of testimonies where someone said "it didn't do anything" for their system. That's an extremely strong consensus, compared to most audio products.
Mike
The question you meant to ask is: "But how do you 'know' that no other cleaning devices should be inserted between the USB Regen and the DAC?"
This is the imperative everyone is referencing and it comes directly from Uptone Audio. Alex Crespi and John Swenson have emphasized this in many posts, both in the USB Regen threads on Computeraudiophile and here in this thread.
It has also been stressed by Uptone Audio that the connection between the USB Regen and DAC should be kept as short as possible.
Lastly, Uptone Audio has stressed the need to use cables that maintain a 90-Ohm impedance. As a manufacturer, Supra USB cables seem to be obsessed with this specification, as you cannot get them to cut you cable of just any length you desire until they've had time to tweak a prototype to achieve the 90-Ohm spec. The spec is assured for their ready-made cables.
I wouldn't know how to measure a cables intrinsic impedance, so I think most of us just have to hope for the best regarding the 90-Ohm requirement.
I've wandered into a discussion of cables, but I feel there's a need for what will hopefully be seen as concise summary of the options:
The USB Regen ships with a short "solid" adapter, but several people have found that some cables that are nearly as short sound better, and that using a 3-wire cable that lacks the +5V wire (when using DACs that don't require power from the USB cable) improves the sound as well - as does blocking the +5V pin of a 4-wire cable, at the source. There's a lot of testimony out there encouraging both solutions - again, for DACs that do not pull power from the USB cable, but also for supplying data to the USB Regen itself, which does not pull any power from the USB cable. Many people have found that blocking the +5V ping of the Regen's USB input cable, or going to a 3-wire cable to feed the USB Regen, improves the sound for all DACs - even though the USB Regen blocks power coming in from the USB cable - due to capacitive coupling of the +5V wire with the data wires, when not blocked or removed completely.
The Elijah Audio Konvertible Lite 160 allows you to disconnect the +5V wire at will - for DACs that never require power from the USB source and even after first allowing a DAC that only needs to see power during a handshake with the source to do so. There are other short, three-wire cables to be found, if you don't need a cable that can be converted at will, the Curious USB Cable does not block +5V, but it does distance the +5V wire from the data and GND wires - to reduce noise.
So... we have a lot of people out there who have reported improvements by blocking the +5V pin at the source, as when using the SBooster VBus Isolater or by using 3-wire or a "Konvertible" cable to remove the +5V wire altogether when the DAC does not require power from source (and when supplying data to the USB Regen on the input side).
And... we have a lot of Curious Cable fans who have reported improvements had by distancing the +5V wire from the data wires.
To my knowledge, only the Elijah Audio Konvertible Lite 160 offers the following three features - distancing the GND wire and your choice of distancing or removing the 5V wire. The 160 is ideal for running between the USB Regen and the DAC, where the longer lengths are ideal for supplying data to the USB Regen - instead of buying a long Curious Cable (to distance the +5V wire) or in combination with a VBus Isolator (to block the +5V at the source.)
I've not yet purchased an Elijah Audio Konveritble Lite (for spending my audio budget on other projects at the moment), but to me, it makes a lot of sense as a design that delivers all the features that have been heralded piece meal in other cables. I also have a lot of confidence in Cornan's impressions - having followed his advice several times with other products and/or techniques and never being disappointed.
As to other USB "middleware" devices - by all means, buy them and try them yourself, keeping them on the input side of the USB Regen, between your source and the USB Regen. There are so many variables that I think it silly to try to make a decision about whether these products will help your system, just from reading other people's impressions.
The USB Regen, however, seems to transcend this necessity, given that they've sold something like 2000 of them (or fast approaching that number?) and yet I've only read a handful of testimonies where someone said "it didn't do anything" for their system. That's an extremely strong consensus, compared to most audio products.
Mike
5 March 2016 - Edits applied to correct my having thought the Curious Cable distances the GND wire from the data and +5V wires, when it actually distances the +5V wire from data and GND wires.
