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DAC Regenerator and Reclocking Devices

Hi,
Recently I've been looking at a few different devices to upgrade my signal between my Mac and my Ayre QB 9 DAC DSD. SOtM makes a reclocking / regenerator as does Ideon Audio and IFI. The IFI micro 3.0 is apparently the newest of them and looks like a great price when compared to the SOtM tx USBultra. The Ideon 3R USB Renaissance is the more affordable and was engineered strictly for sound quality. Does anyone have experience with these devices? Also, I want to mention that I've been adding Akiko Audio tuning sticks and tuning chips and I prefer their additions so far. Some good orderly direction would be greatly appreciated. 

128x128goofyfoot
58 responses Add your response
dgarretson
2,597 posts
 

Many good ideas on this thread:


https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-the-sms-200-and-microrendu/http://
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Thanks Dave. I will be greatly interested in your findings when you start subtracting devices from the chain and also your other comparisons.

The SOtM line is interesting to me but I find it to be a little confusing to understand the options from their website.

Best to you Dave,
Dave
dgarretson
2,597 posts
 

@goofyfoot From reviews it appears that the new ISO Regen is better than the old Regen. I have not tried any USB regenerator except for the similar functionality integrated into the Sonore microRendu.

Dave,

Prior to SOtM, I was using a microRendu as an Ethernet end point, networked through a Cisco EN switch to a QNAP TVS-882 i5 NAS hosting Roon. Running on that i5 core, the Roon DSP engine upsamples and filters all sources to DSD128, then across EN through SOtMs to USB into Esoteric K-01X. The mR people don’t recommend an in-line regenerator, as the mR reportedly integrates features of the Regen. The SOtM people recommended the combo of all four pieces for the full SOtM experience... As I already had a 10mHz rubidium clock, the ability to synchronize to the master clock was conceptually appealing. Once it’s all broken in, to weigh up the relative contributions to performance I’ll begin subtracting components from the chain. This will include comparing the SOtM DC power supply to my Hynes SR7.

All I can say so far is that the improvement of synchronizing all clocks to several PPB precision is obvious.

dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Hi Dave,

Why all the intermediary devices? Are you sourcing from PC/Mac? Educate me please sir.

Dave
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,368 posts
 
dgarretson, thanks. Have considered the Regan as it has a good price point for sure. Do you know anything about the new ifi micro 3.0 or Ideon Renaissance?
dgarretson
2,597 posts
 
In that case you may want to add the ISO Regen to the list.  There are a few reviews out there that compare it favorably to the USBultra.
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot OP
1,368 posts
 
Thanks dgarretson, I have no doubt that your digital solution is optimal but I'm afraid that this solution is currently beyond my reach financially. I would like to simplify my choice to one cost effective device if at all possible.  
dgarretson
2,597 posts
 
I’m currently breaking in a SOtM tx USBultra in combination with their SMS-200Ultra Ethernet-to-USB streamer, SPS-500 DC power supply, and SOtM-modified D-Link Ethernet switch with a clock link to the SMS-200Ultra. The clocks in all of these are slaved to my SRS Perf-10 rubidium master clock. Life is good. I think SOtM has thought through Ethernet-to-USB playback as well as anyone.
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