Mea culpa for Uptone Iso Regen USB


Recently I was negotiating to buy a USB cable from a fellow Audiogon member @fsmithjack and he offered in addition to the cable to sell me an Uptone Iso Regen USB with an Uptone linear power supply. I felt a little uncomfortable with the conversation as I was just trying to buy a cable, not a bundle with something else that I hadnt even inquired about. We agreed to go our separate ways, no harm no foul right?

I began reading about the product, skeptically, and became more curious. With the return policy Uptone offers, I thought I would check it out and ordered a new Iso Regen Usb and their new companion 1.2 LPS. Holy moly @fsmithjack was right and I should have listened to him. Single biggest upgrade I recall with my digital front end, instantly upon inserting it into my system!

Long story short, I wanted to publicly acknowledge @fsmithjack as the gentleman that he is, he was just trying to enlighten me and I wasn’t ready to believe the radical improvements he said I would experience. This isn’t a review of the product, this is intended to recognize and thank @fsmithjack for his sage advice, even though I was not very trusting, I now recognize he was just trying to share his experience. Thanks @fsmithjack! He has no affiliation with Uptone, just a fellow Audiogoner that makes this community special. Peace.
ghasley
Hey Guys - it reclocks everything in the EtherRegen. 
The AFTERDARK OCXO clock requires 12VDC/2A power supply. 
If you do not own one we sell an excellent 2 rail Linear Power Supply that can power both the EtherRegen and clock for $245 plus shipping. It comes with DC Cables with 2.1 barrel connectors and the clock comes with a great sounding 75Ohm BNC cable to connect to clock to the EtherREGEN. 

I will share details below for the clock, LPS and thoughts on this new approach. 
You can message me if you want any further info or check the website as well. 

https://ctronicmusic.com/


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AFTERDARK. PROJECT CLAYX GIESEMANN OCXO 10MHZ REFERENCE QUEEN MASTER CLOCK 

Features
The product uses the selected audio grade OCXO, and through long-term calibration to select and install equipment with excellent stability.

  • OCXO that employs with qualitative measure equipment.
  • OCXO is enclosed and covered with Dynamat Extreme Corporation (Made in USA) which is used to stabilize and minimize heat separation, addition EMI material from KEMET EMI Shielding is placed on top of OCXO, the outer layer is covered with real leather to isolate the heat factors for maximizing OCXO performance .
  • Black Alu material + Carbon Fiber material front and backplate, solid anti-vibration. In addition, due to the thickness used, 3mm / 6mm Carbon Fiber material material with plate can provide solid EMI/ magnetic coverage.
  • Advanced instrument Symmetricom 5125A calibrated with plotted characteristics. The phase noise, and Allen Derivation defines different grades of the OCXO.
  • Audio Note Silver Solder
  • Duelund AC0.4 Silver Premium Audio Cable (Silver in Cotton / Oil impregnated) (Handmade in Denmark)
  • AfterDark. Project ClayX WoodMAT for best musical representation (Optional)
  • Hand made in Hong Kong
  • 2 years warranty
  • Optional external LPS power supply

 

Phase Noise Measurements By: Symmetricom 5125A


Phase Noise@ 10Hz - 132Phase Noise@ 1Hz   - 103


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AFTERDARK. BLACK MODERNIZE LPS X2 GIESEMANN OCXO 10M EDITION

AfterDark. Black Modernize LPS x GIESEMANN OCXO 10M Edition  

Highlight of the AfterDark. Black Modernize Linear Power Supply:

  • Carbon Fiber 6mm/ 1mm Front & Back Plate
  • AC Incoming: Schurter IEC, Japan Made EDK Switch / Optional NCF Furutech IEC upgrade
  • Schurter Gold Fuse for Audio Optimization
  • AC Noise Filter: UK RIFA RFI Suppression Caps & Noise Filter    
  • AC Transformer: Nuvotem Talema Encapsulated 25VA w/ Fast Acting Fuse Protection
  • High Speed Rectifier with RIFA 0.1uf Bypass Caps
  • Phillips BC 2200uf/25v x 4 Reservoir Caps, total of 8800uf !
  • Phillips 1% Precision Resistors
  • Panasonic FC 120uf, 390uf Decoupling Caps
  • Mexico Made Inductors
  • Analog Device OP177 for Voltage Error Feedback Compensation
  • Toshiba Pass Power Transistor
  • Two Simultaneously Driven Voltage Output Jacks (Limited to same voltage fixed for both outputs) For example, Two outputs are fixed at 12V, Two outputs are fixed at 5V etc)
  • Voltage Rating: 5VDC/3.5A, 9VDC/2.5A, 12VDC/2A , 19VDC/1.5A, 24VDC/1A, Custom
  • Integrated Aluminum Heat-sink chassis, with 5mm thick (very) well designed front panel    


The Heart of AfterDark. Black Modernize Linear Power Supply

The circuit design of LPS is referenced and improved of the well-known Walt Jung Super Reg. The performance is first in the class I must say. Output voltage stays VERY stable with 0.01VDC tolerance despite I'm driving it almost at full load. It only gets a bit warm after a 48hrs of stress test.


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Mastering the time domain in network-based hi-end audio focusing this tremendous level of concentrated precision and exacting time accuracy has never been done before. Not like this it has not. This approach, with these unique specialty devices (OCXO Clock and EtherREGEN) doing what they do has absolutely changed streaming audio forever. The result is a staggering level of improvement no one ever could have foresaw? A ridiculous amount of improvement you need to hear for yourself to understand. It’s not hyperbole if it’s the truth. This is the definition of the truth. Prepare to have your mind blown!  


The concept behind mastering the network-based time domain is grounded in solid science, it is measurable and verifiable. Yet it runs contrary to how traditional audio upgrades paths have come forth. The bottom line is this kind of increased sound quality has always cost a lot more money! Much more!  

Not only is this an incredible upgrade path standing on its own, but it is disproportionately inexpensive.

If we based our prices on actual audio improvement our prices would increase 10-fold. The good news our products price for performance are industry bests and we only charge based on the device.


This combination of very different, specialty devices has produced a result that has far exceeded what anyone thought possible. Our devices along with those of our friends and colleagues over at Uptown Audio are the best bang for buck components you can buy on the market today bar none! 

Our Master Clocks and Linear Power Supplies vastly improve upon the excellent Uptone Audio EtherREGEN! You just cannot get this kind of Improvement anywhere else.  


CTronic Music of Boston, the North American Distributor for AfterDark Audio Products and Services. We are proud to offer their full line of OCXO Master Clocks and Linear Power Supplies. These incredible audio devices have exploded onto the US audio scene and recording studios. Offering true, reference level performance at prices formerly unimaginable. The Editors of Stereotimes, The Absolute Sound, and other well-known magazines in Germany, France and Italy have all requested demo units. The secret is out, nothing comes even close to delivering this type of improvement. Plug this master clock into your Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with the included BNC cable and prepare to have your mind blown! We guarantee it!


Featured: AfterDark Project CLAY GIESEMANN OCXO Queen Master Clock is an audiophile-grade reference master clock that generates 10MHz signals with vanishingly low jitter to considerably enhance digital playback systems with remarkable clarity and dynamics. The Queen Master unlocks the transparency and full dynamic range of your soundstage with incredible dimensionality and detail, free from digital blurring. Ideal for high-end studios, mastering suites, and home Hi Fi audio playback systems, the Queen Master delivers the precision and audio purity your digital playback chain has been missing.


We believe and the test data shows one of the most commonly under-resourced yet critically important aspects in the audio chain is the network time domain. Mastering the network time domain and how it relates to the overall quality of the musical presentation has not been thoroughly exhausted or solved up until this point. Not until now that is. This combo changes everything! It's impact will change your system like nothing you have ever known before it.






@fsmithjack,@fsmithjack,

just for the record: reclocking the dac, not just the ethernet input via the etherregen can have very significant benefits, especially in a scenario where the server is slaved to the dac‘s clock via asynchronous usb. 
It’s reclocking the network signal in front of the DAC. It is making the signal sent to the DAC as pristine as possible. Now if your DAC is slaved to incoming signal then yes that would be huge. Even if it is not the improvement is gigantic. I have buyers with very serious system that can’t believe in the level of improvement. Many of the guys are buying upgrades BNC cables that cost more then the clock and EtherRegen combined. BNC cables offer big upgrades. The biggest loss is in the cable. The cable we provide for free sounds great but there is much more improvement to be had with an upgraded cable. Regardless if your DAC is slaved to the incoming signal or reclocks it after the important is nothing less then fantastic. I am emails daily by folks that love it and can’t believe the improvement. 
@fsmithjack,

sorry, I may have not been clear: the unit to be slaved to the reclocked dac is the server via asynchronous usb; your comment on the bnc cable is spot on. I use a Shunyata Sigma. 
I just received the Queen master clock with the After Dark LPS as well. I have to say that these products are the real deal, and sound quality is noticeably enhanced right out of the box. I understand that it takes a while for the clock to settle in. In the meantime, I look forward to enjoying the ride. Thank you fsmithjack.