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Hahaha, sorry Hifi_swlon, had to laugh about this. Big Grin

And of course I would advise you not to do anything that doesn't feel right. (Well, duh! Smile)
(01-Mar-2016, 18:26)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ](OK, I've pulled myself together… for now.... I'm intrigued and want to hear for myself, but it doesn't fit my mission profile so I've closed the page.  That was a close call.)

Do it Mr Hifi_swlon, do it!  You know you want to!
(01-Mar-2016, 20:44)Antoine Wrote: [ -> ]Hahaha, sorry Hifi_swlon, had to laugh about this. Big Grin

And of course I would advise you not to do anything that doesn't feel right. (Well, duh! Smile)

Haha, no apologies, a laugh was assumed Smile

I just sort of wanted to see if I can hear the difference first hand. The main issue though is the fact that I'm desperate to hold on to the idea of no visible 'boxes', and the Mutec isn't exactly subtle (fair enough it's studio gear and designed for functionality). Also, I'm not sure I can bothered with the ordering, shipping, returning.

I'd like to try the micro Rendu first but I've been having doubts there recently (I didn't realise the hardware was designed by the Regen designer), and it might still be a way off, so maybe I'll crack Wink If I do, you'll be the first to know with my honest feedback.
(01-Mar-2016, 21:19)Confused Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-Mar-2016, 18:26)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ](OK, I've pulled myself together… for now.... I'm intrigued and want to hear for myself, but it doesn't fit my mission profile so I've closed the page.  That was a close call.)

Do it Mr Hifi_swlon, do it!  You know you want to!

stop it! Big Grin
(01-Mar-2016, 21:19)Confused Wrote: [ -> ]
(01-Mar-2016, 18:26)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ](OK, I've pulled myself together… for now.... I'm intrigued and want to hear for myself, but it doesn't fit my mission profile so I've closed the page.  That was a close call.)

Do it Mr Hifi_swlon, do it!  You know you want to!

Well, nearly, but not quite in the end....

Ordered the Intona (Industrial ver) instead!

Will follow up as soon as - no idea how long shipping to the UK will take.
To be honest I'm a bit surprised (although you did hint at a possible purchase in a different thread) but nice! Smile I hope it'll be more of what you expect it to be compared to the Regen. If it is perhaps you should consider the Mutec trial after all (or do that anyway).

Tomorrow I'll provide some links to different forum threads discussing the Intona. It's always nice to read about something you've bought to cure any cognitive dissonance. Wink Wink


Edit; I just thought I should add that there is a chance I might sell my own Intona later (after it's firmware upgrade discussed earlier in this thread) if I find it doesn't add much to the Mutec which also does some galvanic isolation. Just sharing this to avoid any possible disappointments as I may offer it for sale on this forum as well.
(04-Mar-2016, 01:37)Antoine Wrote: [ -> ]To be honest I'm a bit surprised ….

Well, I'm not a complete sceptic - I just like to try and understand things so I can adjust my own threshold of what I think might be of real benefit (or lets say perhaps 'good value') - and I've always been planning on a better solution than the Mac mini, which of course was never the long-term plan with the Devialet anyway.  I was just biding my time until other more affordable solutions that fit my mission profile were out there, but there's no clear contender as yet…

So, based on everything I've read and where I'm at with my own 'peace' with the digital audio situation, I would probably have tried the Mutec over the Intona because I can see that it combines multiple functions and has a studio background and by all accounts mainly positive feedback.  But it's a box I couldn't live with in the lounge (perhaps they could have added a few more LED's?) and don't think I can hide it away as things are setup now.  So I've let that idea go for now although I'm still intrigued.

I had tried a cheap Olimex galvanic isolator on my Chord Hugo a while back (based on Rob Watts' feedback), but found it made either no difference or was worse - I was on the fence tbh.  Anyway, it was a short experiment and shortly afterwards was relegated to the 'spares' box where it remains (if anyone's interested let me know, you're free to try it Wink)

So the Intona should be interesting just to see if I hear anything positive with it. My only real dilemma is I just have 2 USB cables, the Green Audioquest one, and the totalDAC one, so I'm not sure logically which way round they should go. I guess I just try both. I'll also try a 'standard' cable or two as well.

(04-Mar-2016, 01:37)Antoine Wrote: [ -> ]Edit; I just thought I should add that there is a chance I might sell my own Intona later (after it's firmware upgrade discussed earlier in this thread) if I find it doesn't add much to the Mutec which also does some galvanic isolation. Just sharing this to avoid any possible disappointments as I may offer it for sale on this forum as well.
Wink Thanks, well, lets see how next week goes….(depending on shipping)
Hi Hifi_swlon, I understand, and it's clear you're not a complete sceptic. What I see is that you simply like to understand the hows and why's. Yesterday I read your questions to John Swenson and also there I think I could see you'd like him to explain the rationales behind his project, so why is he doing what he's doing and what is he trying to accomplish exactly and how. Like I said before I've always been like that as well but have let go a bit of the need to fully understand. In the end the result is what counts to me nowadays although I do need to have some feeling it's based on something real of course. And either approach (yours or mine) is good of course, not one is better than the other. At least with the Intona and Mutec it's all solid engineering and little high end hocus pocus and marketing BS. Smile

Anyway I hope you like the Intona, if not I believe you can send it back within 14 days.

Indeed I think it's best to try both USB cables in each spot although I feel one should in theory use the "best" one between the Intona and Devialet since that link matters most, it's behind the regeneration phase after all. I do realize though that it's hard to determine from theory which one is best since many factors apply.

Regarding the Mutec I just wanted to add that you can disable all LED's except the power and lock LED by simultaneously pressing both buttons on the front of it once.

Here's the links I promised yesterday, just FYI of course! Smile There's more but these discuss the Intona most.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac...tor-26815/
http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=3297.0
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread...B-isolator!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/777678/intona-h...b-isolator
http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/ind...hizzle.62/
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showt...p?t=182061
http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index....=222582.30
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac...ead-27465/
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac...ted-27636/
Phewww, there's a lot of relief here. Smile After swapping in the new power cords, 3-way power distributor and DH Labs D-110 AES/EBU cable initially everything sounded great. Yesterday and the day before however my system sounded like crap. An album like Down The Way by Angus & Julia Stone was practically unlistenable all of a sudden due to lot's of glare in the highs. Dialing back the ambiance retrieval tweeter at the back of the VR-5's did not help at all.

I've never been a real believer of running/breaking in cables but I decided to keep the system running overnight straight for the past two days and this sureley helped to return to a natural sounding system instead of a "bright HiFI sounding" one. The dealer/importer of the DH Labs cable already warned me it needed at least 50 hrs, guess he was right after all. Smile
Coming home from a long run outside on a sunday afternoon and then enjoy good music through your own system: pure bliss!! Smile