EtherREGEN: The long development thread. [Some Gen2 dev. pics and update starting on page 92.]

[Bricki]

G'day Alex 

 

Just wondering if the new EtherRegen will be able to be powered by the lps1? I recall reading that it will fit under the lps1.2 threshold of 12v @1.1 amps, but I don't recall reading about it being able to also be powered by the lps1.... Sorry if you have already answered this, I must have missed it ?

[Bricki]

14 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Yes, same case as for our UltraCap power supplies and the Sonore ultraRendu.

The four Gigabit copper ports and the SFP cage will all be at one end.  The super-clean/heavily-isolated 100Mbps port, the DC power jack, LED, ground terminal, BNC clock jack and clock int/ext switch will all be at the other end.

So, the power supply we use won't need to have its negative dc output grounded (JSGT) ?  I assume the ground terminal is for draining high impedance ac leakage from other smps powered devices on the network? 

[Bricki]

2 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

The complete answer would take a bit to explain and I am rushing around getting ready to leave town with family to visit family--while first getting some orders shipped--so here is the very short answer.

 

The ground terminal won't need to be used unless one is powering the EtherREGEN from either:

a) A power supply that does not have its output -ve (zero-volt "ground") shunted to AC mains ground (typical SMPS or even some linear supplies);

b) One of our UltraCap supplies (or a battery), as the output of these are fully "floating."

 

Every EtherREGEN will ship with the UpTone-branded 36W SMPS (same as what we have been shipping with all new-generation UltraCap LPS-1.2 units) and that is already internally "ground-shunted.  So when powering the EtherREGEN with that--assuming you plug its AC cord into a grounded socket--it will not at all be necessary to attach anything to the ground terminal of the EtherREGEN.

 

The part I do not have time to get into (and we even have to decide how much to reveal) is that the both the Ethernet magnetics and the PHY chips for EtherREGEN have been carefully chosen for, among other parameters, the way they are wound and wired, such that they both preserve some isolation between ports and that they block the path of high-source-impedance leakage that might come in on any Ethernet cable from the rest of your network connections.

 

[Note that the passive isolation I refer to above is not at all related to the sophisticated active digital isolators that takes place across a full data and power "moat" before the special über-clean 100Mbps "output" port (which is where one's DAC or streamer/renderer is meant to be attached.)]

Excellent?. Thanks for the detailed explanation. I'm starting to get very excited by amount of thought and engineering you and John have put into this and I'm sure it's gonna sound amazing too ?

[Bricki]

G'day Alex @Superdad

 

Just a question about the stock SMPS

 

What will be the output voltage of the supplied SMPS? I thought the uptone branded one that comes with the lps1.2 had a 7.5v output, however I thought you said that the Etheregen would have an input voltage range of 9v-12v?

 

Unless I got my wires crossed somewhere (it's quite possible🤣)

[Bricki]

17 minutes ago, Superdad said:

Yes, wire from EtherREGEN ground screw to some AC mains ground if you are using a floating supply.

Again, this is only for possible benefit to the 'A'-side copper ports, though since we are using 12-core per port (!) magnetics, the port-to-port leakage blocking is already quite good.  A belt-and-suspenders approach here.  

And as I have said before, NOTHING makes it across the moat to the 'B'-side regardless of grounding or not.  The moat, with its active differential isolation and differential reclocking, is where all the sonic "magic" happens.

 

No special wire needed.

 

So if we are only connecting one port on the a side and one port on the b side then there is no reason to have the ground terminal grounded regardless of PSU used? 

[Bricki]

2 hours ago, BigAlMc said:

 

Apologies if this has been answered in the 130 pages now dedicated to the ER, but how do we tell if a LAN cable is shield tied or not?

 

Is this the same as JSSG / JSSG360 or Lush style cables? Or is there something else I should be looking at.

 

Alex - a locked FAQ thread or sticky might be helpful as its 130 pages so far and that's surely set to rise substantially.

 

Cheers,

Alan

Just use a multi meter and do a continuity check between your metal shielded plugs at each end. If your Ethernet cable doesn't have metal plugs then you are already fine. I checked Supra cat8 and the shield is tied to the plug at each end.... I checked my Audioquest and they are not connected. 

[Bricki]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

A general FYI, the metal shields of the Supra ethernet cables can, with some care, easily be pulled/pried/peeled of with some pliers. Do it on one side or both of course. I did this earlier this year on just one side to ‘isolate’ a device in my home office/study.

Did it make an audible difference?

[Bricki]

31 minutes ago, Dutch said:

No idea! 😁 I just did it ‘for peace of mind’ and it was just one of a number of commonsense changes (all related to grounding) I did all at once.

The reason I ask is just because I still prefer the Supra cat8... It has better layering than the Audioquest Pearl and both have a bigger soundstage than a standard no name 1 meter long $3 cat 6 cable... Not sure that I want to dismember my Supra cat8 cables 😕

[Bricki]

53 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Perhaps use some electrical tape around the connector to test first.

Good idea 😁. I might give that a try next time I get a chance 👍

[Bricki]

8 hours ago, jos said:

You can buy a half a meter here: https://www.futureshop.co.uk/supra-cat8-flame-retardant-ethernet-cable, or here: https://www.av-connection.com/?PNo=SUPCAT8-005 (quite cheap). I have this short cable from my Apple router to my ER and I just removed the golden shield at one end with a small kitchen knife quite easily.

Did you notice any audible differences after the removal?