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

[Bjorn of Sweden]

Thank you for your replies to my question.

 

Sorry for not being clear enough - my Roon Nucleus are connected to the switch, not directly to my Devialet. So I will listen to Superdad and connect the Devialet according to his recommendation. Can’t wait to get my hands on the EtherRegen😃

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Björn

[wizardofoz]

does the ER get its own IP address and if so is there any way to update its firmware or is this never going to need any updates or settings applied?

 

didn’t see any mention of anything in the QSG or UM thus far on the matter.

[Patatorz]

What means QSG and UM ?

 

thanks

[pl_svn]

Quick Start Guide and User Manual?

[octaviars]

@Superdad does the B-side port blast full power to go a full 328ft och does it sense cable length and adjust power but perhaps that is only done on gigabit network? As I asume most people will try to keep the cable rather short on B-side.

[jcn3]

6 hours ago, wizardofoz said:

does the ER get its own IP address and if so is there any way to update its firmware or is this never going to need any updates or settings applied?

 

didn’t see any mention of anything in the QSG or UM thus far on the matter.

 

the er is not a managed switch, so won't get it's own ip address.

[Superdad]

7 hours ago, wizardofoz said:

does the ER get its own IP address and if so is there any way to update its firmware or is this never going to need any updates or settings applied?

 

As @octaviars said, unmanaged switches don’t generally get assigned their own IP address. But since the Ethernet switch chip we use is capable of being a fully managed/configurable switch (we just did not set it up to be web browser accessible), there can indeed be updates. 

 

From page 2 of the User Guide:

“If required, the start-up programming and extensive register settings of the EtherREGEN’s processor can be updated by the end-user via a microUSB port located on its circuit board. Downloading a small file from UpTone and copying it to the virtual drive that appears upon attachment of a microUSB cable will easily accomplish this.”

[stevebythebay]

Begs the question: under normal circumstances, does the EtherREGEN get assigned an IP address when it boots up (assuming it’s connected to the local network which has its router running DHCP)?  And if so, can/should an IP address reservation be made for the EtherREGEN by the router?

[Superdad]

12 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

Begs the question: under normal circumstances, does the EtherREGEN get assigned an IP address when it boots up (assuming it’s connected to the local network which has its router running DHCP)?

 

No, it does not.

[stevebythebay]

So, under no circumstances will the EtherREGEN have an IP address assigned?  Reason I ask is I have a number of switches that, though they can be managed, I've reset to factory defaults, rendering them as unmanaged.  Yet they do get assigned an IP address when booting up, and connected to the local network,  However, if they are booted, but not connected to the network, they have the ability to assign an IP address to a Ethernet attached computer. 

[Superdad]

8 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

So, under no circumstances will the EtherREGEN have an IP address assigned?

 

Not that I am aware of.  I have never found an EtherREGEN on a network IP address map in my system.  And I have looked.

 

8 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

Reason I ask is I have a number of switches that, though they can be managed, I've reset to factory defaults, rendering them as unmanaged.  Yet they do get assigned an IP address when booting up, and connected to the local network,  However, if they are booted, but not connected to the network, they have the ability to assign an IP address to a Ethernet attached computer. 

 

Are you sure of that?  If the switch is unmanaged and is not set up to be a DHCP router, perhaps the IP address you see your computer get is simply a "self-assigned" one--not from the switch.

[jcn3]

1 hour ago, stevebythebay said:

So, under no circumstances will the EtherREGEN have an IP address assigned?  Reason I ask is I have a number of switches that, though they can be managed, I've reset to factory defaults, rendering them as unmanaged.  Yet they do get assigned an IP address when booting up, and connected to the local network,  However, if they are booted, but not connected to the network, they have the ability to assign an IP address to a Ethernet attached computer. 

 

Even if you have disabled functionality,  it would still be a managed switch and be assigned an ip address. 

[stevebythebay]

In the case of my Cisco 2960 what I have seen is the two following scenarios:

 

a) if the switch is not connected to any network at all, and is powered up, it first seeks to get an IP address.  When that fails (I'm assuming a TCP timeout occurs) it then comes up with a default IP address, and offers DHCP function; so anything plugged into the switch and capable of sending a DHCP request (like a computer) will receive an IP address from the switch;

 

b) if the switch is wired to a network and is then powered up it will send a request for an IP address from a DHCP server (typically a router in the network) and receive one and take that IP address on.

 

That's why I was uncertain how the EtherREGEN will behave.  If it never has an IP address that's cool.  Simplifies any sort of network troubleshooting.

[Superdad]

22 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

That's why I was uncertain how the EtherREGEN will behave.  If it never has an IP address that's cool.  Simplifies any sort of network troubleshooting.

 

Yep. The EtherREGEN never has nor ever generates any IP address. Regardless of if there are connections or not.

[JohnSwenson]

The EtherREGEN does not have an ip address, there is nothing inside that CAN be addressed. We have set it up so it is an un-managed switch to make it simple to use. It itself does not have an address, it will never ask for an address and it can never send an address to anything else.

 

It is possible to change the behavior by changing the firmware using the USB port, but that will only happen when we decide to make a change and provide the file to users. There is no way for the users to create their own modifications. This mechanism is designed for the scenario where users find an issue where it does not work in their system and we can fix it by making a change to the firmware. We are going to be very conservative in doing this, we don't want to break something for most people in order to fix an issue for one person.

 

John S.

[stevebythebay]

Thanks John.  And I'm assuming that from a trouble shooting perspective that, apart from the power supply, the LEDs are the sole means for determining whether all is well with the EtherREGEN.  That is, given no other visibility via apps or other means, right?

[JohnSwenson]

1 hour ago, stevebythebay said:

Thanks John.  And I'm assuming that from a trouble shooting perspective that, apart from the power supply, the LEDs are the sole means for determining whether all is well with the EtherREGEN.  That is, given no other visibility via apps or other means, right?

Yes, correct.  There is the one power LED and the LEDs on the RJ45 jack. The chip we are using does not have LEDs for the SFP cage so you can't tell if that is connected or not, other than sending data.

 

John S.

[octaviars]

20 hours ago, Superdad said:

As @octaviars said, unmanaged switches don’t generally get assigned their own IP address.

 

It was @jcn3 that wrote that

 

I wrote another question that you might have missed @Superdad #1762

 

"Does the B-side port blast full power to go a full 328ft och does it sense cable length and adjust power but perhaps that is only done on gigabit network? As I asume most people will try to keep the cable rather short on B-side and dont need much power to drive long cables."

 

Perhaps @JohnSwenson is the person to answer this.

[Dutch]

@octaviars, it appears you may have read the thread below in which power saving features were mentioned by Miska as a good thing for SQ. I’d like to add here that most tuning/optimization guides I’ve read for DAW’s and music servers/streamers suggest to disable power saving features of the NIC. It could as well be a good thing if these features are not enabled in the etherREGEN.

 

For me it’s almost a ‘pity’ the etherREGEN is unmanaged when it has the feature to be managed (I love to tweak a bit :)) but of course I can understand Uptone Audio’s decision here.

 

[Thmoas]

Hi,

long time follower of this thread, first post. 

I’m planning to get an etherregen, but I’m also upgrading my streamer and dac at the same time. Would you say that once I have the etherregen it’s less important to invest in a high end streamer (Auralic, sotm etc)? I listened to a very good and pricey dac and I’m wondering if I can save on the streamer. 

Thanks for all the information you put here.

thomas

[Superdad]

3 hours ago, Thmoas said:

Hi,

long time follower of this thread, first post. 

I’m planning to get an etherregen, but I’m also upgrading my streamer and dac at the same time. Would you say that once I have the etherregen it’s less important to invest in a high end streamer (Auralic, sotm etc)? I listened to a very good and pricey dac and I’m wondering if I can save on the streamer. 

Thanks for all the information you put here.

thomas

 

Hi Thomas:

Happy to see that you have singed up as a forum member and flattered that you chose to make your first post here in our forum! 

 

While it remains to be seen what hundreds of new EtherREGEN owners report once they begin receiving their switches, our goals and my experience with the product so far go like this:

 

a) The equipment upstream--servers, NAS, switches, etc.--connected to the 'A' side of the EtherREGEN will sonically matter less (by how much we really don't know yet);

 

b) The DAC-attached component on the downstream side--computer/streamer/renderer endpoint--connected to the 'B' side will matter MORE.  Because the isolation and clock-blocking of the EtherREGEN is so effective, changes on the downstream side, including power supplies, cables, the DAC, etc. will become much more obvious.

 

So in your case, where you ask about "streamer" and refer to specific brands: These are usually the DAC-attached (or in some cases--like Aurender and others--DAC-equipped) components and will be placed on the downstream side of the EtherREGEN.  So yes, those will very much matter.

 

I hope the above is helpful to you.

Best,

--Alex C.

 

 

[stevebythebay]

4 hours ago, Thmoas said:

Hi,

long time follower of this thread, first post. 

I’m planning to get an etherregen, but I’m also upgrading my streamer and dac at the same time. Would you say that once I have the etherregen it’s less important to invest in a high end streamer (Auralic, sotm etc)? I listened to a very good and pricey dac and I’m wondering if I can save on the streamer. 

Thanks for all the information you put here.

thomas

 

I would certainly wait until you have the EtherREGEN in your system before making any other changes.  That will tell you a lot about how well the EtherREGEN is doing compared to your existing router/switch.  Then audition anything you plan to install in your system before taking the plunge.  I'd include upstream and downstream devices of all kinds.  Meaning don't discount anything that might generate or pass noise into the EtherREGEN or introduce it after it leaves the A side (poor quality cables that pick up EMI/RFI or other nasties).  And do it all step-wise - one thing at a time.  Give yourself enough time to audition the changes too.  Many devices need to "settle" into place a bit.  Some more than others, though it's hard to predict.  Mostly it's your own ears that need to become accustomed  to the new sonic experience.

 

Best of luck in your adventures...

[Thmoas]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

 

The DAC-attached component on the downstream side--computer/streamer/renderer endpoint--connected to the 'B' side will matter MORE.   

 

 

Thank you Alex, it is very helpful. Even though it means I’ll have to find my way in the jungle of available streamers. And skip the Lampizator dac  I was looking at for now.

 

And thanks Steve. 

[PYP]

33 minutes ago, Thmoas said:

Thank you Alex, it is very helpful. Even though it means I’ll have to find my way in the jungle of available streamers. And skip the Lampizator dac  I was looking at for now.

 

And thanks Steve. 

 

Personally, I looked for (and bought) a DAC, that is also a Roon endpoint with an ethernet input.  In my case, that eliminated the streamer and allowed me to choose/price one piece of gear.  Perhaps that is an option that would work for you as well.  In any case, enjoy your search.  

[Thmoas]

Thanks PYP. I’ll refrain from discussing all the streamer/dac options here, don’t want to go OT on my first post 😊.