UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

mikicasellas · March 7, 2020

4 hours ago, TwinPeak said:

If you (as I am) are obsessed with female voices, you aught to listen to norwegian vocalist Kari Bremnes. Choose her 24/96 recordings when streaming or downloading. With EtherREGEN in the system, she is an absolute joy to listen to.
BTW - I have a new USB-cable connected from DAC to my Mac Mini: CAD USB-1 - and it's delivering the goods to an overwhelming degree 🙂

Thanks for sharing this magnificent discovery, INCREDIBLE both in musicality and quality of recording 👌

mikicasellas · March 7, 2020

When my ER arrived after a few good hours (200), i tried different PSUs on it and back then (December) i was using a Macmini with a NUC which was powered by a PH SR4 19V, honestly by that moment i did not find much difference even when tried my SR4 on the ER, so i left the SR4 with the NUC where it belonged bes, now i got rid of the NUC and put the SR4 to rest trying to look where to put it in my NEW scenario ( a one only PC for server/ streamer ) and after being almost fore selling the SR4, TODAY i put it behind the ER to try again wondering if with this new setup would make some change, with this server, you can hear the noticeable difference putting the SR4 on ER, im very happy !!

Don't get me wrong i was very happy with there stock Uptone PSU, it is just that now is better, bigger, meatier, clearer and less constricted

Highly recommended.

mikicasellas · April 3, 2020

On 4/2/2020 at 12:49 PM, Superdad said:

So the usually open-minded Paul McGowan (of course of PS Audio, a company I have known and respected for decades) just posted a video on YouTube (https://youtu.be/e8LSLB62R64) and in his Ask Paul VLOG (https://www.psaudio.com/askpaul/will-an-ethernet-switch-matter/), assuring viewers that Ethernet switches don't matter in the least to SQ.

This despite the fact that the are at least 40 DirectStream DAC owners enjoying the EtherREGEN, with many reporting that with it they now prefer their DAC's Bridge II Ethernet input over even its USB or even I2S inputs.

It is funny too since Paul, Bascom King, and the late Arnie Nudell all owed and enjoyed our USB REGEN at one time, and Ted Smith has written about the validity of some of @JohnSwenson's postulations regarding how PHY receiver chips are affected by ground-plane perturbations. Ted and John really hit it off at RMAF 2015--the same show where Paul had me insert a USB REGEN while a room full of people listened, and then immediately offered to buy the unit 'cause it was staying for the rest of the show.

And lots of PS Audio LANRover users reported about the benefits of powering the receive end of that USB>Ethernet>USB extender with an UltraCap power supply.

Now Paul does not specifically reference the EtherREGEN in his video, his only product reference is to the SOtM switch. And he likely has read neither the reviews of the EtherREGEN or our 'white paper.' I was tempted to just let it go, but then I was browsing his other recent videos and came across this one (https://www.psaudio.com/askpaul/can-we-hear-what-is-not-measurable/) where he too puts forth that there are many variables which humans are able to hear but for which the correct correlation test or test gear does not yet exist.

If I was not so swamped with work (15 more JS-2s and 40 more EtherREGENs to build and ship out by April 15th!) I would take the time to compose a polite reply and an offer to send him a unit to audition for himself. Maybe sometime later. But perhaps a few of you EtherREGEN (and maybe DS DAC-owning) users might wish to offer a counter perspective in the comments section of either the YouTube or AskPaul video postings.

Send Paul one ER to try it, that will be the most elegant way to shuzz him

mikicasellas · April 11, 2020

This is to share:

I changed the fuse that came with my PH SR4 which is powering my ER with a HiFi SUPREME Cu SLOW SMALL 1A Fuse that i had on the cellar...

All i can say OH MY GOD, i really can't understand how could this be....the fuse ?

mikicasellas · November 13, 2020

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

PRODUCTION AND MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES:

Some here may have noticed that I have not been posting as much lately. That's because these past few months have our busiest ever. Thanks to you all!

Just last week subscribers of the print edition of The Absolute Sound received their December issue--in which appears a terrific multi-page review of EtherREGEN, written by none other than @Puma Cat (aka Stephen Scharf). As if the backlog of e-mail inquires was not already crushing, the has been a new wave into my inbox from TAS readers.

@JohnSwensonhas been working hard on the prototypes for several new projects we are collaborating on (not Ethernet products, so nothing that will supersede your EtherREGENs) and making good progress.

Yet most all my time has been focused on production, shipment and support of our current products.

While the sheer quantity of new orders--for nearly every model--have be daunting, we continue to keep up and generally are managing to ship everyone's orders about a week ahead of scheduled/promised dates. For example, all the EtherREGEN units promised for shipment by November 19th left here yesterday, November 12. And assuming FedEx does not delay delivery of EtherREGEN and ISO REGEN cases past this coming Monday, we will easily get out all the November 24th-promised goods by the 20th.

Below are some recent photos of the shop and production. JS-2s are labor intensive so it has not been easy to continue weaving 25 every 6 weeks alongside EtherREGEN production of hundreds. (Neither a larger space nor more staffing are possible during the pandemic.)

I did finally decide to retire our 2001 AWD minivan--with 280,000 miles and a wildly unbalanced drive-shaft. Plane travel is not appealing anymore (actually never was for me), and although my wife and I used to enjoy camping we are at the age where a bed and bathroom are desirable. So we are buying a small travel trailer. I never saw myself buying a truck (I thought a Tesla Model Y was going to the first new car I ever bought), but that's where we ended up--for towing the new trailer. I refused to buy a planet-choking V8, and wanted something that felt like more like driving a car. So the independent rear suspension V6 Honda Ridgeline is where I ended up. Fun, sporty, and holds a lot of stuff! (Yes, that in-bed truck is large enough to discreetly move a body; our 19 year old son proved that by fitting himself in! ) In the mountains we'll be towing slowly but that's okay.

This is a tragic time worldwide with Covid19 rising. I am thankful for having our sons safe at home with us (in a county with few cases) and for the stability afforded us by the success of UpTone (my wife's non-profit environmental education organization has been in "hibernation" mode for most of the year; its survival uncertain). Still we feel awful for all that is happening--so we try to help by making donations, both domestically and internationally.

Wishing everyone well,

--Alex C.