UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

[Iving]

I was going to wait till I had trialled my ER right down the road before posting.

Arrived in the UK 30 mins ago. Amazing FedEx speed.

Worked in my system straight out of the box: PC > Cisco > ER > RedNet D16 AES > DAC.

Within next to no time I realised this is a serious audiophile device. There is no doubt about it. I promise you [Amir et al] I am one of the least suggestible people you may ever meet.

There is a slight hardness I will attribute to the ER being cold - literally and also in the sense of no cook time - plus I am using a couple of cheapo unused ethernet cables just to test / warm up instead of my preferred heavily shielded AQ Cinnamons which will require re-moulding before use.

I am going to say that I can hear improvements all round.

I can hear more - and the greater detail I can hear is pure - not artificial or rough - not attributable to noise artefacts.

Yes - I notice it in the tight and more transparent bass.

But also all around voices and instruments.

The music is clean and has edges. I mean edges in the positive sense. More definition.

I emphasise. This is an audiophile device punching above its weight. Many congratulations to Alex and John. You've done a great job.

I'm going to let the ER bake over the weekend. Next week I'll finish the cable etc engineering I want to do hoping for no hiccoughs. None immediately to my great relief.

Very impressed. This is atypical Hi-Fi progress. All this from a switch. Who'd have thought.

Thanks - I'm impressed as you may tell.

 

P.S. I don't play music streamed from the internet - local flac on PC/Optane only.

P.P.S. I forgot to mention foot-tapping is enhanced.

P.P.P.S. Less volume required on pre-amp.

 

Ok I'll stop now

[Iving]

Going back to listen after 24 hours cooking overnight, the first thing I noticed was a silkiness - then astonishing detail.

 

Something was not quite right - and I found that I had to re-"trial-and-error" my shunts to balance the sound again. What I am saying (in line with recent posts) is that the EtherREGEN seems to change the audiophile rulebook somewhat. I wouldn't have expected to have had to change shunts in my system accompanying inclusion of the ER.

 

Another unexpected finding: I think, but am not sure yet, that whereas, prior to ER, inclusion of a Cisco switch between my PC and RedNet D16 AES improved SQ, and I assumed that it would remain - as in PC > Cisco > ER > D16 AES > DAC, today I think I prefer SQ without the Cisco. The ER seems encumbered by it. It's as if the ER is unleashed when the Cisco is removed: PC > ER > D16 AES > DAC.

 

Confounded with trying out such permutations is cable use. I can't reconfigure my shielded AQs willy nilly. I am no longer convinced (as I assumed I would be) that these are better than "cheapos" and need to do more listening to be sure. Another rulebook question mark.

 

Another "anomaly" - I need less (pre-amp) volume to listen with satisfaction - but the system will sound correct at much higher (pre-amp) volumes than before.

 

I can imagine that "upstream factors matter less and downstream more" - and that our spending decisions will be affected accordingly. Another rulebook vagary. (omg did I find myself thinking about "hearing" my power amps)

 

I am listening to PC > ER > D16 AES > DAC now and the SQ is phenomenal. Deep, open, clean, detailed. I was impressed immediately as I posted yesterday. Today better. When I have finished trying things out, and the ER is more or less fully roasted, I'm sure I shall be very happy and just want to listen to music a great deal more.

 

This is one hell of an audiophile bang-for-buck. Am I the first to be brave enough to suggest that the EtherREGEN is significantly under-priced? (Easy for me to say being a first batch beneficiary 🙂)

[Iving]

1 minute ago, wwc said:

There's a lot of talk about cooking the eR.   I sounds like most are experiencing changes with time.  Alex and John, is this what you expect with this tech in a switch?

 

And in cooking referring to simply powered up or actually running data through the eR into the dac?

power up = toast

data throughput = welsh rarebit

[Iving]

12 minutes ago, Theobetley said:

What do you mean by your shunts? Btw nice review.

 

ty

By shunts I mean devices for shuffling electron paths - e.g. iFi AC iPurifiers and/or IsoTek Isoplugs. I have quite a few of them. I find that trial and error around my system (which includes IsoTek components such as Titan/Sirius/Mira/Sub) makes a great deal of difference, and the right permutation can minimise unwanted digital edge. This applies no matter how good my system gets. Power management (noise mitigation) counts for so much in digital systems. (Vinyl / analogue is another matter - to oversimplify vinyl is never offensive you just want more rock 'n' roll.) Shunts are just another way of teasing electrons into optimised paths and streams - or so it seems. Of course they have a mind of their own and I have to keep chasing their tails.

[Iving]

5 hours ago, Iving said:

Going back to listen after 24 hours cooking overnight, the first thing I noticed was a silkiness - then astonishing detail.

 

Something was not quite right - and I found that I had to re-"trial-and-error" my shunts to balance the sound again. What I am saying (in line with recent posts) is that the EtherREGEN seems to change the audiophile rulebook somewhat. I wouldn't have expected to have had to change shunts in my system accompanying inclusion of the ER.

 

Another unexpected finding: I think, but am not sure yet, that whereas, prior to ER, inclusion of a Cisco switch between my PC and RedNet D16 AES improved SQ, and I assumed that it would remain - as in PC > Cisco > ER > D16 AES > DAC, today I think I prefer SQ without the Cisco. The ER seems encumbered by it. It's as if the ER is unleashed when the Cisco is removed: PC > ER > D16 AES > DAC.

 

Confounded with trying out such permutations is cable use. I can't reconfigure my shielded AQs willy nilly. I am no longer convinced (as I assumed I would be) that these are better than "cheapos" and need to do more listening to be sure. Another rulebook question mark.

 

Another "anomaly" - I need less (pre-amp) volume to listen with satisfaction - but the system will sound correct at much higher (pre-amp) volumes than before.

 

I can imagine that "upstream factors matter less and downstream more" - and that our spending decisions will be affected accordingly. Another rulebook vagary. (omg did I find myself thinking about "hearing" my power amps)

 

I am listening to PC > ER > D16 AES > DAC now and the SQ is phenomenal. Deep, open, clean, detailed. I was impressed immediately as I posted yesterday. Today better. When I have finished trying things out, and the ER is more or less fully roasted, I'm sure I shall be very happy and just want to listen to music a great deal more.

 

This is one hell of an audiophile bang-for-buck. Am I the first to be brave enough to suggest that the EtherREGEN is significantly under-priced? (Easy for me to say being a first batch beneficiary 🙂)

 

... quoting my own post earlier this evening since fwiw a qualifying and potentially helpful update ...

 

The EtherREGEN is a funny device.

 

The "upstream matters less downstream matters more" principle *is especially applicable to ethernet cables*!

 

Earlier, I was playing with a permutation of Cisco switch Y/N and my shielded AQs vs. cheapos. Three ethernet cables needed all told.

 

All the effects I experienced then - and the one I am reporting now - are explained by a single main factor. That is mainly why I post again.

 

It is the ethernet cable *after* the EtherREGEN that matters.

 

I found a "hang up my tweaking boots" sweet spot with the Cisco engaged and also my shielded AQs *provided I did not use a shielded AQ after the EtherREGEN*. Instead I used this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50cmUltra-Flat-CAT-7-10-Gigabit-Ethernet-Cable-Modem-Router-RJ45-For-LAN-Network/252342837198 (which I bought on a whim 18 months ago - and you may notice it has metal plugs but that doesn't seem to matter). The difference was seismic. Before shut in. After - now I have everything.

 

Detail. Open. Deep. I say again Deep! Not just soundstage - but solid, massive, thud and slam. Clarity across the frequency range and my favourite instruments are naked in all their glory - like Wayne Gray's telecaster (must be, surely - or an early derivative - but not a Broadcaster - was it a slabcaster or something) on Buck Trail's "Knocked Out Joint On Mars". Most of all - above everything - what makes it a sweet spot - no digital edge. I'm not going to say like vinyl. But I will say I could listen to this system forever and just enjoy the mojo.

 

(I noticed that ER volume ceiling effect more with the second cable too - can't figure that out in under a minute.)

 

I haven't had a drink ...

 

... but I do need a lie down.

[Iving]

AQ advised me they tie their ethernet cables at the destination end only. They didn't qualify wrt range.

 

Mine are Cinnamons. I added a great deal of extra shielding but did not alter the manuf. terminals. May I refer my recent posts.

 

What I have just posted is that the cheapo I linked cured my system *post-ER* contrast my shielded AQ Cinnamon.

 

The cheapo I linked is STP and may be tied both ends / metal plugs! 

 

I guess it's trial and error for all of us. Effects are system dependent. But I am excited because the post-ER cable swap made such a difference - that is the point. If my cheapo is good in other systems that would be even more interesting.

 

I hope you get your ER soon and your music is enhanced. It's a truly great audiophile product.

[Iving]

4 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

I hope nobody is saying that.

 

One thing I do want to point out is what I wrote for the last paragraph of page 7 (the "Regarding Ethernet cables page") of the User Guide:

 

The ‘B’ side of the EtherREGEN is neither susceptible, nor can it become part of, ANY leakage loops. The ‘B’ side circuitry and port exist on their own entirely isolated power and ground domain. [Only the External clock BNC ground is common to the ‘B’-side ground-plane.] So if you have a fancy metal-shell shield-tied Ethernet cable, go ahead and use it on the ‘B’ side port for connection your DAC-attached streamer/renderer endpoint. This is the connection that matters most when using an EtherREGEN anyway: If you are going to hear a difference with an Ethernet cable, it will more likely be with the ‘B’-side cable. This is also a good one to keep short.

Brilliant

Consistent

[Iving]

Reportworthy that I'm getting an incredibly clean sound today. The ER's been on 120 hours. I haven't changed anything since yesterday. Today there's a very pure corridor of sound right down the middle of my speakers. The balance has shifted away from "weighty". The bass is still there but it's as if the mid-range has settled down to something quite pure. As if the local factories (there aren't many!) have shut down for the day. Or as if I've daisy-chained two ERs (which I have no intention of doing!) since the effect is really quite notable. Anyway - a major "cooking" threshold or so it seems to me. No tweaking for a while.

 

[Iving]

190 hours in and sounding better than ever.

*Post* ER cable vital - now that the ER's baked I've swapped back to an unadulterated AQ Cinnamon [STP tied destination end only] which has the best balance, depth and tone (a cheapo with plastic plugs [UTP] has balance and tone but sounds rough - the 50cm flat Cat 7 [STP metal plugs tied both ends] I favoured earlier is solid but too bright now).

I keep shaking my head sideways, awestruck. Have you ever seen on Youtube that guy "Fil from Wings of Pegasus" analysing guitar performances. Well that's me with my EtherREGEN 😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3wWLi8IP2Y

 

 

[Iving]

15 minutes ago, Superdad said:

It’s all WAY over my head though. 

So I hope nobody actually expects an UpTone muonREGENerator! Unless John can both build one and explain it to me… 

 

If you managed it anyway, we'd still need a "difficulties and experiments" thread. You know - to discuss muon-stabiliser power supplies, neutrino-inhibiting cables - and a replacement hadron clock. (Not to mention the antimuon thread you-know-where.)

[Iving]

2 hours ago, TimF said:

 I own an Er and have done for some time. Is powered by Sean Jacobs DC3. Can’t hear any improvements with it in. Maybe v2 will be better. 

 

Why have you kept it in your system for "some time" if you "can't hear any improvements with it in".

[Iving]

Just now, TimF said:

Because I like the comfort factor, I have just left it there along with mains cables and fuses. I like to experiment with things that people recommend. I hope this doesn’t offend you. 

 

Mortally offended

[Iving]

1 hour ago, TimF said:

Maybe, although I do have a £1000+ psu on it, good cables and a decent system. Who knows!?

 

That's a lot of power supply on a null component ... would you post your "decent system"? Not on your profile.

 

My eR is in an offline system - between PC and RedNet DDC - serving as both noise mitigator and optical/copper switch. I was one of the first to own an eR. Have always been able to hear a good delta even in primitive configs. of my system. I have a Farad Super3 12V on my eR. I just wouldn't be without it.

 

afaik production of the original eR was thwarted by parts shortages. So it will be interesting to read "listening impressions" of the eventual v2 - particularly whether it is better than v1.

[Iving]

23 minutes ago, GoodEnough said:

I've just had great success feeding fiber into the ER.  The step-up in SQ was very significant.

 

I do appreciate that the ER is galvanic, and as such it shouldn't really matter how clean the input signal is.  I did however hear improvements when I upgraded the A-side ethernet cable from Supra to Wireworld, so thought I'd give fiber a go.

 

+1

 

In my offline Dante/Rednet system, isolation of the PC was much more effective with optical > A side eR.

 

What's more, no doubt that a good power supply on eR (Farad Super3 12V) improved SQ stepwise again.

[Iving]

26 minutes ago, GoodEnough said:

iFi iPower Elite ... should be in Farad's ballpark

 

tbh probably not

 

Plenty of discussion on this Forum re PS for eR. Could start here: