UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

[Nikko1960]

How could I not order one today after reading 15 pages of glowing reviews (and one meh)?  Hopefully I have made it into the third batch.

 

Regards to all and enjoy the music!

[Nikko1960]

I just got home to the UK from a trip to Orlando where my ER unit was waiting for me at my hotel, courtesy of Alex.  It's been in my system for an hour and the improvement is not even subtle.  So much more detail is produced than before, timing is better, sound is more organic.

 

Thanks John & Alex. You really knocked one out of the park with this product.

 

Nick

[Nikko1960]

Dear 1½ - I don’t know about your setup because I haven’t been keeping up. But I found that oversampling in HQ Player had a dramatic effect on my system, taming the digital artefacts that manifested themselves as pre/post ringing and treble harshness. I have a DAC that accepts DSD128 so that it what I am upsampling to. Hope this helps, Nikko

[Nikko1960]

5 hours ago, Gr8tful said:

Wow, 54 pages deep on this thread. I'm a little late to the party. My etherregen is hours old. I can report a major upgrade in soundstage layering, width and depth. More 3D. The transient decay can be beautiful. A reduction in harshness and brittleness to the point of satisfaction. I can rock Led Zeppelin albums again. But, it didn't fix the problem that has vexed me for so long. I have a problem with high frequency metal percussion. High frequency cymbals and the like get distorted in time. I stream through roon, DSD, MQA, FLAC, NOS, OS, same problem. Have tried filter, after filter, after filter. Seems album dependent. Do you guys hear high frequency metal percussion junk on these tracks? Ahmad Jamal, Ahmad Jamal's Alhambram (live): Sweet and Lovely? Or Duo Brothers, Cookie Stars: Cookie Stars? Or Hadouk Trio, Utopies: Suave Corridor? HELP!

 

Qnap NAS (roon)>>Asus Lyra Mesh>>EtherRegen>>Mytek Brooklyn Bridge>>Parasound JC5>>Magnepan 1.7i

Power Conditioning: Emotiva cmx-2, Furman P-1800 PFR

Cables: Mytek BB: audioquest water xlr and NRG Z3 ac power cord

             JC5: Furutech FP-S55N w/ FI-48 connectors ac power cord

             Ethernet: DH Labs Reunion Cat8 w/ Linkup Cat8 Connectors 

             Magnepan 1.7i: Audioquest rocket 11 w/ AQ psc jumpers

 

Gr8tful to be an audiophile, and in a place measuring doesn't equate to science. Sheesh. Cheers!

 

LOL, if you are liking the ER, then you need to add the AfterDark clock (see their forum).  I did and it takes the sound to a whole other level.  I bought the Queen version with the matching LPSU, and my only regret was not ordering the Emperor version.  It's that good.

 

I also bought a used UltraCap v1.2 off EBay to power the ER, and that brings a less substantial but nevertheless noticeable improvement.

[Nikko1960]

3 minutes ago, watts said:

 

Are the current EtherRegens's the same, or have you had to revise some of the parts based on this issue? 

 

 

They are all the same.  The nice thing about them is that you can add an external clock at a later date and get another huge uplift to SQ.  I bought an Afterdark OCXO clock and matching LPU from Adrian (see his paid forum on this site).  I got the Emperor Crown SE version and am really, really happy with it and the ER combo.

[Nikko1960]

28 minutes ago, LewinskiH01 said:

 

Trying an Afterdark clock might be down the road, but have other audio priorities before going there. Fiber in between eR is interesting for potentially blocking leakage current from SMPS upstream, per John's earlier comments. Another LPS for eR1 (or ISO Regen back in the chain?) would come before the better clock.

 

 

In my experience, adding a mid-range AD clock (with AD LPSU and top-of-the-range AD clock cable) made as much improvement as adding the ER in the first place.  It is not trivial nor subtle.

[Nikko1960]

6 hours ago, LewinskiH01 said:

Thanks for the input!

Which clock and PSU would you recommend? AD has a "Queen - Square Wave EtherRegen SE" for about $750. Would that be it? And have to add a PSU?

 

I actually started out with the Queen (I was a bit of a sceptic and didn't want to splurge on an expensive one).  After six months, I contacted Adrian and he was kind enough to offer me 100% trade-in value against the Emperor Crown SE which is what I have now.  Another major upgrade.  I may end up selling it onto a pal and going for the top of the range.

 

Yes, you need to power it with an LPSU.  I have the basic AD unit and it's fine.

 

I told my pal that, IMHO, the ER is simply a vehicle to introduce a really good clock into the digital stream.  I couldn't be happier.

[Nikko1960]

1 hour ago, chungjh said:

Have you tried adding a second ER on top of the first ER+clock?

 

LOL - I have run out of room on my rack.  And, in any case, I think I would upgrade the clock (again) as the next step.

[Nikko1960]

Agree 100% on the ER.  I added a mid-spec AfterDark clock with their matching LPSU.  Made a great product significantly better.  I suspect we may see a future ER with a premium clock.

 

If in doubt, put your toe in.  The water is fine.

 

Nikko