UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

[Vule]

Europeans / January batch

 

Has anyone received Tracking number yet ???

[Superdad]

6 hours ago, Vule said:

Europeans / January batch

Has anyone received Tracking number yet ???

 

All January international orders will be shipping about 12 hours from now. These last 85 units will complete our ahead-of-schedule fulfillment of all January-promised orders. 

While creating the commercial invoices for these shipments I noticed a lot of familiar names—people who have purchased UpTone products in the past.  We are grateful for your repeat business and appreciate your patience. Many of these orders were placed as far back as October, in the week following the launch.  A bunch of Australian orders we even from launch day as the time difference was not kind to those folks.

Looking forward to a whole new wave of happy EtherREGEN users!

Thanks and regards,

—Alex C.

[LewinskiH01]

Alex,

 

What's your best estimation for delivery date of new orders (placed now)? Mid Feb? For delivery in the US.

 

Regards,

Horacio 

[Albrecht]

On 1/13/2020 at 10:12 AM, nonesup said:

In the month of March (and when I was thinking of updating my AQVox to the SE version), it will be two years since Alex made t

 

 1.- If you have a normal Switch or an AQVox, changing it to an ER produces an increase in the SQ?  The answer is a big YES, even if you use the Uptone SMPS and even better with a good LPS.  Which shows that that pit or ADIM as Uptone calls it, is doing a great job.

 
 Is it worth the ER?  Absolutely and for $ 650 it seems the biggest "bargain" in history.

Hi, Thanks for you post and your experiences. I am trying to see how I can make the etherRegen work with Fiber and my future opticalRendu. For those folks running Fiber, - i am trying to figure how the etherRegen could work. With that "B" port being 100mb....

[Superdad]

5 minutes ago, Albrecht said:

I am trying to see how I can make the etherRegen work with Fiber and my future opticalRendu. For those folks running Fiber, - i am trying to figure how the etherRegen could work. With that "B" port being 100mb....

 

Hi:

If you search this thread you will find that there are quite a few people using the EtherREGEN to feed the Sonore opticalRendu--and reporting terrific results.

We went to extra effort and expense--making the reclocking and power networks symmetrical on both sides of the moat--specifically so that going B>A would perform the same as A>B, so that the SFP/optical would  be excellent output for opticalRendu (and any other optical-input renderers/DACs that might be produced). 

[Albrecht]

6 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Hi:

If you search this thread you will find that there are quite a few people using the EtherREGEN to feed the Sonore opticalRendu--and reporting terrific results.

We went to extra effort and expense--making the reclocking and power networks symmetrical on both sides of the moat--specifically so that going B>A would perform the same as A>B, so that the SFP/optical would  be excellent output for opticalRendu (and any other optical-input renderers/DACs that might be produced). 

Thanks much Super... but.... What about my TV, bluRay, NAS, Airport Express on the "A" side will all be running at the lower 100mb bandwidth from the "B," side "input."

[Superdad]

8 hours ago, LewinskiH01 said:

What's your best estimation for delivery date of new orders (placed now)? Mid Feb? For delivery in the US.

 

This is the wrong thread for such updates, but it's my fault for posting the January status update above. Still I'll answer briefly:

 

Another 225 EtherREGEN circuit boards arrive the end of this week (and another 275 after that in a few weeks). But aluminum cases for February shipments won't ship from our supplier until February 14th (hopefully sooner).  We'll program, test, and attach the heatsinks to the boards in advance, so once the cases arrive it won't take long to assemble, package, and prepare shipments. So realistically I think we are looking at the week of February 24th. Certainly not later, and possibly earlier. 

[Superdad]

3 minutes ago, Albrecht said:

Thanks much Super... but.... What about my TV, bluRay, NAS, Airport Express on the "A" side will all be running at the lower 100mb bandwidth from the "B," side "input."

 

A couple of things in the instance of using the 'A'-side SFP cage as "output" to your renderer (opticalRendu):

1) It is best to not use the other Gigabit 'A'-side RJ45 ports for other devices--so that you keep the complete isolation/clocking pure to your endpoint;

2) For the other upstream devices you mention, it will be best to keep those on another switch--ahead of the EtherREGEN--and then just feed one copper connection from that switch to the EtherREGEN's 'B'-port.

So for your use, you will just use the EtherREGEN as a highly isolated, dual-clock-domain FMC: copper in, fiber out.  Bandwidth will not at all be an issue. People are using EtherREGEN (with its 100Mbps 'B'-port) with DSD512 and 4K video.

[xrqp]

With etherregen, is networked audio now equal SQ to a player with internal hard drive playing directly without network?

 

I have an Auralic Aries G2 player with internal hard drive.  With Auralic's own player app I can play from the internal hard drive and avoid network noise.  I was hoping to use Roon, which requires me to flow audio over the network to play on the G2, regardless if it is from internal hard drive.  Right now my network only has cheap equipment and the internal drive sounds better direct, than with Roon over network.  Would etherregen make Roon sound nearly equally good?

[kelvinwsy]

Our personal experiences with our own systems are all different. 

1. I have the Clones Audio SHAAR USB card with OCXO clock and direct outboard DC linear psu input. 

2. Reasonably optimized HQPlayer PC. 

3. Uptone Audio IsoRegen with Supercap LPS1 PSU.

4. Music source from onboard SSD with power from outboard Linear PSU.

 

The music SQ cannot compare with that from a networked solution from the same HQPlayer Server played through a ASUS AC-86 to a Netgear GS105 switch and ending at a SOTM Ultra Neo Ethernet endpoint. .

My Etherregen is coming with the January batch. So SQ should enjoy another jump.

 

Of course in your case  a Auralic Aries G2 player may sound better than a DIY Music server but in my case the source PC/Server is the same. So the comparison is still valid in many ways. You should try a network solution using a double switch set up ( in my case it is a ASUS AC-86 then a Netgear GS105 to a SOTM Ultra Neo Endpoint - optimize the psus = drop all the Switching Wall wart and use Linear PSUs throughtout; hack all your ethernet cables before you go Ether Regen. 

Or just buy it - it is really good value at its price.

See my post on Headfi.org below.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ethernet-cables-worth-to-buy-more-expensive-ones.913239/#post-15417347 

[xrqp]

If etherregen makes networked audio sound as good as internal hard drive, I would buy it.  Can it do that if my ethernet cable, router, and switches are all typical cheap type? 

[stevebythebay]

2 minutes ago, xrqp said:

If etherregen makes networked audio sound as good as internal hard drive, I would buy it.  Can it do that if my ethernet cable, router, and switches are all typical cheap type? 

If, as you indicated, you're considering using Roon as your library manager for music, you'll need a Roon server to run the Roon Core.  Roon Core uses its own Ethernet based protocol (RAAT) which runs over a network (Ethernet wired or WiFi) to Roon Ready end-points, of which the Auralic Aries G2 is one.  So, ideally, the B side connection from the EtherREGEN would be wired to your Auralic.  The A side would support other Ethernet attached devices, including other Ethernet switches or routers (which have ports), or NAS devices, and, of course, whatever you use to run a Roon Core (Intel NUC or Roon's own Nucleus hardware).  How you choose to continue to utilize your remaining network gear is up to you. 

 

Personally, I'm using a USB attached hard drive to my Roon Core server as I found running a NAS in the same room as my audio system too noisy.  Found a WD drive sufficient in size to handle my library of music and so quiet I cannot hear it making a sound unless I'm a few inches away.

[LowMidHigh]

14 minutes ago, xrqp said:

If etherregen makes networked audio sound as good as internal hard drive, I would buy it.  Can it do that if my ethernet cable, router, and switches are all typical cheap type? 

 

I own a G2. 

 

First, know that the internal HD is the most noisy setup of all. The owner of Aurelic has a simple explanation to it, which you can look up on the company's forum. 

 

BTW, the cleanest solution is an SSD connected directly to your router. 

 

The ER has made a profound difference in my setup. The B side is connected to the G2, and the sound is phenomenal. I primarily stream off SoundCloud, and the chief detriment to SQ is poor mixing. However, when the mastering is good I can cry from joy. 

 

I use DIY cables and a NetGear router. And no, I don't believe expensive cables can make the slightest difference, although another switch in between might bump things up. 

[Superdad]

FYI: Further production update and pics posted here...

 

[so-no-mah]

For me, after introducing the Ether REGEN between my router and my Roon Nucleus+ with internal SSD holding my music library, I have become agnostic as to whether I play tracks from Tidal or the SSD.... 

[Nicoben45]

And what about playing files or streaming if you place the Etherregen between your roon Nucleus and Streamer?... The goal is to make a step up in SQ with both tidal AND Nucleus (that is not the perfectly silent music server).

[xrqp]

In post 718 I wrote "the internal drive sounds better direct, than with Roon over network".  I take that back.  More careful testing tonight shows I can not hear a significant difference.  But maybe an etherregen would beat both ways.  

 

Thanks to LowMidHigh and so-no-mah for your comments.

[Ponkbutler]

Similar setup here and there was a step up in SQ for both with the ER. I find Nucleus+ internal SSD stored tracks vs Quobuz on an even playing field. Also a good broadcast quality Belden CatSnake (preferably Cat 6a in my system) sounds better than any of the much more expensive cables I have tried. You can get this from DesignaCable in the UK or Ghent Audio over the channel. Second best in my system was the Blue Jeans Cat6a.

[russellbobby]

7 hours ago, so-no-mah said:

For me, after introducing the Ether REGEN between my router and my Roon Nucleus+ with internal SSD holding my music library, I have become agnostic as to whether I play tracks from Tidal or the SSD.... 

I have the same findings. In fact it may be surpassing the local files played off an attached 1 tb hdd usb attached hard drive to my Cary DMS 600

if I attached the usb hdd to a router and then to the ER would I get the same benefit as the streamed files from Tidal? Sorry for my ignorance. 

Russ

[HumanMedia]

Just a quickie, finally plugged something else into the A side. Hooked in my Apple TV 4K which feeds my AV system. Didn’t notice any video improvement, but the audio is definitely smoother. It’s had a roughness that iv e noticed since upgrading my receiver 12 months ago. Now noticeably smoother sounding.

[brightonjel]

Just to pile-on and add another view ... ER plugged in for two days to warm up.  Only listened via headphones so far, but my take was similar to that proffered by other posters.  Plucked instruments (e.g. bass, guitar, etc.) had better defined leading edges and the overall separation of each musical component was more distinct.  In addition (or perhaps because of), the musical drive each track exhibited was more evident.  Will look forward to hearing again via speakers over the weekend but am happy so far with the upgrade, even at this early stage.

 

---------------------

System summary: Mac mini running HQP and Roon with single Ethernet cable to ER (A-side with one other port connected to rest of home network). B-side to uRendu with LPS 1.2 and then USB to DAC.  Headphones are Sennheiser 650s into Musical Fidelity X3 with separate PSU.  Before/after comparison done against el cheapo D-Link network switch.

[elan120]

On 1/9/2020 at 10:41 AM, elan120 said:

Good to know regardless.  I will post my impression once I get to install the JCAT card in my server.  I have the ER running in my system for a while now, it will be interesting to hear what improvement can be gained by adding JCAT card.

As a follow up on the impression from adding JCAT Net Card FEMTO to the chain, the short version is, it is absolutely improved the SQ by a clear margin.

 

I installed the card earlier today, and have been doing burn-in for few hours, although longer burn-in time is needed still, but I am very happy with the result already, and really think it is a good compliment to EtherRegen.

[Cable Monkey]

1 hour ago, elan120 said:

As a follow up on the impression from adding JCAT Net Card FEMTO to the chain, the short version is, it is absolutely improved the SQ by a clear margin.

 

I installed the card earlier today, and have been doing burn-in for few hours, although longer burn-in time is needed still, but I am very happy with the result already, and really think it is a good compliment to EtherRegen.

Couldn’t have put it better myself. I see my Jcat card and EtherREGEN as complimentary. 

[afrancois]

This is only the third song that is playing with the ER in the chain and already feel compelled to express my joy.

To be honest I had been wondering if the ER would bring anything to my system, because I consider it already highly isolated. Luckily there was nothing to be worried about. While I'm burning in the ER and while it's connected still in front of my AQVOX, I already hear a very obvious improvement. I will replace the AQVOX with the ER in a few days after I have done some other tests with transducers.

The anticipation had been high and this is a VERY nice birthday present. The unit was sent by Uptone on my birthday 🙂

Further listening impressions will follow. Back to the listening couch now...

[Superdad]

9 minutes ago, afrancois said:

While I'm burning in the ER and while it's connected still in front of my AQVOX, I already hear a very obvious improvement. I will replace the AQVOX with the ER in a few days after I have done some other tests with transducers.

The anticipation had been high and this is a VERY nice birthday present. The unit was sent by Uptone on my birthday 🙂

Further listening impressions will follow. Back to the listening couch now...

 

Well Happy Birthday Alain!