UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

[Flashman]

I’ve been using a dual-LPS Keces P8 with one side feeding a Roon Nucleus with 19V and the other side feeding the eR with 12V (drawing .8 amps).  Works well.  Never tried the stock SPS so I can’t comment on differences.  Also, as the Keces P8 has a floating power design, I’ve grounded the eR per the manual.

[MGTTR]

2 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Technically it should be fine Mr. Fine.   At 7V the EtherREGEN draws about 1.3A, so that's just 9.1W.  But Andrew gets those little supplies from China and I've measured a bunch of similar small Chinese LPS units that were not able to deliver anywhere near their rated current. So you can give it a try, but do keep an eye on it. And if you have any trouble, switch back. 

 

 

First time poster here.  Something else to keep in mind about the SGC supply (I have one) is that they are floating (negative line out not grounded to the AC ground).  So the ground connection on the EtherREGEN should be used to correct this.  As you can see in this picture of the innards of my power supply, the ground pin on the IEC connector isn't even connected to anything!

 

Jerry

[Superdad]

12 minutes ago, MGTTR said:

First time poster here.  Something else to keep in mind about the SGC supply (I have one) is that they are floating (negative line out not grounded to the AC ground).  So the ground connection on the EtherREGEN should be used to correct this.  As you can see in this picture of the innards of my power supply, the ground pin on the IEC connector isn't even connected to anything!

Welcome to AS Jerry.

 

Uh, that Zerozone/SGC supply is a safety hazard if not mains-grounded!

[MGTTR]

13 minutes ago, Superdad said:

Welcome to AS Jerry.

 

Uh, that Zerozone/SGC supply is a safety hazard if not mains-grounded!

 

I bet the Chinese are not overly concerned about things like that!  Other than that little detail, the supply is neatly constructed with excellent fit and finish on the case.  Appears to be a rather simplistic circuit however, just judging from the parts count.

 

Jerry

[Sfine0]

Thank you all for the input on the power supply. And for the pun on my last name “FINE”. When my wife was in medical school her fellow med students (guys of course) would follow her down the hall yelling “ doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard”. For those of us not old enough, that was a running joke about the three stooges. It was left to me to have to explain the reference. She was not amused, but I was.

[MikePid]

I tried the SGC 7V 15W that I used for my ultraRendu (until I upgraded to the Sonore LPS) and it sounds wonderful!  However it runs hot and starts to cause drop-outs after a couple of hours (likely due to heat).  Until I decide on which other LPS to get (e.g. SGC 50W, Farad3, Paul Hynes, etc.) I turn it on only when I want to do some serious listening for 1-2 hours, and use the stock SMPS the rest of the time. 

[Jud]

Sorry to hear, Alex. I'm sure the stories are very similar world wide. Had to cancel a trip to visit my brother and attend the wedding of the son of great friends of 40 years. And yes, having music is a tremendous comfort. (So, here, is having lots of open space to take long walks with the dog and no one else around.) Everyone stay safe and healthy.

[simon_pepper]

2 hours ago, Superdad said:

Welcome to AS Jerry.

 

Uh, that Zerozone/SGC supply is a safety hazard if not mains-grounded!

I use these supplies on my NAS, NUC, RPi, switches (3 including the EtherREGEN) without issue.
 

There is a Ground connection from the EtherREGEN to the earth connection on the Russ Andrews Mains block, but this was only recently applied.

[Pokey77]

I've had my ER for two weeks and it really makes a very significant difference though I am also hearing that it has not quite settled in yet. So I will wait another week or two before commenting. It is safe to say though that it will not be coming out or being sent back to Uptone. The SQ gains are across the board. In the mean time, I'm learning about power supplies, cables, etc.

 

(put my system in my profile but it is not displaying; not sure why.)

[jcn3]

8 hours ago, Pokey77 said:

 

(put my system in my profile but it is not displaying; not sure why.)

 

You just need to put the info in the "signature" - that's what shows up below posts. 

[Pokey77]

@jcn3

 

Thanks, I didn't realize it was under settings. Had put it in a different area. All good now.

[Vule]

With ER linked in audio chain the voice of Dominique Fils-Aime on album Nameless sounds so "in room" and awesome. Lovely!

[Midnightrambler]

Hi, is there anyone who has tried high end clocks with the ER, and what were the conclusions? 

[Confused]

2 hours ago, Midnightrambler said:

Hi, is there anyone who has tried high end clocks with the ER, and what were the conclusions? 

 

Yes, see posts from way back when .....

 

 

[PYP]

Are there quality external clocks that cost less than $3,500?

[Superdad]

31 minutes ago, PYP said:

Are there quality external clocks that cost less than $3,500?

 

Cybershaft from Japan.  They have a range of models. Hard to find in English or the USA, but here is a nice one for sale used:

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649585897-cybershaft-platinum-ocxo-master-clock/

Squint at the photo of the certificate for it and you will see exceptional 10Hz offset phase-noise spec.

 

Our Hong Kong dealer does a lot of business with Cybershaft and has been pushing them for some time to produce a version at an EtherREGEN-matching price-point. I don't know when that will happen though. 

[LowMidHigh]

5 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

Cybershaft from Japan.  They have a range of models. Hard to find in English or the USA, but here is a nice one for sale used:

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649585897-cybershaft-platinum-ocxo-master-clock/

Squint at the photo of the certificate for it and you will see exceptional 10Hz offset phase-noise spec.

 

Our Hong Kong dealer does a lot of business with Cybershaft and has been pushing them for some time to produce a version at an EtherREGEN-matching price-point. I don't know when that will happen though. 

 

The chips in the Cybershaft products--at least at the entry level--are reclaimed (read, used). Further, the enclosures have limited number of outputs (1-3) and require a convertor from 50hz up to 75hz in order to perform, an approach known to be suboptimal (50z ER would be a good match of course). The owner takes a cavalier is approach to the impedance conversation, which should tell you quite a bit about the design and the product itself.

 

I would do a thorough research before spending money with that company. 

 

 

[mourip]

15 hours ago, Midnightrambler said:

Hi, is there anyone who has tried high end clocks with the ER, and what were the conclusions? 

 

I have been using an ER for about a month and probably have about 100 hours+ of music on it. I have it clocked by a Mutec REF10 and fed from a JCAT Femto card in my server. This is by far the best my system has ever sounded: very clear, deep and for some reason more dynamic/taut. See my profile for system details...

[PYP]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

Our Hong Kong dealer does a lot of business with Cybershaft and has been pushing them for some time to produce a version at an EtherREGEN-matching price-point. I don't know when that will happen though. 

 

That is why we need an UpTone external clock in a JS-2 chassis.  Just saying....  

[stevebythebay]

From my conversations with many industry folks, attempting to source a quality external clock is hard.  The products out there are both expensive and of varying levels of quality control, which means that unless you can cherry pick the model you want, forget about getting a useful clock.  I'm guessing that to get something that will make a substantial improvement to your eR would cost up to 50 times the cost of your eR.  Likely better to look elsewhere in your system to improve SQ.  Sorry...

[PYP]

17 minutes ago, stevebythebay said:

 I'm guessing that to get something that will make a substantial improvement to your eR would cost up to 50 times the cost of your eR.  Likely better to look elsewhere in your system to improve SQ. 

 

That makes sense.  Was wondering about price and quality to determine if I wanted to do more research.  Not at this point since my DAC does not utilize an external clock and I'm sticking with my system for as long as it is working reliably. 

[mourip]

16 hours ago, stevebythebay said:

...I'm guessing that to get something that will make a substantial improvement to your eR would cost up to 50 times the cost of your eR.  Likely better to look elsewhere in your system to improve SQ.  Sorry...

 

I am certain that my Mutec REF10 makes a nice difference clocking the ER. The Mutec is very well made, has received many good reviews, and cost me roughly 5 times what the ER cost, not 50. The ER made probably 90%+ of the very big improvement. I would say that this speaks more to the remarkable value of the ER. By the time you get a system assembled which can even take advantage of equipment of this caliber you are probably entering the flatter part of the SQ improvement curve. Those on this part of the curve must weight what that 10% is worth to them.

 

I already had the REF10 when I moved from AOIP/Rednet to my present Win16 Roon server/AL endpoint system. Would I buy one now after inserting the ER? Not sure...

[stevebythebay]

Sorry for my off-the-cuff 50x take on price.  Glad you were lucky enough to get one of the good clocks.  Personally, I'd only buy one that was literally guaranteed/certified to meet the specs claimed.  And I don't doubt that Mutec is a fine company.  If they offered a money back trial period I'd certainly bite on that.

[Midnightrambler]

Thanks to all for their help, it makes the clock an interesting proposition. Has anyone tried different clocks leads and any tips there?

[adamaley]

On 3/16/2020 at 8:07 PM, LowMidHigh said:

 

The chips in the Cybershaft products--at least at the entry level--are reclaimed (read, used). Further, the enclosures have limited number of outputs (1-3) and require a convertor from 50hz up to 75hz in order to perform, an approach known to be suboptimal (50z ER would be a good match of course). The owner takes a cavalier is approach to the impedance conversation, which should tell you quite a bit about the design and the product itself.

 

I would do a thorough research before spending money with that company. 

 

 

I'm surprised to read this. The Cybershafts are well-regarded devices. I've never used any but have only read great things about them.