UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

[richard_crl032]

Hi, 

 

Best mod for me is serious music playback from built in 8TB SSD of Antipodes .. shortest path and no connectivity concerns.

 

Synology NAS for back sits quietly at the corner powered down and not collecting dust .. haha !

 

ER will be last effort on non critical streaming music from full flac internet radio stations for background music.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[xllms]

2 hours ago, Mike Rubin said:

Sonore modified my non-optical to optical when they first offered an upgrade path.  The upgrade included other electronic modifications and shielding (creating what they then called Level 2), but the difference was substantial right out of the box.  I got deeper bass and greater low level resolution.  
 

What made the most difference, however, was changing from an IT-level FMC to an Optical Module and later replacing the OM with an EtherRegen.  

 

My current setup easily improves on the original, but the original is a terrific product in its own right.  I would pay a premium to get an optical version, but, had Inot upgraded, I would still be perfectly happy with the original product.

Hi @Mike Rubin, thanks for sharing. Looks like the optical version is the way to go. Could you share how you set up your system with the signature rendu se optical, the etherregen and the rest of the component?

[Mike Rubin]

@xllms, it’s in my signature:

 

Synology 218+ NAS > NUC 10 i7> Roon/Audirvana/JRiver Media Server > xfinity Xfi Router > Netgear GS348 Switch > EtherRegen > Sonore Signature Rendu SE Tier 2 > Wyred4Sound 10th Anniversary DAC > Wyred4Sound STI-500 > Revel F32 Concertas

 

Ethernet connections are copper from NAS and NUC to router, router to switch, and switch to EtherRegen side B, then fiber from EtherRegen A side to Signature Rendu SE.  

[xllms]

5 hours ago, Mike Rubin said:

@xllms, it’s in my signature:

 

Synology 218+ NAS > NUC 10 i7> Roon/Audirvana/JRiver Media Server > xfinity Xfi Router > Netgear GS348 Switch > EtherRegen > Sonore Signature Rendu SE Tier 2 > Wyred4Sound 10th Anniversary DAC > Wyred4Sound STI-500 > Revel F32 Concertas

 

Ethernet connections are copper from NAS and NUC to router, router to switch, and switch to EtherRegen side B, then fiber from EtherRegen A side to Signature Rendu SE.  

thanks for sharing, @Mike Rubin 😊 out of curiosity, does the signature rendu SE has a sonic characteristics?

[Mike Rubin]

1 hour ago, xllms said:

thanks for sharing, @Mike Rubin 😊 out of curiosity, does the signature rendu SE has a sonic characteristics?

I couldn't describe those characteristics if it does.  

[Jud]

4 hours ago, Mike Rubin said:

I couldn't describe those characteristics if it does.  

 

I will add to this that the Signature Rendu was part of what I thought was the best system I heard at the last audio show I attended. The system sounded quite true to life, as if I were in the studio with the artist.

[Savolax]

Yay! Joined aboard the EtherREGEN-train yesterday. Sorry for being late.

Nothing new or fancy in this post but I wanted to comment now that I have had EtherREGEN burning in for about 28 hours now and while I thought to be quite comfortable with my setup pre-ER, having ER installed made me realize there is some good improving potential on the ethernet-side too besides LPS'd JCAT USB XE. And the first impressions so far are "just" with internal clock and stock PSU!

 

Choo choo!

 

P.S. Seriously, this site kills your wallet waay worse than Head-Fi (as it's often mentioned there) 😁

[Flashman]

I also cross-posted this rave review on another Uptone eR forum:

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/uptone-audio-etherregen-ethernet-switch

[Lkdog]

New ER user here. Assessing the impact from my previous setup with a generic cheap TP link switch to my OPPO 105 Ethernet input > PS Audio Directstream Dac via coax. Couple questions.

 

I am using a Teddy Pardot 7v lps. Is that enough power?

 

I do have the stock Uptone 7.5v amps  power supply on the way from the seller I got this from.  

 

I also have a Bridge II Ethernet card I can put in the PS Audio DS. Would that be better than using the coax route through the OPPO 105?

 

Thanks.

 

[stevebythebay]

Spec says: “DC power input range — 7V/1.4A, 9V/1.0A, 12V/0.8A”. So, whatever you use had better deliver the necessary power.  It would appear that if what you describe is the Teddy7/2 - 7V 2A Power Supply, then you should have the necessary power.  However, note that what is shipped with the unit supports a higher current capacity than your planned unit. Maybe the EtherREGEN will simply run hotter. 

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, Lkdog said:

I am using a Teddy Pardo 7v lps. Is that enough power?

 

That should be fine.

 

1 hour ago, Lkdog said:

I also have a Bridge II Ethernet card I can put in the PS Audio DS. Would that be better than using the coax route through the OPPO 105?

 

For a host of reasons the Directstream DAC with Bridge II Ethernet input (fed from 'B' port of EtherREGEN; and no USB cable simultaneously attached to DAC) should sound FAR better than S/PDIF coax fed to the DS from your OPPO. 

 

 

1 hour ago, stevebythebay said:

However, note that what is shipped with the unit supports a higher current capacity than your planned unit. Maybe the EtherREGEN will simply run hotter. 

 

Thanks for pitching in Steve (Happy New Year to you man! )

But no, the temperature of the EtherREGEN will not vary with current capability of power supply nor with voltage level sent (within its 7~12V range).

[Lkdog]

Thanks to you both for the reply.

I was not sure about the Teddy Pardot (the seller said he ran the ER using it) after I read on the Uptone product info that the original Uptone LPS- 1    7v setting did not have enough current.

 

[Note: The original UltraCap LPS-1, with top setting of 7V, does not have enough current for the EtherREGEN. The UltraCap LPS-1.2, with its 9V and 12V settings can easily power an EtherREGEN.]

 

I will install the Bridge II. I have had it sitting here and some people claim having it installed in the PS Audio DS hurts overall SQ.

I have no idea. Had not tried it out yet.

 

I do have a Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 I am also trying out that uses an HDMI cable into the PS Audio DS i2S input.

 

 

 

 

[Lkdog]

Got the ER setup direct to the Bridge II in the PS AUDIO DS.

TBH it sounded very very good before through the OPPO 105 ethernet input>Coax> PS Audio DS with no ER.

 

Early impression is slightly blacker background, slightly better definition on low end.

 

JRIVER is a little glitchier, however, with the Bridge II card at song transitions than with the OPPO 105 Ethernet input. I had heard the Bridge II could be finicky.

 

 

[xllms]

Finally got the eR (generic PS) + opticalRendu (LHY 7v LPS) set up, initial impression is very very positive, more nuances heard, better presence throughout, smoother, etc. One minor issue is that I can no longer control the volume via Roon. Thanks a million to all who guided me. 😁

 

symon

[sot13]

Hi all! I would like to get opinions / impressions re sound improvements using ER in the following way. My current setup is shown in the picture below

I intend to insert ER AFTER the second TP Link converter feeding via ethernet my Network player. This is shown below

The reviews I have read up to now, unless I missed something out, are concerning the use of eR either without fiber i.e. only ethernet connections, or placement of eR BEFORE the fiber. In the later case, at least theoretically, the improvements in sound may be attributed for the greater part to the fiber closer to the DAC. Hence my post. I would greatly appreciate your views from people with similar setups to mine. Thank you in advance 

[R1200CL]

@sot13

Do you need those FMC’s, or are they only there for SQ ?

Why not only a single FMC after the network switch?

https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/accessory/mc220l/

 

Or no FMC at all. 

If SQ is the issue, I wouldn’t use those cheap FMC’s. Maybe a Cisco 2960G that you can get below $40 on eBay. Or the opticalModule. 
 

 

 

[sot13]

1 minute ago, R1200CL said:

@sot13

Do you need those FMC’s, or are they only there for SQ ?

Why not only a single FMC after the network switch?

https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/accessory/mc210cs/

 

@R1200CL

This is how my system is setup right now and I have to say that the inclusion of FMC's and fiber right before my Network Player / DAC makes a huge positive difference to the sound.

I suppose I could get rid of the second FMC and feed straight into ER. I don't think it would be wise to get rid of them altogether and go straight into ER via ethernet from my switch, since may people reported additive benefits of fiber + ER. It's just that I have not seen it in the way I want to implement it... hence I am looking for other people's experience

[R1200CL]

2 minutes ago, sot13 said:

I suppose I could get rid of the second FMC and feed straight into ER. I don't think it would be wise to get rid of them altogether and go straight into ER via ethernet from my switch, since may people reported additive benefits of fiber + ER.

You only have 100Mb. EtherRegen requires 1Gb on fiber. 

[Bernie]

I'm using the TP-Link 220L media converter directly into the ER which is working fine. This will be replaced with the Sonore optical module in the next days.

It could be beneficial if you can place the first media converter directly near the switch and replace 50ft copper cable with the fiber connection.

Replacing the TP-Link and the first FMP with the Cisco as proposed by R1200CL is also a good idea.

[sot13]

2 hours ago, Bernie said:

I'm using the TP-Link 220L media converter directly into the ER which is working fine. This will be replaced with the Sonore optical module in the next days.

It could be beneficial if you can place the first media converter directly near the switch and replace 50ft copper cable with the fiber connection.

Replacing the TP-Link and the first FMP with the Cisco as proposed by R1200CL is also a good idea.

Thank you @Bernie Unfortunately gigabit ethernet is hard wired so to speak in the house walls... making it very difficult to replace the 50ft length with fiber. What I could do as suggested is replace my existing TP links with one TP-Link 220L and send its output via fiber to ER and that via a very small ethernet cable to my Network player - right?

Do you have experience of similar setup? did you hear improvement adding ER to fiber as above?

[Bernie]

The improvement by adding fibre is of course small compared to the improvements the ER brings.

I hope that the Sonore OM will bring another improvement compared to the TP-Link. The TP-Link 220L cannot replace your switch as it only has one ethernet input. From your diagram I can see that you need a switch which also supports optical, e.g. the above mentioned Cisco. Or you place the converter behind your switch as you are doing now as well.

[R1200CL]

2 hours ago, sot13 said:

What I could do as suggested is replace my existing TP links with one TP-Link 220L and send its output via fiber to ER and that via a very small ethernet cable to my Network player - right?

This is your only option if you like to supply fiber to the EtherRegen in a reasonable way.

The suggested Cisco may be better. 

From EtherRegen you can use this cable. If you like to external power the EtherRegen, DC power cable from same place. 
Use single mode fiber if you can. 

[Bernie]

any recommendation for the SFP modules ? I'm currently using TP-Link TL-SM311LS, but I plan to switch to Planet Tech modules.

[R1200CL]

19 minutes ago, Bernie said:

any recommendation for the SFP modules ? I'm currently using TP-Link TL-SM311LS, but I plan to switch to Planet Tech modules.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Finisar-FTLF1421P1BCL-OC-48-STM16-GigaBit-Ethernet-1x-2x-FC-IR-1310nm-SFP/114327996056?hash=item1a9e7ac698:g:PMQAAOSwNNxfIUh7
 

I bought those. And this cable. He has several lengths available. 
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20m-66ft-LC-UPC-to-LC-UPC-Duplex-Single-Mode-PVC-3-0mm-Fiber-Patch-Cord-Cable/392275302479?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

 

 

[Mikey26]

FYI, Just changed the feet of the Etherregen to 4 Herbie’s Audio Big Baby Booties for a very nice upgrade in sound; a more coherent presentation with less digital hash. Highly recommend.