UpTone Audio EtherREGEN Listening Impressions

[afrancois]

5 minutes ago, PYP said:

That was my reaction too and it has me curious about trying their ethernet cable for 30 days.  

I see you have 2 EtherRegen’s. Did you hear an improvement by adding a second one?
I have an AQVox in front of the eR. 

[PYP]

14 minutes ago, afrancois said:

I see you have 2 EtherRegen’s. Did you hear an improvement by adding a second one?
I have an AQVox in front of the eR. 

Yes, in my system, there was a significant improvement with the second eR.  My network is rather simple:  ISP-provided router/wifi/modem box > in-wall 5e ethernet > ... therefore I haven't worked on improving the upstream at all.   All my improvement have been after the in-wall exits near my system.  

[afrancois]

3 minutes ago, PYP said:

Yes, in my system, there was a significant improvement with the second eR.  My network is rather simple:  ISP-provided router/wifi/modem box > in-wall 5e ethernet > ... therefore I haven't worked on improving the upstream at all.   All my improvement have been after the in-wall exits near my system.  

Mine is a bit more complex. I have fiber optic core switch in between and a bunch of other stuff to maximize electrical shielding. An other important part of my network setup is that all WiFi antennas and computing power (servers) are far away from the audio equipment. All switches, routers, modem are on LPS’s. 

[chungjh]

4 hours ago, PYP said:

Yes, in my system, there was a significant improvement with the second eR.  My network is rather simple:  ISP-provided router/wifi/modem box > in-wall 5e ethernet > ... therefore I haven't worked on improving the upstream at all.   All my improvement have been after the in-wall exits near my system.  

I am interested in this set up. I hear sibilance with a lot of female vocals on streaming (but not on vinyl), so I am thinking that the sibilance that I am hearing is part of the digital harshness. I am using just one ER and hoping that a second ER will mitigate sibilance. What do you think?

 

[PYP]

24 minutes ago, chungjh said:

I am interested in this set up. I hear sibilance with a lot of female vocals on streaming (but not on vinyl), so I am thinking that the sibilance that I am hearing is part of the digital harshness. I am using just one ER and hoping that a second ER will mitigate sibilance. What do you think?

 

Well, all systems are different.   Can you can describe your system?  And has the eR been in your system, always powered on, for more than one month?

 

For my system, using fiber was helpful and isolated some HF noise.   Adding an external clock made a large difference after the HF noise was gone.   Adding an LPS to the eR also helped, but not as much as the clock.  

 

My suggestion would be to try to find the source of the harshness before sinking a lot of cash into more equipment.  There are many experienced folks here and hopefully they can help you figure out the weakness.  

[richard_crl032]

On 3/10/2021 at 3:55 AM, musicguy said:

Just  got my ether regen from uptone.  

 

Just a question and if anyone can  provide a link   to burn in.   Does it need  it?   Ive never owned a net work switch.

 

???

 

Not much different from day 1 ... it is a nice upgrade in my system.

[chungjh]

3 hours ago, PYP said:

Well, all systems are different.   Can you can describe your system?  And has the eR been in your system, always powered on, for more than one month?

 

For my system, using fiber was helpful and isolated some HF noise.   Adding an external clock made a large difference after the HF noise was gone.   Adding an LPS to the eR also helped, but not as much as the clock.  

 

My suggestion would be to try to find the source of the harshness before sinking a lot of cash into more equipment.  There are many experienced folks here and hopefully they can help you figure out the weakness.  

I have ER>Lumin X1>Don sachs 2 tube preamp>Pass Lab X350.5>Soundlab electrostatic speakers. ER is constantly on-for the past 1 year. Peter Wie at Lumin recommended against a clock between ER and Lumin, but I don't know why.

[PYP]

41 minutes ago, chungjh said:

I have ER>Lumin X1>Don sachs 2 tube preamp>Pass Lab X350.5>Soundlab electrostatic speakers. ER is constantly on-for the past 1 year. Peter Wie at Lumin recommended against a clock between ER and Lumin, but I don't know why.

I would think your system sounds great and wouldn't have a HF issue.  Some questions come to mind:

    When you remove the eR do you still have HF issues?  Better or worse?

    What comes before the eR?   

    Are you using the Lumin app or Roon?

    Are you using the included SMPS or an LPS for the eR?  

 

The eR has a clock, so you already have inserted a clock.  The external clock can improve the naturalness of the sound, but that can considered later after you have good digital sound.  

[chungjh]

I have Paul Hynes SRT4 LPS powering ER. I am using Lumin app and ER is connected directly to the wall ethernet. I don't have HF issues per se, just some sibilance only on certain female vocals like Diana Krall. I like the way my system sounds overall. With or without the ER, there is sibilance on some of Krall tracks. 

[PYP]

2 hours ago, chungjh said:

I have Paul Hynes SRT4 LPS powering ER. I am using Lumin app and ER is connected directly to the wall ethernet. I don't have HF issues per se, just some sibilance only on certain female vocals like Diana Krall. I like the way my system sounds overall. With or without the ER, there is sibilance on some of Krall tracks. 

Maybe other folks can help.   I've never had a sibilance issue (except when gear or cables were breaking in), rather the issue I had was HF just not sounding completely natural.   It was subtle, but my ear is sensitive to that.  

 

I have no familiarity with the Lumin line, so don't know the sound signature or if other users have found sibilance issues.  I tend to look at the DAC/Streamer as the origin of those kind of issues.   Assuming that it isn't the recording itself.  

 

As we all know, cables can tip the balance of any system.  Perhaps you have already experimented with different kinds.

 

 I've found, contrary to what many suggest, that powering all equipment from the same power conditioner works well.   A dedicated outlet to the power conditioner is optimal.   Previously, I used two dedicated outlets, one for amps and one for everything else.  Surprisingly, to me at any rate, that didn't work as well as one outlet.   

 

Hope you can track down the problem.   

[afrancois]

13 minutes ago, PYP said:

Maybe other folks can help.   I've never had a sibilance issue (except when gear or cables were breaking in), rather the issue I had was HF just not sounding completely natural.   It was subtle, but my ear is sensitive to that.  

 

I have no familiarity with the Lumin line, so don't know the sound signature or if other users have found sibilance issues.  I tend to look at the DAC/Streamer as the origin of those kind of issues.   Assuming that it isn't the recording itself.  

 

As we all know, cables can tip the balance of any system.  Perhaps you have already experimented with different kinds.

 

 I've found, contrary to what many suggest, that powering all equipment from the same power conditioner works well.   A dedicated outlet to the power conditioner is optimal.   Previously, I used two dedicated outlets, one for amps and one for everything else.  Surprisingly, to me at any rate, that didn't work as well as one outlet.   

 

Hope you can track down the problem.   

One of the ways for me to eliminate digital harshness was to replace all SMPS with LPS. I mean all, even for the coax amplifier from the tv/internet provider. Even all switches are on LPS. QNAP server running Roon server is far away and connected using fiber to eliminate any electrical noise coming from computers. I’ve gone to some really extreme measures to get the maximum out of my system. You have a very nice system but as I found out there is still room for improvement.

[One and a half]

6 hours ago, chungjh said:

I have Paul Hynes SRT4 LPS powering ER. I am using Lumin app and ER is connected directly to the wall ethernet. I don't have HF issues per se, just some sibilance only on certain female vocals like Diana Krall. I like the way my system sounds overall. With or without the ER, there is sibilance on some of Krall tracks. 

I must admit to hearing sibilant from Diana Kraal recordings. Since the Baaske isolator, Jcat net femto and bonding chassis and drives together I don't hear many cases , cause I normally stop listening and try something else. Lumin U1 for nearly two years now.

[MartinT]

Try Paul Simon's One Trick Pony or Graceland. Good tests for sibilance.

[Superdad]

3 hours ago, MartinT said:

Good tests for sibilance.

[agladstone]

On 4/10/2021 at 10:49 PM, One and a half said:

At the music server side.

Switch -> Baaske -> [Music Server jcat nic 1, nic 2] -> ER A side.

If you have two more, outgoing of switch to music server, the other in the drawer as spare.

I have an Aurender music server/ streamer / Player. 
I’m going into it with the eR, so as of now it’s:

Router/Switch -> Baaske -> eR A side -> eR B side-> Aurender -> usb -> DAC 

I have a second one Router/Switch -> Baaske -> Apple TV 

Not using the third at the moment. 
Seems like you’re suggesting that I just remove it from going into A side of eR prior to my Aurender? 
I do also have a Synology NAS attached to the same Router /Switch in my stereo rack, would it be beneficial at all between switch and NAS ? 
 

[PhMZ4]

Have recently received my ER….and woawwww…. what a wonderful revealer…. unveiling any hidden details from the incoming music files … like removing any filters which were preventing the system to reveal its full potential…. Bravo for this excellent piece of audio/network engineering.

Much better micro-dynamic, more authoritative bass, better overall balance just to name the very first impressions…. 
I also noticed the device gets quite hot, even if standing standalone, so I tried to put an unused passive CPU cooler (copper/aluminum) just on the top to increase the surface for heat transfer into the air… seems to be a few degrees colder now.

For the time being I’m using it through Cat8 Ethernet cables from a Netgear switch, but will very soon connect it via optical fiber (SFP module) to see if that additional incoming noise reduction will improve it even further.

 

Now time for listening pleasure…
 

 

[rsctyslkr]

This could be the shortest review ever ... The EtherRegen improved every aspect of my digital playback system. I was willing to pay $2,500 for this improvement and the only "tweak" that rivals it is when I added a PS Audio P15 Powerplant that cost me $6,000.

 

For those who need more. I read the reviews, mostly extremely positive and adjusted my expectations down because, after all, I had already paid so much attention on my system. Well, I wish I had a photo from when I played the first song, strike that, the first note of the first song, a guitar strum with enhanced clarity, depth, texture and less glaze. One note was all it took. Since then, two weeks in, I have enjoyed becoming more intimately acquainted with my collection. It has improved micro and macro dynamics, sense of air, instrumental separation, soundstage width and depth. My first thought was ... hmmm cleaner sound, but also more texture. You cannot lose. 

 

Next on my audiophile journey is an Antipodes K50 (at least $12,000) or an AQUA Linq (at least $6,000). I can only hope that they improve my SQ as much as EtherRegen ($640).

[Superdad]

Just moved a few posts to the more appropriate threads related to EtherREGEN and power supplies, cables, and external clocks.  

Please post those sorts of discussions in those threads, thanks!

 

By the way, for the first time (ever?), we are done shipping all outstanding EtherREGEN orders (something like 240 units went out just in May) and we still have about 40 units left on the shelf uncommitted.  Of course these won't last long, so I now have to begin again the process of locating globally all the silicon chips for a next production run. Not always easy with some of the only-one-of-its-kind parts--especially during a worldwide chip shortage which you may have read about.

[Superdad]

For all the French-speaking audiophiles, here is a very nice and well produced video review (love the circuit board flyover and close-ups) of the EtherREGEN by a videographer (LittleBox Films) in France:

[And for those of us who do not speak the beautiful tongue, you can turn on subtitles/captioning and with YouTube's Settings gear menu select English or whatever language you wish.  I was surprised how good the YouTube translation was--and the fellow does a fine job of explaining in simple terms the concepts of the EtherREGEN.]

 

Enjoy!  

 

 

[audiojerry]

On 5/23/2021 at 9:47 PM, rsctyslkr said:

This could be the shortest review ever ... The EtherRegen improved every aspect of my digital playback system. I was willing to pay $2,500 for this improvement and the only "tweak" that rivals it is when I added a PS Audio P15 Powerplant that cost me $6,000.

 

For those who need more. I read the reviews, mostly extremely positive and adjusted my expectations down because, after all, I had already paid so much attention on my system. Well, I wish I had a photo from when I played the first song, strike that, the first note of the first song, a guitar strum with enhanced clarity, depth, texture and less glaze. One note was all it took. Since then, two weeks in, I have enjoyed becoming more intimately acquainted with my collection. It has improved micro and macro dynamics, sense of air, instrumental separation, soundstage width and depth. My first thought was ... hmmm cleaner sound, but also more texture. You cannot lose. 

Ditto for me. I've owned one for over a year. I too, added a PS Audio PowerPlant to my system. It resulted in a surprising and significant improvement, but no more so than the EtherRegen.

 

On a sidebar, I just dropped in on the Uptone forum to check on what's been going on (I don't participate very often), and I noticed lots of talk about adding an inexpensive clock to the ER for improved SQ. It seems like dedicated followers are doing everything possible to squeeze the last ounce of performance out ot the ER.  It made me aware that Superdad could take advantage of this obsessiveness by announcing a new extreme upgraded "super version" of the ER that would be little more than smoke and mirrors, but I haven't noticed anything like that from Superdad. So is this guy a "super version" of an ethical merchant?       

[MartinT]

I don't know why you say that, there are plenty of members who have added an external clock to the ER and heard the improvement, which is neither subtle nor unethical.

[audiojerry]

2 minutes ago, MartinT said:

I don't know why you say that, there are plenty of members who have added an external clock to the ER and heard the improvement, which is neither subtle nor unethical.

I don't think I impled either of those things.  I was just stating that the interest in finding improvements for the ER is extremely strong. I'm considering adding a clock as well, but I'm happy with the ER as-is, and I've been too lazy to put in the effort to do the research on this subject.  

[Superdad]

8 hours ago, audiojerry said:

It made me aware that Superdad could take advantage of this obsessiveness by announcing a new extreme upgraded "super version" of the ER that would be little more than smoke and mirrors, but I haven't noticed anything like that from Superdad. So is this guy a "super version" of an ethical merchant?       

 

LOL! 

Hi Jerry: Great to see you here again.

@MartinT is correct--lots of people are squeezing a bit more goodness from their EtherREGENs with an even lower phase-noise external reference clock. Degree of difference can be debated (somewhere between "subtle" and "huge"), but it's not smoke.

 

Now as for why we are not offering a "superEtherREGEN": 

a) Our ideas for such go well beyond just an uber clock;

b) Because of all we would want to do--and a required larger case, dedicated dual internal power supplies, etc.--the darn thing would be expensive, even using our usual very modest double-parts-cost pricing model;

c) We are really busy on other grounding breaking (possibly mind-blowing) non-Ethernet products.

 

Yet we will gladly embrace your moniker of UpTone Audio as a "super version of an ethical merchant."   [That's really not hard as such is just how I live my life and what I try to bring to the office each day.]

 

Cheers,

--Alex C.

[esmit]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

We are really busy on other grounding breaking (possibly mind-blowing) non-Ethernet products.

What is the estimated release year for the next thing? 2021 still possible?

[Superdad]

3 minutes ago, esmit said:

What is the estimated release year for the next thing? 2021 still possible?

Oh yes!

One more test milestone to cross and we might start talking about the details of our new and very advanced USB devices.  But I need to be careful not to reveal too much too early because our past successes and innovation has drawn the attention of our competitors...