EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions thread

[André Gosselin]

In my current network setup, a NAS is connected to my router upstairs. An ethernet cable goes downstairs to an unmanaged switch in my music room. To the switch are connected two different renderers. 1- sonore optical module/optical rendu combo, and 2- Simaudio 780Dv2 with an internal Mind2 ethernet module . No other equipment connects to the switch.

 

Reading the ER documentation, I see that the ER can be operated in "backward" mode with the connection to a router on the B side, and the SFP module on the A side connected by optical cable to the OpticalRendu. The manual suggests than nothing else be connected to the A side, but I think I saw a post by @JohnSwenson where he limited this restraint to non-audio equipment. So it would not be harmful to connect also the Simaudio 780Dv2 to the A side, but no additional non-audio equipment

 

In short, I am hoping that using an ER, I could simplify my current setup by :

- getting rid of my unmanaged switch and replacing it by the ER

- removing the optical module and connecting to the OpticalRendu from the SFP on the A side

- connecting the Simaudio 780Dv2 to a second port of the A side

- having only those 2 audio connections to the A side, and nothing else

- running a cable from my router to the ER B side

- having all non-audio equipment (NAS, PC's, etc) connected to the router and not to the ER

 

Could you comment on the above setup ? Is it  a sound one ? In particular, would the 2nd audio equipment (Simaudio 780Dv2) connected to the A side benefit from the ER upstream isolation, or would it harm the SQ of the OpticalRendu ?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[André Gosselin]

27 minutes ago, lxgreen said:

I know that this guidance has been mentioned in previous posts but then more recent posting say it’s ok to use other A ports. That’s why I’m still not sure.

@lxgreen Please see my post on Nov.10 about a very similar interrogation to the one you have. The answer by @JohnSwenson was unequivocal:

 

Posted November 10

On 11/10/2019 at 6:57 PM, André Gosselin said:

In my current network setup, a NAS is connected to my router upstairs. An ethernet cable goes downstairs to an unmanaged switch in my music room. To the switch are connected two different renderers. 1- sonore optical module/optical rendu combo, and 2- Simaudio 780Dv2 with an internal Mind2 ethernet module . No other equipment connects to the switch.

 

Reading the ER documentation, I see that the ER can be operated in "backward" mode with the connection to a router on the B side, and the SFP module on the A side connected by optical cable to the OpticalRendu. The manual suggests than nothing else be connected to the A side, but I think I saw a post by @JohnSwenson where he limited this restraint to non-audio equipment. So it would not be harmful to connect also the Simaudio 780Dv2 to the A side, but no additional non-audio equipment

 

In short, I am hoping that using an ER, I could simplify my current setup by :

- getting rid of my unmanaged switch and replacing it by the ER

- removing the optical module and connecting to the OpticalRendu from the SFP on the A side

- connecting the Simaudio 780Dv2 to a second port of the A side

- having only those 2 audio connections to the A side, and nothing else

- running a cable from my router to the ER B side

- having all non-audio equipment (NAS, PC's, etc) connected to the router and not to the ER

 

Could you comment on the above setup ? Is it  a sound one ? In particular, would the 2nd audio equipment (Simaudio 780Dv2) connected to the A side benefit from the ER upstream isolation, or would it harm the SQ of the OpticalRendu ?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

What you are describing is probably the best way to go.  In this case most of the packets are going to the endpoints, hence crossing the moat, thus there should be little interaction between endpoints.

 

That is certainly how I would connect things.

 

John S.

It appears crystal clear to me that you can connect more than one audio equipment to the A side, if everything goes through the moat from the router on the B side, and the NAS/music server is connected to the router (and, I guess, provided that PS are not shared between endpoints on the A side.). "That is the way I would connect things", to quote John.

[André Gosselin]

1 hour ago, Novice2012 said:

a standard ethernet box is in the basement with a very long Ethernet cable (20 feet?) coming up to my living room---> sonore optical module---> sonore opticalrendu---> sonictransporter i5----->Benchmark DAC2----> Primaluna Evo 300 power amp---Goldenear T1s.

IMHO, sonictransporter should go right after your router, and sonore opticalmodule -> sonore opticalrendu should plug right into your Benchmark DAC2

[André Gosselin]

8 hours ago, GMG said:

Maybe it was already covered somewhere but there are too many threads and answers around this so I have to ask myself :-)

I plan to add an optical Rendu to my system and my question about recommended chain with ER and Optical Rendu, with and without Optical Module Deluxe

what would you guys recommend:

1. Router --> Optical Module Deluxe --> Optical Rendu
2. Router --> ER copper B to Optical A side --> Optical Rendu
3. Router --> Copper ER A to B --> Optical Module Deluxe --> Optical Rendu
4. Router --> standard optical converter --> Optical ER A side to  Copper B side --> Optical Module Deluxe --> Optical Rendu

My tendency is to think that option 2 is probably the simplest and best configuration, but then I'm left with nothing to do with my optical module deluxe :-),

Option 3 on one hand uses the ER in the preferred orientation but on the other hand adds the Optical module deluxe as another piece in the chain. 

Go with option 2 and forget about the Optical Module. I once had two of those in my system, and never could feel they improved SQ. I returned them. But as always, this is system dependent.

[André Gosselin]

35 minutes ago, Mike Rubin said:

Original.  I didn't realize this, but it is good to know because it has been driving me crazy. Is it because of a speed mismatch?

Original OM ethernet input was 1GBit only, whereas ER B-side ethernet output is 100Mbit only, Thus the mismatch

[André Gosselin]

52 minutes ago, Mike Rubin said:

What compromises would I be making if I added the DAC to the A side in a B-to-A configuration? 

I have been using such a config for 2 years since I purchased the EtherRegen without any SQ issue:

  router > B side RJ45 port

  sonore optical rendu > A side SFP port  (using the Moon780Dv2 as a usb DAC)

  Moon 780Dv2 DAC/streamer > A side RJ45 port