EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions thread

[Johnnydev]

9 hours ago, Steve Bruzonsky said:

I disagree. I get an email tonight that to update the firmware I have to read a "book" and open up the Etheregen. Why in heck wasn't it designed like other PC components to simply be an easy update by connecting an external ethernet or USB cable to it without having to take it apart and take out anything from the unit? And if I don't do the update, then its possible, from the email, that the Etheregen won't sound as good as the units being built and shipped out from this point forward. I am not impressed by this at all!

 

Steve Bruzonsky

This is really nagging for nothing. It’s never right. I sympathize with you Alex and John 😎

 

I just did the update with a Mac and finished within 10 minutes. I am not a computer nerd, but if you can put a book on an e-reader, you can do this easy with the (good) description of Alex

 

Moreover, i think it is logical that the micro usb is inside, so that people do not try anything and then uptone (alex) should solve the consequence and they already need their time for more important things!

 

[Johnnydev]

39 minutes ago, Jean Plum said:

Hallo,

 

Als iemand bij Audiostore UK koopt, zullen ze de 30 dagen garantie respecteren of is dit naar eigen goeddunken?

 

Bedankt.

Ask them 😉

[Johnnydev]

I use now DIY supra cat8 whose shielding is only connected to earth on one side.

This in such a way that earth loops are never possible. I have also SOTM black cable and TLS reference in use, this after Audioquest(cinnamon and Vodka) and SOTM iso cat6 lan isolator and the SOTM dcbl cat7.

 

With the ER, everything improved in such a way that had never happened before. Really great

 

Inspired by the ER in terms of noise and disturbance removal, I took the same guess by also tackling the AC side. I already use to the great pleasure the Z3 and monsoon power cables from Audioquest, and last week I purchased the AQ niagara 1200 EU.
What a party in combination with the ER, even more amazing!

 

At this moment I am really afraid that something will break. The SQ is that good!😍

[Johnnydev]

Is this Realy all necessary?

If i understand correctly, Alex has said that this heat is not a problem?

[Johnnydev]

3 hours ago, octaviars said:

 

I dont think anyone wrote that this is necessary.

 

I can only talk for my own system and with the eR in my cabinet the temp went up and runing the eR around 49C 24/7 over many years I feel more comfortable runing it around 40C.

 

 

There is 120mm fan under the PSU that moves air in to the cabinet and out through a vent in the door.

 

 

looks very neat

[Johnnydev]

13 minutes ago, ogs said:

Thanks John!

Good to know I won't have to use more than one ER in a configuration like this.

i use the ER in that way to my golds, with great succes!

so, router > ER > phantom golds

[Johnnydev]

2 hours ago, MartinT said:

 

Negeer ze - alleen de wetenschap doen zonder te luisteren is waardeloos. Als je het verschil nog steeds kunt horen, meet je de verkeerde dingen.

Just give it a try

[Johnnydev]

4 hours ago, frednork said:

My ER has started freezing at random times. I have been using it for a long time with no issues I initially had it running on 12 volt and after I changed to 9v the problem seems a little less frequent but it is happening about once an hour and often in the middle of a track. Sorry if its already been covered but this thread is getting pretty long now...

perhaps give your entire system a complete reset

[Johnnydev]

1 hour ago, octaviars said:

 

The eR draws what it draws at different voltages even if you have a 12V 10A supply the eR will still only draw 0,8A at 12V. As you see the wattage that it consumes is the same at 12V and 7V a tad lower at 9V (this is the amps that Uptone have on their webpage).

 

12x0,8=9,6W

9x1.0=9W

7x1,4=9,8

 

I think @Superdad have stated many times that it does not make any differences in heat if you use 7, 9 or 12V it will produce the same heat.

 

I have run my eR with different voltages and it is still the same temperature on the heatsink when I check it with a IR thermometer. How hot the room or cabinet is and placement will make a much bigger impact on how hot the eR will get compared to the supply voltage.

+1

[Johnnydev]

 

I have 3 farads super3, two of 12 V and the other one of 15V.
 

One of 12V is connected to the EtherRegen with very good results.

 

I also have an afterdark clock with 12V afterdark power supply on order. When they have arrived, I will later also try the afterdark clock with the second 12V farad super3

[Johnnydev]

1 hour ago, octaviars said:

 

The eR draws what it draws at different voltages even if you have a 12V 10A supply the eR will still only draw 0,8A at 12V. As you see the wattage that it consumes is the same at 12V and 7V a tad lower at 9V (this is the amps that Uptone have on their webpage).

 

12x0,8=9,6W

9x1.0=9W

7x1,4=9,8

 

I think @Superdad have stated many times that it does not make any differences in heat if you use 7, 9 or 12V it will produce the same heat.

 

I have run my eR with different voltages and it is still the same temperature on the heatsink when I check it with a IR thermometer. How hot the room or cabinet is and placement will make a much bigger impact on how hot the eR will get compared to the supply voltage.

+1

[Johnnydev]

2 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

Hi one and a half,

three hours is not nearly enough time for burn in on the ER, its not just thermal stability, there is real burn in going on, primarily on the capacitors, there are over a hundred caps in the ER, they need to burn in with real signal for at least several days before anything approaching real performance shows up. It usually takes a couple weeks (some people say a month) before it really "opens up".

 

John S.

+1

 

[Johnnydev]

3 hours ago, One and a half said:

Received the EtherRegen today (22-Mar), eager to try, let's see which install works 'best'. JCAT = JCAT NET Femto (the original).

 

1. JCAT -> 1m UTP -> A Side | B Side 35m UTP -> Lumin U1. Power : 120-0-120V Uptone PSU.

 

Result : Clear treble, but found to be over the top, like adjust the treble control up a notch. Stage height down some 10-30cm.

 

2. JCAT -> 35m UTP -> A Side | B Side 1m STP  -> Lumin U1. Power : 60-0-60V Uptone PSU.

 

Result : Treble under control now, stage height and separation still not right, image squashed. Why is one instrument coming out of the right speaker only, should be both [faint triangle "Stay with me till dawn", FAC15 with Kathi Ogden]

 

3. JCAT -> 35m UTP -> A Side | B Side 1m UTP  -> Lumin U1. Power : 60-0-60V Uptone PSU.

 

Result : Stage height and spread of the soundstage not working, the height is collapsing and instruments aren't placed like before ER. The frowns are starting to appear.

 

4. JCAT -> 35m UTP -> A Side | A Side 1m UTP  -> Lumin U1. Power : 60-0-60V Uptone PSU.

 

Result : EtherRegen effectively bypassed but now includes the noise reduction of the A side transformers. It doesn't make that much of a difference. Not that much of a difference with the STP or the UTP (the STP is CAT 6, the UTP Cat 5e). No name branded cables, very generic. 

 

With USB, the cable makes a big difference, but that's more fine tuning than getting fundamental connections correct. Was I expecting too much from the ER at switch on plus 3 hours? No mention of burn in published in the manual, it is a switch after all. It does get hot, ambient 25.6C, case 43.5C. That's within spec, so no problem as far as compliance is concerned, but 43C is a lot.

 

5. JCAT CAT -> 35m UTP  -> Lumin U1

 

Result : Original config. Spread of sound has returned, instruments where they should be, height returned.

 

Burn in, will it make that much a difference, talking about thermal stability here, which should be good from the get go. TBH, I expected a lot more from the EtherRegen, for now I'll ask for an RMA and send it back to Mariposa.

swapping that fast also doesn't work at all!

[Johnnydev]

30 minutes ago, agladstone said:

What’s the best way to burn it the ER, I myself (about one week so far with the ER in my system) haven’t noticed that big of any improvements, but I was being patient because I assumed it must require some sort of burn in. 
if I was to remove the ER from my system and connect it to my router and then to a computer running 24/7, would that be an effective method of burn in or is it best to just try and let internet radio play on my system at low volume or with power amplifiers off for 24/7 for a few weeks instead? 

No, place it in the best place in your system, as close to your DAC as possible with no other equipment between your ER and your DAC. leave the ER power on 24/7 and stream or play whatever you want.

[Johnnydev]

1 minute ago, jomsjoms said:

 

I think most Dacs don't have an ethernet input. In this case, it would be better to put the ER before the streamer (unless the dac you are using is an integrated streamer+dac). 

 +1

[Johnnydev]

14 hours ago, Pokey77 said:

@MartinT

 

I agree with Martin. 

me too

[Johnnydev]

7 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

The first thing that comes to mind is to see if there is a delay in the Farad when turning on. You can test this by looking at the power light on the ER. Try this with both the original supply and the Farad. If there is a visible delay with the Farad then this MAY be part of the problem.

 

Another thing to test unplug what is connected to the ER, power on the ER, wait 20 seconds or so, then power up the rest. If this does not work it is most likely the your suggestion that the Farad does not have enough juice to properly power up the ER. If it does work this is leaning more towards ER power up delay.

 

John S.

Yes there is a delay in the farad when turning on. ( look to the power light of the farad when started)

And the Farad has more then enough juice to properly power up the ER!

[Johnnydev]

Just leave everything on 24/7. Then the EtherRegen and the farad will sound even better!

[Johnnydev]

12 hours ago, GryphonGuy said:

As others have said, use single mode optical fibre with 1310nm wavelength transceivers to give your system the best chance at great audio.

I'm not sure about that. I have the 3 pieces afterdark groupbuy SFP+ modules here. I use them between 2 EtherRegens, but the 1310 nm version is certainly not the best sounding here.

[Johnnydev]

With a Cat7 or Cat8 cable with telecartner plugs, the grounding can be disconnected on one side.
With Supra cat8 DIY you can arrange this yourself when making your own.
Audioquest always does, they only connect the ground shield on the receiving side.

All this to prevent those ground loops.

 

Here at home I have chosen and assembled everything in that way and then in such a way that the groundshields are connected in such a way that it can be drained to the earth pin.
So everywhere 1 side connected that can find its way to earth.

All the ground shields of the ethernet cables are not connected to my two EtherRegens.

In this way you can take advantage of better Ethernet cables without suffering from disadvantages or malfunctions.

It works perfectly here

[Johnnydev]

1 hour ago, mattjtaylor2809 said:

When referring to the metal shield on the Supra Cat 8, are you referring to the gold metal outer casing (see below) or deeper inside the cable?

 

 

I'll contact the guy in Canada who made the cables & ask whether he's grounded both ends.

 

BTW - If you did have a grounding issue &/or differing potentials, what would this sound like?

 

Cheers

Matt

no, leave the plug intact.

When assembling the supra cat8 yourself, you can internally control in the plug on which side you do not want the shield connected.

 

By the way, that is in almost all cases the best, as long as you find out on which side the shield is connected, and that drainage to the ground can also take place there.

[Johnnydev]

12 minutes ago, PYP said:

Are all of you talking about the cable feeding the eR?  IIRC, Alex said that the shielding issue does not apply to the cable between the eR and DAC.  In my setup, the cable leading to the DAC made the largest contribution to better sound (YMMV).  

 

At any rate, experimenting may still be needed.   I started with mono price cables feeding the eR and between the two eRs and saved the fancy cable to use between the second eR and the DAC.  Sounded very good.  Since I had another fancy cable, I tried that between the eRs and the sound was better (not huge difference but worthwhile).  That said, I have no idea about how the two boutique cables actually ground their cables.  

 

@Encore's advice to get the big stuff right first (how it all connects) is sensible -- cables are often a tweak that fine tunes the system-- as is the point that it takes time to settle in.   The boutique cables took two weeks to settle into my system.    

 

John's posts are very informative and have contributed a lot to the better sound of my system (and his designs too, of course:  JS-2, eR, LPS 1.2).  Even with all of his experience and knowledge, he often notes that "it all depends" because of all the variables across systems as well as some unknowns.   I found it beneficial to keep that in mind.  

yes you are right.  By me is the minimum time to settle in 2 weeks, but better 500 hours and that applies to all cables, including power supplies and even fuses. 

[Johnnydev]

5 hours ago, One and a half said:

Let's pick some holes in this test setup from Audio Science Review.

 

The test setup measures a voltage across a wire by a very nice waveform that's repetitive via the induction process from 1MHz down to 1kHz.

This in real life doesn't happen. The test is measuring across milliohms from a 'nice' source. Induced noise is a spike with high dv/dt with varying decays and can contain multiple frequencies. doesn't take into account the capacitance of the conductor to the shield and the insulation properties.

 

What would be better:

Apply a DC voltage to the cable and a load that draws some spikes.

Then apply a nasty induction pulse like from a showering arc, transformer, fluorescent lamp or a new type of 'efficient' LED which draws really ugly waveforms.

Then measure across the braid and conductor with and without the extra drain wire. 

 

Once again the 'science' can be ridiculed as with most of the garbage at Audio Science Review which proports that measurements can frame the behavior of SQ, which is a nonsense.

 

I would dearly like to buy some 'better' cabling than the CAT5e UTP for 20c/m. Something with Teflon insulation and unshielded, haven't quite come across any yet, maybe some high temp designs.....

 

As for Ethernet shielding at one end only, the shield is still or should be at earth (ground) potential and shouldn't interfere with the transmission of the packets, since Ethernet can 'work' without the shield. I am not prepared to hack the shield out of a $400 cable, since the resale plummets to zero. Once again from experience with the supplied 6 inch shielded cables from DX-engineering, their influence does have an effect on the sound and the shields aren't connected to anything other than the chassis at the source and receiver end (router and PC), so very much on the fence here and leaning towards UTP as the saviour.

 

you can try the supra cat8 DIY en make the choice of shielding 

[Johnnydev]

5 minutes ago, simon_pepper said:

Already treasured, and has been since Nov ‘19, when it went into the system.

 

Now powered by a Farad3 PSU (12v) with the dual stage LT3045 regulators (output 10v)

The previous Chinese sourced 15W LPS PSU couldn’t maintain current & voltage, and died. It was a dual 5V/12V unit, so I push the 5V side to provide a 7V supply, which powered the EtherREGEN for a few months, while considering replacement options.

 

Farad3 supply (Rodium input, Orange fuse, L2 Silver cable) still burning in, but sounding good so far.

Try the purple fuse 👍

[Johnnydev]

8 minutes ago, Bernstein said:

Has somebody used two EtherRegen together connecting the B side to the B side of another EtherRegen and connect up to four other audio devices to it over the A side of the second ER?

 

Any experience?

Yes, me

i go from B to B > A to 2x devialet phantoms 1 and it is great!