EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions thread

[JohnSwenson]

21 hours ago, AlanProuse said:

Hi folks,

 

I am new to posting but have been following this thread for ages. I have purchase an Etherregen and am interested in getting the Sonore 9 package with Signature Optical Rendu and was wondering if anyone could advise whether the following setup would work. The Sonicorbiter i9 is designed to connect directly to the Optical Signature Rendu but I would like to connect this via a switch into the B side of the Etherregen, then run from the optical output A side of the Etherregen into the Signature optical rendu and from there into my Denafrips terminator DAC.  I am aware of the people from Sonore not recommending this and saying the end result would be noisier but would like to see for myself if that is true or not.

 

I guess I just have 3 questions.

 

1) Is setup recommended?

2) Would the setup work at all?

3) Are there any things I would need to consider if the setup works

 

Many thanks in advance to all for any help and advice

 

Alan

AP Network.pptx 35.95 kB · 6 downloads

That is the way I would hook it up.

 

You can also try it without the ER at all, running optical from the Sonic Transporter to the oR SE. But I bet you'll like it better with the ER in the path.

 

John S.

[AlanProuse]

Thanks John,

 

Many thanks for the confirmation.

 

Alan

[Superdad]

43 minutes ago, thotdoc said:

The 1.2 supplying the ER is running hot...to hot to hold, set at 7. Is this norma?l

 

I'm surprised you can even get the 1.1A LPS-1.2 to run an EtherREGEN at 7V.  I can't here.

At 7V the EtherREGEN will draw nearly 1.3A.  Please set your LPS-1.2 to 12V. At that voltage the EtherREGEN will be drawing a little less than 0.8A and you UltraCap supply will be much happier--and a bit cooler, though still warm/hot.

[thotdoc]

2 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

I'm surprised you can even get the 1.1A LPS-1.2 to run an EtherREGEN at 7V.  I can't here.

At 7V the EtherREGEN will draw nearly 1.3A.  Please set your LPS-1.2 to 12V. At that voltage the EtherREGEN will be drawing a little less than 0.8A and you UltraCap supply will be much happier--and a bit cooler, though still warm/hot.

Thank you

[pl_svn]

I have a spare LPS-1.2 but before trying using it to power my EtherRegen...

- Lumin U1 Mini connected to B port

- Lumin is powered by a Vinnie Rossi ultracaps LPS (complete isolation from mains... I believe!)

- Lumin is connected via USB to a Metrum Adagio DAC but there's an ISORegen (powered by an LPS-1.2) in between

 

question: will I need to ground the etherRegen? 😐

[Superdad]

5 hours ago, pl_svn said:

question: will I need to ground the etherRegen? 😐

 

Hi Paolo:

The decision about use of the EtherREGEN’s Ground screw is based on your ‘A’ side connections—not what is on ‘B’ side.

 

Grounding of the ‘A’ side, either through use of the stock supplied SMPS—which is internally ground-shunted and works as long as your mains connection has ground—or via the Ground screw if using a “floated” output LPS (UltraCap or some other brand), is only to reduce port-to-port leakage among the 4 ‘A’-side RJ45 jacks.

Virtually no leakage current can pass over the moat (to ‘B’ side), so if you have only one connection to ‘A’ side RJ45s then grounding should not matter at all.

 

Please refer to the EtherREGEN’s User Guide for more details on this subject.

[pl_svn]

ooops... right... forgot about that (but I did read the manual: swear it 😛 )

was also misleaded by the ground terminal being on B side, sorry 😔

 

thank you Alex

[guillaume31]

Hi all,

 

My Hifi and my HomeCinema system are integrated together, with some components shared and others separate. I currently have a switch onto which the HC player (HTPC running JRiver), the NAS (where movies and music files are stored) and the NAA (an sMS-200 Ultra) are connected.

 

I initially thought the EtherRegen could be a drop-in replacement, hence bringing benefits to both systems, but looking at the recommendations here and on UptoneAudio's website, I can see that it is recommended to connect the NAS directly to the modem/router.

 

I'm now wondering how I could integrate the EtherRegen to benefit both my HC and my Hifi system ? Should my HTPC be connected to it and do you think it would bring any benefits ? (i.e. not having the NAS on the EtherRegen)

 

Thanks

 

Guillaume

[skatbelt]

Updated my ER from v1 to v2 yesterday. Probably as one of the last Mohicans. Can report that there is nothing missing. All qualities are still present and yes, may be even a little more transparent. 

 

Yesterday I also posted a comparison between stock SMPS and JS-2 in the other thread and had similar experiences as @thotdoc with his comparison between stock and LPS1.2

  

 

 

[Jean Plum]

Hello,

 

If one purchases from Audiostore UK, will they honour the 30 day guarantee, or is at their discretion ?

 

Thanks.

[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 😉

[Bernstein]

On 12/6/2019 at 1:40 AM, Superdad said:

 

I'm surprised you can even get the 1.1A LPS-1.2 to run an EtherREGEN at 7V.  I can't here.

At 7V the EtherREGEN will draw nearly 1.3A.  Please set your LPS-1.2 to 12V. At that voltage the EtherREGEN will be drawing a little less than 0.8A and you UltraCap supply will be much happier--and a bit cooler, though still warm/hot.

Depends on the number of inputs used. My observation with 12V: ever input on A side adds 0.1A consumption. 0.6A base current + 4 Ethernet x 0.1A = 1A 

 

Shows that unused ports lead to powered off controllers etc...(or am I wrong?)

 

With my my old regular switch the current was 0.1A overall and nothing changed this. 

[ambre]

Dear Superdad,

 

I have question about the benefits of the EtherRegen in combination with a WiFi Setup.

 

I don not have at this vary moment cabled ethernet in my living room. 

I use an Apple Airport Express or  an new Ubiquiti AmpliFi Instant Mesh as a Wi-Fi receiver / hub and connect by an ethernet cable the Allo Usbridge Signature followed by the fantastic USB ISO Regen (feeded by LPS 1.2.) 😀

 

Is the EtherRegen also advisable in this kind of set-up? Or is solely defined for Ethernet cable resp. wiring?

Ps. I cannot find this in your manual.

 

Because you stated  " A typical user will attach a single Ethernet cable from their main network router or switch to any of these ‘A’-side ports—as illustrated on the opposite page. 

 

Warm greetings from the Netherlands,

Andreas

[JohnSwenson]

Since you have a device that converts WiFi to Ethernet cable, that is where you put the EtherreGEN, connected to the Ethernet Cable coming out of the WiFi converter. The other side of the ER goes to your Usbridge.

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

8 hours ago, guillaume31 said:

Hi all,

 

My Hifi and my HomeCinema system are integrated together, with some components shared and others separate. I currently have a switch onto which the HC player (HTPC running JRiver), the NAS (where movies and music files are stored) and the NAA (an sMS-200 Ultra) are connected.

 

I initially thought the EtherRegen could be a drop-in replacement, hence bringing benefits to both systems, but looking at the recommendations here and on UptoneAudio's website, I can see that it is recommended to connect the NAS directly to the modem/router.

 

I'm now wondering how I could integrate the EtherRegen to benefit both my HC and my Hifi system ? Should my HTPC be connected to it and do you think it would bring any benefits ? (i.e. not having the NAS on the EtherRegen)

 

Thanks

 

Guillaume

You are not going to hurt anything by hooking things up the "wrong" way so go ahead and experiment, see what sounds better.

 

The recommendation for nothing else on the A side is primarily for situations where the A side is used to connect to the primary audio endpoint (such as using optical from the SFP cage to an endpoint with optical input).  If you have the B side RJ45 connected to the audio endpoint, then multiple devices on the A side should not be a particular issue. It primarily depends on where things are. If the NAS and and other devices are all in the same area, connecting them to the A jacks on the ER is fine. If the NAS and other devices are on the other side of the house then use a regular switch to connect them, then feed a single cable to the ER which is near the audio endpoint.

 

This is NOT about "Everybody has to hook their system up the same way". There are really only two recommendations: The packets going to the audio endpoint should cross the moat (A->B or B->A), and the ER should be fairly close to the audio endpoint. This means that if you have a choice between 5 feet away or 60 feet away, go with the 5 feet. This does not mean it will not work at 60 feet, but that you will probably get better sound with the shorter cable from the ER to the audio endpoint.

 

Pretty much everything else is try it and see if you like it.

 

John S.

[ambre]

58 minutes ago, JohnSwenson said:

Since you have a device that converts WiFi to Ethernet cable, that is where you put the EtherreGEN, connected to the Ethernet Cable coming out of the WiFi converter. The other side of the ER goes to your Usbridge.

 

John S.

Thanks for quick reply.

I will order as soonest the EtherRegen. A pitty we have to wait till Feb20.

Very best regards.

[Tintinabulum]

9 hours ago, Jean Plum said:

If one purchases from Audiostore UK, will they honour the 30 day guarantee, or is at their discretion ?

I believe it's their policy, 14 day return, you pay the return postage.

I've nothing but good things to say about (Martin) Audiostore.

 

[BigAlMc]

7 minutes ago, Tintinabulum said:

I've nothing but good things to say about (Martin) Audiostore.

 

+1 on that. Martin's great.

[jacquesr]

To use a JS-2 to power, the ER, do we need a power cable with 2.1mm barrel plug on one end and a 2.5mm barrel plug on the other? 

The JS-2 has 2.5mm outputs, the ER 2.1mm inputs.

[elan120]

6 minutes ago, jacques_racine said:

To use a JS-2 to power, the ER, do we need a power cable with 2.1mm barrel plug on one end and a 2.5mm barrel plug on the other? 

The JS-2 has 2.5mm outputs, the ER 2.1mm inputs.

 

Yes, that is correct.

[Superdad]

19 minutes ago, jacques_racine said:

To use a JS-2 to power, the ER, do we need a power cable with 2.1mm barrel plug on one end and a 2.5mm barrel plug on the other? 

The JS-2 has 2.5mm outputs, the ER 2.1mm inputs.

 

While the EtherREGEN's DC jack has a pin with nominal 2.1mm diameter--and the exact same jack is used in UltraCap, USB/ISO REGENs, and Sonore Rendu units--the jack's outer barrel contact spring is only on one side.  So when you insert a plug, it pushes it slightly off center. This assures that contact between the center pin of the jack and the inner diameter of the plug is made--even if the plug has a 2.5mm hole. Thus either size can be used.

[soares]

Hi folks! May I ask you how you are grounding your eR’s? Type of cable/connections/etc.

Thank you Jorge

[elan120]

20 hours ago, soares said:

Hi folks! May I ask you how you are grounding your eR’s? Type of cable/connections/etc.

Thank you Jorge

I am using 12 gauge fine stranded wire, soldered one end to a small spade terminal connector, wire the other end to ground leg of a electrical plug.  Spade connector will connect to the eR's ground and plug the electrical to the electrical receptacle.

[alsterfan]

@Superdad Hi Alex,

If I am lucky, Martin will send my ER next week to me. So I am beginning to figure out how to best integrate it in my chain.

As you may remember I am using 2 Mac minis:

To Mm 1 a HDD with my music is attached via USB.

Mm 1 is connected via a Thunderbolt cable with Mm 2.

So, using "file unblocking" on Mm 1, I can see the music files on Mm 2.

 

Please tell me, if I am wrong with my planned configuration:

 

1. I want to attach Mm 1 & 2 via Lan cables to the A-side, and another LAN cable would be used to connect ER´s B-side to the Larosita Streamer/DAC with its RJ45 input (Larosita creates its own network).

Concerning this configuration would the Thunderbolt cable still be necessary?

 

2. Perhaps another possibility (not my first choice) would be to only connect Mm 2 with ER´s A-side.

 

Which connection would be your favourible choice?

 

Many thanks in advance for your kind advice.

Best,

Uwe

[Superdad]

2 hours ago, alsterfan said:

1. I want to attach Mm 1 & 2 via Lan cables to the A-side, and another LAN cable would be used to connect ER´s B-side to the Larosita Streamer/DAC with its RJ45 input (Larosita creates its own network).

Concerning this configuration would the Thunderbolt cable still be necessary?

 

Hi Uwe: 

You have the basic idea right (connect the 'B' side port to whatever is the DAC-attached/DAC-integrated endpoint). But you can also experiment.

I am a little skeptical of your statement that the "Larosita creates its own network." That would mean that it acts as its own DHCP router, assigning IP addresses to other computers on the network. From what I read on their web page that is not the case.  So I think you will need to run some cable from upstream on your home network (from other modem/router/switch) to one of the 'A'-side ports of the EtherREGEN.

 

2 hours ago, alsterfan said:

2. Perhaps another possibility (not my first choice) would be to only connect Mm 2 with ER´s A-side.

 

I am not sure of where your computers are receiving their network IP addresses from prior to EtherREGEN, so I can't really advise you on this.  Yet I am sure you will discover what work and what does not.   

Have fun!

 

P.S. I saw that Martin at Audiostore received his 37Kg(!) of EtherREGENs today, so it won't be long before he gets your and other's orders shipped out.