EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions thread

[Roasty]

4 minutes ago, bailyhill said:

The manual and Uptone website suggests the B side as close to the dac as possible.  If you have more items plugged into the BS switch, you can cascade it with the ER.  I got best results cascading the classic Cisco 2960 and the ER.  I plugged several things

into the Cisco and cascade that to the ER to the A side, and from the B side directly to my DAC,

 

Experiment a bit, as all systems are different.

 

sorry a bit new to the nomenclature..
when u say cascade, do you mean:

 

gigabit switch to all my other equipment as well as the ER (A side), then ER (B side) to Intel Nuc

 

12 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Are there other items plugged into the existing GB switch?  There are 4 inputs on the A side of ER, so if there are no more than 4 items plugged into GB switch, ER can just replace the existing GB switch.

 

yes, i am using 6 out of 8 ports on the gigabit switch at present.

 

 

thanks guys!

 

[bailyhill]

Hello Roasty

 

Cascade is a term used in control theory to mean where two units are connected in series.  Over on the Naim Forum, they use 

the term Cascade to describe this connection.  Since you are using 6 ports into the gibabit switch, you probably want to continue to do that and connect the 7th port to the A side of the ER.  Most who have tried the cascade of the Cisco with the ER, or 2 Ciscos have reported an uplift in sound.  No one knows why.

[ASRMichael]

@Superdad Are new batches of EtherRegen still going to be ready for dispatch in February?

[Superdad]

4 hours ago, ASRMichael said:

@Superdad Are new batches of EtherRegen still going to be ready for dispatch in February?

 

YES indeed! 

After January's batch of 240 went out (several days ahead of schedule) I had triangulated and posted February 26th as the date for all 220 February-promised orders to be shipped--because the aluminum cases were not arriving until the 17th. We cranked hard all month and on this Monday the 24th shipped all the domestic orders, and today--a day ahead of schedule--shipped all the international orders. (my hand is cramped from signing 100+ commercial invoices to attach to the FedEx packages). 

The only exception being the final 11 international orders that contain either two EtherREGENs or EtherREGENs plus UltraCap or ISO REGENs, etc.). Just now printed the labels for those and those last boxes will get packed and shipped in the morning--so exactly on the 26th as promised.

 

While a very few of the orders shipped this week were placed as far back as the first week of December, the bulk of the what went out were orders placed in January and February. It feels really good to at last catch up, though I feel bad for some of our overseas dealers who are not going to receive anywhere near the quantities they requested for March.

 

Folks visiting the EtherREGEN web page will note that we are now completely sold out and waiting on more circuit boards.  Those will arrive mid-March, but I have a 1-week ski vacation planned beginning the 20th. So for now the promised date for shipment of new orders says April 15th. There is a decent chance we will ship sooner, but between pushing so hard for so many months--and some other chores (accounting, taxes, parts ordering) getting deferred--it is time to normalize the pace. 

 

Many thanks to all who have made EtherREGEN such a great success.  And thank you to those who placed orders and waited patiently to try one for themselves.

 

We are sure that as this new wave of 200+ receive and install their EtherREGENs in the coming week, they will have questions and perhaps some inevitable difficulties. Happily, there are many experienced EtherREGEN users here--and we hope we can count on you all to pitch in with guidance for the newbies. 

 

[Cable Monkey]

A few idle moments at work, and suddenly this...

[mourip]

My ER arrived this afternoon and I have it plugged in and warming up, but not in the system yet.

 

Question. My system has a clean side and a "dirty" side. If I use the included PS should I just plug it into the dirty side since the "B" port is isolated from the "A" side?

 

I have an LPS that I can use but I wanted to try out the various possibilities to see what differences there might be.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow!

[Pokey77]

I received my ER today. I want listen to my system right before I put the ER in but probably won't be able to do that until Saturday morning. Is it OK to plug the ER in to the wall only and let it burn in until then?

 

Also, is this box hot swappable?

[Superdad]

34 minutes ago, Pokey77 said:

Is it OK to plug the ER in to the wall only and let it burn in until then?

Sure, that is fine to warm and stabilize the clock. But actually passing data might still affect the "burn-in" that people seem to hear.

 

34 minutes ago, Pokey77 said:

Also, is this box hot swappable?

Not a problem in that no damage will ever be caused.  And most network gear will reconnect/link automatically. But it is possible for Roon or some Linux endpoint to not entirely renegotiate with a swap of cables. A quick reboot of the EtherREGEN would likely take care of that (just pull the power briefly and reapply).

 

[Pokey77]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

Sure, that is fine to warm and stabilize the clock. But actually passing data might still affect the "burn-in" that people seem to hear.

 

Not a problem in that no damage will ever be caused.  And most network gear will reconnect/link automatically. But it is possible for Roon or some Linux endpoint to not entirely renegotiate with a swap of cables. A quick reboot of the EtherREGEN would likely take care of that (just pull the power briefly and reapply).

 

Alex, I appreciate the quick reply and advice. I'll be using an Aurender N10 with the ER. Have read I think only one Aurender user but am hoping to have the same SQ improvement that nearly all have written about. I'll get the ER warming up now.

[Morph]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbRF8z8dQFU&feature=youtu.be

 

Hans Beekhuyzen - The Sound of Network Switches.

[mourip]

Any recommendations for the best voltage for the ER? I ran it first off the supplied PS and and then off an LPS. Runs quite hot. Hotter than my server. At 12v it must be dumping a lot of heat from the regulators? Better at 9v? Also any thoughts about what sounded best?

[octaviars]

@mourip I have tried different voltages and the heat is the same so not much to gain there.

I run mine at 12v now and before I added heat sinks it was around 47-48C with heat sinks it is around 37-38C.

 

Sound wise in my system I found no differences between voltages and I had only a 12v available rail in my PSU so I went with that.

[Roasty]

3 minutes ago, octaviars said:

@mourip I have tried different voltages and the heat is the same so not much to gain there.

I run mine at 12v now and before I added heat sinks it was around 47-48C with heat sinks it is around 37-38C.

 

Sound wise in my system I found no differences between voltages and I had only a 12v available rail in my PSU so I went with that.

 

Could you share a pic? Would like to see where u added them and what they look like. 

[octaviars]

@Roasty 

 

[ASRMichael]

7 minutes ago, octaviars said:

@Roasty 

 

Where did you get hestsinks from?

[Superdad]

18 minutes ago, mourip said:

At 12v it must be dumping a lot of heat from the regulators?

The heat is mostly from the logic chips and the isolating regulator. All the LT3042/45 linear regs are fed at less than 1 volt above their output setting--regardless of external supply voltage. The whole thins would be impossible otherwise. 

 

Don't worry about the heat. The case is part of the "cooling system." We ran extensive thermal tests inside and out.

--Saul Goodman 

[Iving]

19 hours ago, mourip said:

Any recommendations for the best voltage for the ER? I ran it first off the supplied PS and and then off an LPS. Runs quite hot. Hotter than my server. At 12v it must be dumping a lot of heat from the regulators? Better at 9v? Also any thoughts about what sounded best?

 

I'm sure I read a recommendation of 12V. I've only used the supplied PS so far. I haven't noticed any heat problems to write home about. I have an SR7 on order and plan to use the 12V rail for the eR, but may change to CPU if no SQ delta (which may be difficult to gauge because of simultaneous changes).

 

I've been waiting for the eR "hat" competition to start!

[octaviars]

18 hours ago, ASRMichael said:

Where did you get hestsinks from?

 

I bought them from a company in Germany called Reichelt. 

 

All my network equipment and Roon ROCK machine is in a cabinet that is fan cooled. 

 

 

 

[Iving]

7 hours ago, Johnnydev said:

why do you do this when the designer says it's not necessary

 

When you say "do this" I presume you mean "use a heatsink"?

 

There's been a fair amount of discussion about this across the various Uptone threads since eR launch.

 

@Superdadsays not to worry about the heat. Sure - I accept that fully. IIRC Alex and John did a bunch of testing and tried alternative heat-release design options, being satisfied in the end with what we have as the final product.

 

There are moot arguments in favour of using a heatsink - I mean the thing is a little hot-running anyway - plus there is an argument about longevity if the unit runs cooler. Maybe other considerations in favour.

 

A heatsink can't do any harm for a slightly hot-running small box.

 

So it's not such a controversial thing.

 

You could ask others. I have no axe to grind. I'm just another happy eR owner/user.

 

Edit: Oh - plus I want to win the eR "hat" competition. 🤩

 

Edit #2 - I notice on the "Cable & Power" thread you report:

On 2/14/2020 at 2:31 AM, Johnnydev said:

Since a week i running a Sbooster MKII 12V on the ER with better result.
Even better with a Audioquest Monsoon 1mtr powercable.💪

It's the same thing. Alex says the SMPS is fine. No need for a LPS.

 

Same with grounding. Alex says no need. I find it helps. But I had to experiment.

[Morph]

On 2/22/2020 at 4:21 AM, Cable Monkey said:

1G SFP SX Multimode Mini-Gbic Module, 1000Base-SX SFP LC Transceiver, Compatible for Cisco GLC-SX-MMD, Meraki, Ubiquiti UF-MM-1G, Netgear AGM731F, D-Link DEM-311GT, TP-Link, Zyxel, Mikrotik https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DD0Z7D8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_1MkuEbPGVAKTJ
Gigabit Ethernet Fiber Media Converter with a 1Gb SFP SX LC Multimode Module, 10/100/1000M RJ45 to 1000Base-SX, up to 550m, with a British Power Adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XBSZJL3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_QQkuEbJD4VNXD
10Gtek OM3 LC to LC Duplex Fiber Patch Cable 10m(33ft), 50/125 Multimode UPC Polish LSZH, Application for 1G SFP, 10G SFP+, Media Converter, Length: 1m to 50m, 5-Year Warranty https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DCYHCA6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_qSkuEb4KNY7F4
Buy one of each. The media converter comes with a SFP module of the same type.

@Cable Monkey  Thanks for the enlightening links. I spotted this post and ordered the kit. It arrived yesterday and I must say I'm delighted with the SQ improvement its added to my system. 

 

Thanks again,

 

Morph

[Dutch]

12V has indeed been recommended before by John since a PSU then has to supply lower currents. All other things being equal this usually is more efficient (less cable losses, possible conversion to heat in a PSU when it can supply both higher and lower voltages).

 

For the LPS 1.2 using 12V even is (near) mandatory when using multiple ports and/or the SFP slot since it can’t supply the required current at lower voltages (lower voltage=higher current to supply the same amount of power P=V*I).

[skatbelt]

Re: the two heatsink picture posters: those fixation brackets may not be a wise choice in the context of vibration damping...

[Iving]

38 minutes ago, skatbelt said:

Re: the two heatsink picture posters: those fixation brackets may not be a wise choice in the context of vibration damping...

 

ty

In my case, the eR is on a small shelf, fixed in a particular way to a block, in turn fixed in a particular way to the wall - where admittedly there is a vibration risk from my large Snell Type A III. For me the trade off is with controlling very heavy and stiff cables such that I have *nil* torque on the eR. My brackets have felt cushions adjacent to the eR. Damped clamping helps with vibration? Probably a two-edged sword.

[octaviars]

5 hours ago, skatbelt said:

those fixation brackets may not be a wise choice in the context of vibration damping...

 

My eR is in a complete different room from my system in a cabinet fixed to a conrete wall so not much vibration to deal with. I have still considered to use some type of rubber damping between brakets and cabinet. 

[Dev]

Hi Folks,

 

I received a eR couple of days back and having some network issues for which I need some help

 

My network is as follows:

 

                                                                                     Fiber

Orbi Wireless Router ------> EdgeRouter Switch -------------->  eR (B) ---> NUC7i7 ---> DAC

                                                      ^

                                                       |

                                                    NAS

 

I have reserved IP address for the NUC and NAS in the Orbi. So it supposed to get fixed IP address every time it request for DHCP.

 

In this setup the eR just replaced another switch. Before I got the eR, this network topology have been rock solid as its quiet simple. Every time I rebooted the NUC (or for that matter any devices in the network, like the NAS), it would connect to the network without any glitch. The problem started when I introduced the eR.

 

The issue for me if I reboot the NUC or I disconnect power to the eR and reconnect it back, the NUC would not be able to connect back to the network again. I am running Euphony on the NUC and hence I don't have shell access to troubleshoot anything.

 

On the eR side, I see both the orange (link) and green (activity) leds lit and on the NUC both are green (link is green since it negotiates at 100Mbps). On the Edgerouter, the fiber link is up at 1Gbps.

 

I ran packet capture on the Edgerouter and I don't see any DHCP request coming. Is it possible that eR may not be forwarding it for some reason ?

 

Sometime it works when I reboot the entire network chain - wireless router, edgerouter, eR, NUC and then it would connect but not always, sometime it connects just by rebooting the edgerouter and NUC. So its random and there is something to it that I am not able to understand.

 

I haven't tried setting the link speed specifically at 100Mbps in Euphony as auto-negotiate seems to work but not always - if I disconnect the ethernet cable and reconnect it, some times (not always) the link is negotiated at 10Mbps. Reboot of the NUC fixes this issue though.

 

ethtool eth0
Settings for eth0:
Supported ports: [ TP ]
Supported link modes:   10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
                       100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
                       1000baseT/Full
Supported pause frame use: No
Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
Supported FEC modes: Not reported
Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full
                       100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full
                       1000baseT/Full
Advertised pause frame use: No
Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
Advertised FEC modes: Not reported
Speed: 10Mb/s
Duplex: Full
Port: Twisted Pair
PHYAD: 1
Transceiver: internal
Auto-negotiation: on
MDI-X: on (auto)
Cannot get wake-on-lan settings: Operation not permitted
Current message level: 0x00000007 (7)
      drv probe link
Link detected: yes 

 

Any ideas ?