EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions thread

[further]

I previously used a SonicTransporter i5 CDR and ER.   I utilize a VPN, and when engaged would not reflect server nor renderer using SonicOrbiter web interface.   However, I could directly enter the web address for these in browser and they would come up to allow update and managing activities or I could temporarily disconnect VPN to allow using SonicOrbiter to manage.

[MasterWarzombie]

Hi ,

Following a Bacon audio test, I am trying an experiment with my JS2 to power both my Qutest DAC and my etherregen.
My DAC is connected to my Sotm streamer via a USB cable.
My streamer is plugged into the B side of the ER.

In this case, the moat is defeated?

 

 

 

JS2 ....> DAC Chord Qutest

JS2 ---> ER

 

FARAD power----> Sotm Streamer 200 Ultra Neo 

 

ER -----> RJ45 ----->Sotm ---> USB ----> DAC Qutest

 

Problem or not ?

 

Merci

 

 

[Superdad]

56 minutes ago, MasterWarzombie said:

Hi ,

Following a Bacon audio test, I am trying an experiment with my JS2 to power both my Qutest DAC and my etherregen.
My DAC is connected to my Sotm streamer via a USB cable.
My streamer is plugged into the B side of the ER.

In this case, the moat is defeated?

 

Yes, by powering both your DAC and the EtherREGEN you are defeating the EtherREGEN's active differential isolation moat.  Allow me to explain:

 

The JS-2’s two separately regulated DC outputs are “floated” (though the chassis and shield of the transformer are grounded to AC mains for safety). 

Yet the two -VE/0-volt “grounds” of the JS-2’s outputs are common to each other--because there is only one transformer secondary, one set of Schottky diodes, one large filter choke. 

 

Power to the EtherREGEN is directly to its ‘A’ side (the ‘B’ side gets power through an isolating regulator). So using the shared -VE (“ground”) JS-2 to power both the the EtherREGEN and anything downstream of it will somewhat defeat the EtherREGEN’s isolation.

 

You could get around this that by "turning around" the EtherREGEN and running it in the B>A direction. Then the EtherREGEN's 'A' side 0-volt/-VE "ground" domain (from the JS-2) will be the downstream side and having that common with the DAC (though the JS-2) will not defeat the EtherREGEN's moat.  Hope that makes sense.

 

Perhaps the better suggestion would be for you to use the JS-2 to power both the DAC and your SOtM sMS-200Ultra--and use the Farad to power the EtherREGEN.

 

All the best,

--Alex C.

[hemflaw]

Hey all. I have an an LPS 1.2 > ER. On the A side I have conected a network uplink, an Antipodes CX, and a TV. On the B side I have connected my streamer, an Antipodes EX.

 

Yesterday morning I lost power to my studio, as sometimes happens, for about 30 seconds. Naturally I have to go reset everything after this.

 

In this case, I could not get my Antipodes EX back on the network. The other two devices connected to the ER were fine, so my troubleshooting focused on the EX. I saw the normal link lights on the ER B side as well as on the EX Network port.

 

However, swapping in a cable from the 'A' side to the EX streamer connected it immediately.

 

I've confirmed this by swapping the 'A' side to the CX server, at which point it failed to join the network. Returning the cable to the B side, the CX server hops back on the network immediately as expected.

 

I have reset the ER, and disconnected the LPS 1.2.

 

Sooo in summary I have solid orange and flashign green link lights on the B (100) side, and the same on the EX Streamer which is normally plugged into it. Anything I plug into the B (100) side is the same.

 

Weird... Any tips? Did the power outage somehow kill it?

[Egill23]

I have the ER + PaulHynes sr4t connected to an Allo signature on the b side and optical SFP (15m) to Sonore optical module on the A side. If the power is lost to the PH sr4t then Etherregen won't  get signal after repowering unless I break power upstream to the optical module. Once that is done everything goes back to normal.

[Superdad]

7 hours ago, hemflaw said:

Sooo in summary I have solid orange and flashign green link lights on the B (100) side, and the same on the EX Streamer which is normally plugged into it. Anything I plug into the B (100) side is the same.

 

Weird... Any tips? Did the power outage somehow kill it?

 

Hi:

Sorry but between the whole CX and EX and cable swapping you describe, I had trouble following your report. 

It is highly unlikely for your EtherREGEN to have failed. (Only about 5 out of 2,600+ in the field have ever actually failed--and them mostly the whole unit not working at all).

 

So let’s test your EtherREGEN just as a switch—without your Antipodes unit—by following these steps in order:

1) Be sure that the Clock switch of the EtherREGEN is in the INT position.

2) Remove power from the EtherREGEN and using the UpTone-branded 36W AC>DC adapter reapply power to it.

3) Attach network feed into an ‘A’ side port. You should see an amber LED flickering over that port. 

4) Attach a (powered on) standard computer with display screen into ‘B’ side.  Wait a moment and you should see the green LED flickering.

5) Launch a web browser and try to browse internet with that computer.

 

Report all results (including if the LEDs look different than above).

If you are unable to get on the internet with your computer attached to the ‘B’ port, try moving the computer to one of the ‘A’ side ports—alongside your network feed.  Again report results.

EtherREGEN is an unmanaged switch and should just work. If you can not get computer onto the internet through the EtherREGEN, then please try different LAN cables—both to the EtherREGEN from router and to computer from EtherREGEN.

 

If you can get on the internet through the above tests, then we can move on to other possibilities.

 

We receive a lot of trouble reports that get solved by switching from "shield-tied" metal shell LAN cables to those with just all-plastic RJ45 plugs. And indeed many streamer brands (such as Lumin, Aurender, dCS, and Auralic) advise against using shield-tied cables. I won't go into the why of it all (some of which does remain a mystery) but we do request that people try switching to non-shield-tied cables for testing.

 

Do let us know your results. Thanks,

--Alex C.

 

[Mihaylov]

On 6/9/2021 at 2:19 AM, sb6 said:

My only questions are - should I ground the EtherRegen to the wall outlet powering the Niagara 3000 (which powers the HDPlex LPSU) since the Niagara doesn't have a ground terminal? Should the clock also be grounded along with the Etherregen?

I'm interested in that too. Can anyone answer these questions?

[Mahler and Bach on Computer]

On 11/12/2019 at 5:21 PM, LowMidHigh said:

@Superdad

 

Allow me resubmit my question:

 

My planned movie streamer is ethernet -> Mac Mini -> MiniDSP U-DIO8 with 8 AES channels.

(HDMI sends he signal to the TV)

 

First off, ISO Reg + LP-1.2 is to be placed between the Mac Mini and the MiniDSP.

The other improvements I’m considering is your Mac Mini DC Kit + external power supply.

 

Given the above, will an ER before the Mac improve the overall sound quality?

 

Curious how do you strip off the audio signal from movie, which software do you use to play the audio signal?  Thank you very much.

 

[ikemi]

Hi guys,

 

Quick question. Can the a side optical port be used at the same time as a side ethernet ports on the etherregen? So can I run optical line to a side as well as ethernet line to a side then out to b side? Sorry for the stupid question!

 

Thanks

 

Ron

[Cable Monkey]

21 minutes ago, ikemi said:

Hi guys,

 

Quick question. Can the a side optical port be used at the same time as a side ethernet ports on the etherregen? So can I run optical line to a side as well as ethernet line to a side then out to b side? Sorry for the stupid question!

 

Thanks

 

Ron

Yes, that is exactly how I use mine. Optical to ISP router, A side to NUC (Roon Core) and B side to streamer. Optical has to be Gigabit.

[ikemi]

Thanks cablemonkey that sets me straight!!

 

Ron

[hemflaw]

On 10/30/2021 at 6:40 PM, Cable Monkey said:

Yes, that is exactly how I use mine. Optical to ISP router, A side to NUC (Roon Core) and B side to streamer. Optical has to be Gigabit.

Related question: 

Can 2 ERs in series be connected via optical instead of RJ45?

 

My situation:

Consumer modem > Home office gigabit router >Ethernet > in-wall RJ45 outlet > Ethernet > ER1 (A side, which also has connected a TV and Antipodes CX) > ER1 B side > AQ Ethernet cable > ER2 (w LPS 1.2) A side > ER2 B side > AQ Ethernet cable > Antipodes EX > USB out ...

 

ER2 is connected to a PS Audio power plant (running off a dedicated 10 gauge 20A line for source components) and is otherwise 'in the audio system'.  ER1, as well as the TV and Antipodes CX, are not.  So I'm hoping to reduce the potential for ground problems as well as just generally take a "belt and braces" approach to cleaning up the Ethernet going into the EX streamer.  

 

I'm wondering if I can completely isolate ER2 by using optical between ER1 and ER2 instead of Ethernet. If so, I understand it has to be gigabit; what optical cable should I use? I'm fairly familiar with networking but have never used optical.  

 

Apologies if this has been covered, couldn't find it in the thread or user manual.  

[hemflaw]

On 8/27/2021 at 4:31 PM, Superdad said:

 

Hi:

Sorry but between the whole CX and EX and cable swapping you describe, I had trouble following your report. 

It is highly unlikely for your EtherREGEN to have failed. (Only about 5 out of 2,600+ in the field have ever actually failed--and them mostly the whole unit not working at all).

 

So let’s test your EtherREGEN just as a switch—without your Antipodes unit—by following these steps in order:

1) Be sure that the Clock switch of the EtherREGEN is in the INT position.

2) Remove power from the EtherREGEN and using the UpTone-branded 36W AC>DC adapter reapply power to it.

3) Attach network feed into an ‘A’ side port. You should see an amber LED flickering over that port. 

4) Attach a (powered on) standard computer with display screen into ‘B’ side.  Wait a moment and you should see the green LED flickering.

5) Launch a web browser and try to browse internet with that computer.

 

Report all results (including if the LEDs look different than above).

If you are unable to get on the internet with your computer attached to the ‘B’ port, try moving the computer to one of the ‘A’ side ports—alongside your network feed.  Again report results.

EtherREGEN is an unmanaged switch and should just work. If you can not get computer onto the internet through the EtherREGEN, then please try different LAN cables—both to the EtherREGEN from router and to computer from EtherREGEN.

 

If you can get on the internet through the above tests, then we can move on to other possibilities.

 

We receive a lot of trouble reports that get solved by switching from "shield-tied" metal shell LAN cables to those with just all-plastic RJ45 plugs. And indeed many streamer brands (such as Lumin, Aurender, dCS, and Auralic) advise against using shield-tied cables. I won't go into the why of it all (some of which does remain a mystery) but we do request that people try switching to non-shield-tied cables for testing.

 

Do let us know your results. Thanks,

--Alex C.

 

Thanks for this, for the record this (or some variation) worked, I think My problem was related to an intermittent issue where the Antipodes CX didn't post properly.  

[Mihaylov]

It's my EtherRegen:

 

 

 

[PYP]

55 minutes ago, Mihaylov said:

It's my EtherRegen:

 

 

 

does it run very hot with the top on?

[Mihaylov]

2 hours ago, PYP said:

does it run very hot with the top on?

The palm can be held on the chassis cover without any discomfort. The all-aluminum chassis perfectly dissipates heat.

[chungjh]

On 6/8/2021 at 6:04 PM, R1200CL said:

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/62298-the-isolation-thread/?do=findComment&comment=1117805

 

Do you feel that two ERs clearly sounds better than one ER?

[R1200CL]

5 hours ago, chungjh said:

Do you feel that two ERs clearly sounds better than one ER?

Feel 😀

It’s an interesting observation that most people stats that dual EtherRegen is better than single. Somehow it makes sense. 
Also, since an ABAB isn’t possible with an opticalRendu, one guy clearly says adding an opticalModule after the EtherRegen’s done as ABAB, sounds best. And that is a very interesting observation, that I like to hear how others think sound without a clock present.  (If they happen to have opticalRendu and opticalModule available with at least one EtherRegen in the chain). 
 

I only have one EtherRegen myself for the time being, so I can’t tell you my personal experience. (Actually my EtherRegen isn’t in my setup just now). 
 

I predict adding a clock and then the opticalModule won’t make a difference. 
But I could be wrong. 
 

[PYP]

7 hours ago, chungjh said:

Do you feel that two ERs clearly sounds better than one ER?

my own path was:  one eR, then added LPS, then added an external clock (with progressively better sound, the clock being the bigger factor), then second eR stock (internal clock and provided power supply).  In my setup, the second eR was a significant upgrade.  So much so that I removed the opticalModule that fed the first eR.  Others have reported a range of improvements when adding the second eR from "it is OK" to "it blew my mind."  So, as with everything else, it depends on the setup.

[R1200CL]

9 hours ago, PYP said:

it depends on the setup.

….and yours is ?

[chungjh]

2 hours ago, R1200CL said:

….and yours is ?

Router>ER>ethernet cable>Lumin X1>Benchmark LA4 pre

[PYP]

2 hours ago, R1200CL said:

….and yours is ?

full details in my profile:  https://audiophilestyle.com/profile/24347-pyp/?tab=field_core_pfield_3

 

Ethernet portion is:  ISP-provided router/modem/wifi unit > DXE filter > in-wall cat 6 utp > ... > DXE filter >  

 

UpTone EtherREGEN #1 [SMPS] >

Purist Audio Design Cat 7  >

eR #2 [LPS 1.2] + Cybershaft OP13 clock [UpTone JS-2] [Kubala-Sosna DC cable] [Kubala-Sosna clock cable] >

Kubala-Sosna ethernet cable > DAC

 

Monoprice slimline copper ethernet patch cables to and from the DXE filter.   both eRs are A > B.  

[Avalfa]

On 11/30/2021 at 6:14 AM, Mihaylov said:

It's my EtherRegen:

 

 

 

I like the fact that it's all in one box!

First I wondered how you would connect to the B-side, but I figured that's what the u-shaped cut-out is for.

 

Personally in my experience the external PSU was the greatest improvement. I still need time to disassemble the BLT clock and place the OCXO on an better board with proper sine wave output. As an experiment.

[R1200CL]

7 hours ago, PYP said:

Ethernet portion is

A simple ABAB config, with clock on the last EtherRegen. No fiber. Thanks. Nice setup. 

[Mihaylov]

3 hours ago, Avalfa said:

I like the fact that it's all in one box!

Thanks! 

A little explanation: external clock on Morion MV197 (output signal is HCMOS square wave directly from OCXO), LT3045 linear power supply (two pieces in parallel) for ER and clock separately, Epcos input EMI filter combined with power connector , fuse holder and switch. The ER case is screwed through a thermal seal to the bottom of the chassis (5 mm brass sheet). The chassis itself is completely aluminum. The temperature of the chassis, taking into account the fact that not only ER is heated, is acceptable.

3 hours ago, Avalfa said:

First I wondered how you would connect to the B-side, but I figured that's what the u-shaped cut-out is for.

Yes.

 

The network signal path:

Router->ER (side A)->ethernet of Intel NUC Roon Server->usb ethernet controler of Intel NUC Roon Server->ER (side A)->ER (side B)->ethernet DAC (streamer/roon endpoint).

Thus, one ER is used twice in the signal path - before Roon Server (using switch only side A without moat) and after it using moat. Roon Server connection to Roon endpoint via ip forwarding protocol.