EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions thread

[Superdad]

2 hours ago, hemflaw said:

@Superdad Any help on this? 

Please contact us directly—with details on your setup and connections. Via the Contact Us form on our web page (not via this forum’s PM system). Thanks!

[Superdad]

16 minutes ago, dstubked said:

Are there any issues running the Etherregen from an LPS that does 9V and 2A?

 

No problem at all. But please do read both pages 5 and 8 of the User Guide as you might then have cause to utilize the Ground screw of the EtherREGEN.

What power supply are you considering using?

[Superdad]

10 minutes ago, Brucemck2 said:

If you use a CAPS to power the EtherRegen, do you need to ground the EtherRegen?  If “yes” what’s the best grounding point to use?

Hi Bruce:

Nice to hear from you (just received your e-mail with the same question).

What is a "CAPS?"  Are you referring to some brand/type of 3rd-party linear power supply? Or even our UltraCap LPS-1.2?

 

In any case, if:

a) The power supply used for the EtherREGEN has a "floated" DC output [Where its -VE/0-volt "ground" (the outer barrel of the DC plug) is not common to AC mains ground.]

AND

b) You are making more than one RJ45 wire Ethernet connection to the EtherREGEN's 'A'-side ports;

THEN

c) It would be appropriate for you to run a wire from the Ground screw of the EtherREGEN to a known AC mains ground point. 

 

If you are un the USA and want to order items that will make such grounding safe and easy, then get one of each of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071J61CSV/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VSDTVVX

 

All the best,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

8 minutes ago, Brucemck2 said:

Yes, UltraCap LPS-1.2

The UltraCap LPS-1.2 is of course a completely "floated"/isolated supply, so the guidelines I wrote above apply.

 

8 minutes ago, Brucemck2 said:

And to complicate things, everything in the system, including the LPS-1.2 and everything connected to it, is powered from a Richard Gray balanced isolation transformer (240v in and 120v out).

No worries, that is not relevant to the EtherREGEN or grounding. 

[Superdad]

On 12/20/2020 at 12:39 PM, richard_crl032 said:

Hi John,

Read some of your other posts and realised your expertise.

In short, I placed an order for end Jan 2021 production of the uptone ER.

Thanks again for the advice and help !

Richard

 

Thank you for your order Richard. You are lucky to have gotten into to the January batch--as the very last available unit for that month!

 

Here is a quick status update for all (I'm supposed to be on vacation and unplugged until the 4th; good thing my wife does not read the forums or I would be in trouble ):

 

—All EtherREGENs promised for shipment by December 17th shipped off well ahead of schedule as is always my goal (on the 7th for domestic units, on the 11th for the internationals).

 

—We have zero units left on the shelf, but 250 circuit boards in production and due here about January 13th.  However, we have only about 80 aluminum cases in stock, with our 450 piece order for cases delayed for shipment from Japan around January 28th (hopefully sooner).

 

—Because of the above, you can see that for January we will be able to complete and ship only 80 units. And as of this afternoon those have all been pre-ordered by end-users (our dealers are getting shut out of January; guess I will deal with their unhappiness about this early in the month).

 

—Since we will have plenty of boards and time to program/test/affix heatsinks in advance of more aluminum cases arriving, I feel confident in quoting February 11th as the outside ship date for any new orders that people place now. And a reasonable chance such orders will ship a few days sooner than that.

 

Thank you all for your business and enthusiasm in 2020.  Looking forward not only to our pandemic-stricken world recovering next year, but also to releasing some of the very exciting (and still secret--so don't ask) new products we have been cooking up for a while. [Not Ethernet-related is all I will say. So keep buying EtherREGEN's--it will not change or be superseded in 2021.]

 

Wishing you good health and great music in 2021,

 

Alex Crespi

 

Please note that UpTone Audio’s offices will be closed from December 21st to January 4th. Packages will be received, but no outbound shipments will be made nor will e-mail be answered during this period. We thank you for understanding and wish you a healthy holiday and new year.

 

[Superdad]

12 hours ago, PhilSLG said:

In any case, AfterDark has asked me to return it to them, so it's already on its way to Hong Kong!

Cheers, 

Phil

 

Hi Phil:

Sorry to hear you are having some trouble. Actual EtherREGEN failure is exceedingly rare, so it will be interesting to see what AfterDark reports once they receive your unit.

 

By the way, there is never a need to reload the original firmware file. The file on our web site is the same as has been loaded on every unit since December 1, 2019!

We have never seen corruption of that on an EtherREGEN.  So your earlier success after reloading the firmware must have been due to something else.  I state this because we really do not want a bunch of people trying to solve connectivity problems by opening and reloading firmware.  

 

You are welcome to write to us directly as well.  I will probably reply with a request for a diagram of your network.  It is well know that the Roon RAAT protocol--for all its ease of use with finding endpoints--is a bit fussy with some networks and endpoints. It is constantly polling the endpoint to confirm its presence, and a little extra latency, either by the endpoint or from hops through a couple of switches, can sometimes cause it to "let go" of the connection and report it being gone.

Not saying that is happening to you, but this is why when Roon is involved we like to look as a wider range of possibilities.

We certainly have a large number of DirectStream DS/Bridge II DAC owners enjoying the EtherREGEN, so we know there are no compatibility issues there.

 

Best wishes,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

18 minutes ago, FrankMA said:

I using an Ether Regen>Innuos MKII SE > Innuous Phoenix>Directstream DS.

 

Hi Frank:  

I am not clear about your chain.

What connections on 'A' and 'B' sides of EtherREGEN?

Where is your Roon Core Server?

Are you using one or both of the Innuos Zen MKII SE's Ethernet ports? If so, how?

[Superdad]

32 minutes ago, FrankMA said:

Roon server on Innous

Netgear to ER A Side (nothing else)

B Side to Innuous

Only using LAN in to Innuous. USB out

 

Well with Roon Core on the Innous on the ''B' side of EtherREGEN, I don't see how the EtherREGEN can be responsible for the issue you are having.

 

By the way, what sort of cable (shown as Nordost Red Dawn) is it that you have running from your Oppo to your DirectSteam DAC?

And what is us with the light blue cable (Ethernet) running from your Netgear switch the DS DAC as well?

Am quite sure you are defeating the active differential isolation moat of the EtherREGEN with one or both of those cables...

[Superdad]

13 minutes ago, Flashman said:

Here’s a rave review by The Absolute Sound:

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/uptone-audio-etherregen-ethernet-switch

 

Thanks for the link!

 

That review appeared in the December 2020 print (and digital subscriber) issue of The Absolute Sound, leading to a Product-of-the-Year award in the January issue (in the category of "Technology Breakthrough.").

I am very happy to see the review is now available to all online. Now we can link to it on our website... 

[Superdad]

3 hours ago, Rovo said:

From a post in the thread for the Sonore OpticalModule (by John Swenson September 6, 2019) I understand that the switches should be able to handle flow control/pause frame (IEEE 802.3x).

Yes, the EtherREGEN absolutely has supported flow-control/pause packets from the very beginning. 

The original Sonore opticalModule (the one in the small, microRendu-size case) does not, but the new opticalModule Deluxe does.

 

3 hours ago, Rovo said:

In this setup can I profit from going from the A-side to the B-side of the EtherREGEN? Theoretical it should (45Mb/s for DSD512), but as always practice can be different. The EtherREGEN is one of the first batch, so already some time in my installation and I would like it to stay

 

Your use case and chain as described is quite typical, so yes, A>B, fiber>copper should benefit you in the same way as for so many others.

[Superdad]

On 1/24/2021 at 3:36 AM, Stereophonic said:

I have an issue connecting EtherRegen with my LG C9 TV.
It is very strange.
I have connected EtherRegen from router to A port and B to Server. If i connect TV to an A free port it doesn’t work, but if i connect TV (instead of server) on B port it works.
When i reverse B to A Server and TV plays perfectly but SQ decreases..

In the 14 months of shipping EtherREGEN you are the third person to report exactly that problem when using our 

switch with an LG OLED television.  We can only conclude that there is something odd about the way the LG network connection works and some incompatibility between it and the EtherREGEN.

 

It is extremely rare to find a documented case of true incompatibility—as EtherREGEN pretty much functions as a normal unmanaged switch. Yet it seems you have encounter one of the few. I recall that the other two people found simple workaround—allowing them to keep the LG TV upstream of the EtherREGEN—of first attaching the LG to a small cheap switch and feeding that into one of the ‘A’ side ports. I’m not sure if that cheap switch needs to be 100Mbps or if it can be a Gigabit-capable switch.

[Superdad]

2 hours ago, Abolive said:

Hello all. I've got a weird noise coming from the ER and it spoils my listening sessions, being easily heard from where I seat.

I recorded it (see attached). Have you already heard it? Apart from the fact is voids the improvements brought by the ER, I'm worried my unit is faulty. 

 

Hi Arnaud:

You have had your EtherREGEN for just over 1 year.  Is it only now developing the mechanical noise you recorded?

 

Are you certain it is coming from the EtherREGEN itself and not from the UpTone-branded SMPS power brick? (1 or 2 out of 1,000 of those develop a mechanical buzz due to loosening of transformer windings.) Important to know: Are you using our supply or some other brand power supply? If a 3rd-party unit, what model and voltage?

 

The only part on the circuit board which could possibly develop the noise you recorded would be the inductor embedded in the isolating DC converter we across the moat to get power to the 'B' side.

 

A week ago someone else sent in their new EtherREGEN with a similar complaint (though he referred to it as a very high-pitched "chirp"). But I ran his unit for a couple of days--with the aluminum case both on and off--and could not reproduce the problem with his.  We swapped in a new board--equally dead-silent to my ears (and to my 19 year old son's ears in case the pitch was too high for my 58 year hearing) and sent back to him.  What is really strange is that he says the new board still "chirps."

 

So we are left scratching our heads--since you are only the second person to report this phenomenon.  Still, it is concerning to us. 

While the slight mechanical noise in no way affects the electrical performance of the EtherREGEN, if you can hear it from a distance (quite surprising!), then we would want to take care of that for you by exchanging your unit (and studying your sample).  You would need to mail it back to us. I will reply to your e-mail with instructions.

 

We received your e-mail about this on Friday. I was away for the weekend and am just now facing the tall mountain of nearly 100 inquiries which came in since my departure Thursday afternoon.

We hope that everyone sending us messages understands that properly responding to each takes time (I often spend 6-7 hours a day replying to e-mail which is greatly impacting other work as well as my lower-back and neck.). There is a priority order for e-mail: First up are troubles, second are order logistics, third are quick usage and applicability questions. And tied for last are: a) the huge number of long messages with people describing their systems in detail, asking about different connection setups, or if the EtheREGEN will benefit them and how; b) dealer/importer and press inquiries (we leave so much money on the table because we can't keep up with demand).

 

Cordialement,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

4 minutes ago, Abolive said:

I posted here to know if fellow forumers had observed the same phenomenon and because this awesome forum must adress everything ER related, good or bad :p

I LOVE the ER, and am gobsmacked by what it brings, it honors its reputation. 

 

Dear Arnaud: 

Most important is that we are so glad to know your health is recovered!

 

Thank you for your factual answers and for your kind words.  

We are happy that you are enjoying the EtherREGEN at last.  And we agree that all should be public--good or bad--about our products.

As indicated, so far--out of about 2,000 shipped--only yourself and one person here in the states has experienced the issue you raise. 

We look for to resolving it for you very soon.

Best,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, Stereophonic said:

Thank you for your answer. 
My unit was bought in April by my dealer. 
Could it be i need to upgrade EtherRegen to latest firmware?

 

I did reply via e-mail to your message last week--with the same information posted here--but the e-mail address you gave failed and the message come back to us.

 

No, the issue you have with LG OLED TV is not something that can be fixed with firmware. Especially since we do not know what causes it and it seems unique to LG OLED TVs.  Sorry about that.

[Superdad]

42 minutes ago, scolley said:

Is it possible to power an external clock - which is in turn connected to my ER - with my JS-2, which itself is also powering my DAC? And if so, does that too mandate a swap of ER A and B connections?

 

No problem with that!  The EtherREGEN's clock input BNC is in the 'B' side power/"ground" domain--and your DAC is also i the downstream 'B' side domain. So no problem charing a JS-2 between those. 

[Superdad]

4 hours ago, jomsjoms said:

Will this network switch work with Etherregen via fiber connection? (Switch = Ubiquiti ES-16-150w).

https://store.ui.com/collections/operator-edgemax-switches/products/edgeswitch-16-150w

 

That one will work fine. Just be sure to order a matched set of two 1 Gigabit SFP transceivers and fiber optic cable with LC plugs. Single-mode or multi-mode will work--as long as all 3 pieces (the two transceiver modules and the fiber cable) are the same type.

[Superdad]

30 minutes ago, denniswaugh said:

would like to remove the smps and use my HDPlex 100w Lpsu.

Hi Dennis:

 

I am sorry, but your indication that you have an early HDPLEX 100W unit sends up all sorts of red flags for us.  That earlier model is widely known to not have reliable over voltage protections--especially with the variable output. Not only are the there many reports of that supply damaging gear from voltage spikes or other incidents, but we had a lot of first-hand experience with original UltraCap LPS-1 users having a input/charging regulator fried by an HDPLEX 100W (LPS-1 was not tolerant of spikes above 15V--and we could identify such as the cause of failure by a nice hole blown in that one part).

 

So while it is possible--but not at all advisable--to run your EtherREGEN from 12.9V, we request that you absolutely do not do so with that HDPLEX 100W supply. To be blunt, we can not honor your EtherREGEN warranty if you do so.

In addition, we advise that you discontinue use of the HDPLEX as the "energizing"/charging supply for your original LPS-1.

 

Sorry to be alarmist, but all the above is factual and fairly widely reported.

Thanks for understanding,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

32 minutes ago, jrobbins50 said:

@magnium, an excellent suggestion — but unfortunately, that did not fix things for me. Still no green light on the microRendu if it runs through the EtherRegen. JCR 

Hi:

Traveling with family matters this week so have to be brief.

Pretty sure your issue is being caused by the optical SFP transceiver module you are inserting into the EtherREGEN. 

What transceivers are you using in both the opticalModule and the EtherREGEN?

Try pushing them in even harder than you would expect to need to. 

Also, there is a known but still mysterious issue sometimes with the SFP transceivers that Sonore has been shipping. Sometimes they don’t work reliably in the EtherREGEN—despite the fact that @JohnSwenson designed both models with the exact same SFP cage, connector, and positioning. 

 

Here is the link to an inexpensive SFP module that is compatible with what Sonore ships—and which works well in the EtherREGEN. This one has solved the problem for a number of users. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U77VPX2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_Oa2nllPidwC9B

[Superdad]

13 minutes ago, acousticsguru said:

Who'd hire anyone who, instead of trying to solve a problem, keeps replying something "can't be", professing an utter and complete lack of scientific curiosity? 

That's just it.  And thank you David for your observations.

 

However to all:

Let's please remember that this thread is dedicated to "EtherREGEN: Installation, Usage, Difficulty, Questions." 

There are many other places to debate with those who do or do not wish to acknowledge what is or isn't real and audible. 

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, R1200CL said:

So even the new oM Deluxe doesn’t contain a CCHD-575 ? 

That is not correct. Both the original opticalModule and the opticalModule Deluxe use a Crystek CCHD-575. 

Think you took my words the wrong way or out of context. Its the other EtherREGEN stuff (dual clock domains, all differential clock lines, differential isolators, and ultra-low-jitter flip-flops, etc. that only the EtherREGEN has.

[Superdad]

17 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.

 

Hi Fred:

We would like to assist you. 

To do so we would like to know...

a) All your network connections (what is where, especial your Roon Core Server) and endpoint.

b) What LEDs you see lit about the EtherREGEN's ports when the incidents happen.

 

Will also want to know your full name so we can date your purchase. There is a chance that a new firmware we have (not the one on the web) might help--but that depends upon your set up and answers to the above.

So please send us a message via the Contact Us form on our web site.

 

Thanks,

--Alex C.

[Superdad]

21 minutes ago, agladstone said:

I was also wondering if it would be better on A side (IN) or B side (out) OR if I would have any benefit from one on A side and one on B side ? (I have three of these Baske Medical Ethernet isolators in total). 
FYI, I’m not really even completely sure what these things actually do? Apparently the provide galvanic isolation of Ethernet and prevent Ethernet line leakage, but I definitely think they added an improvement in my system prior to getting the EtherRegen. 

 

Those "isolators" are not much more that another set of Ethernet magnetics, along with some mild passive filter elements (has to be mild or they filter the high speed stuff which needs to be passed.

 

You can use them if you wish, but only on the 'A' side please.  Please always avoid putting anything in-line between the EtherREGEN and your DAC-attached endpoint (or Ethernet-input-equipped DAC).

[Superdad]

11 hours ago, One and a half said:

The 30 days is the limit for a money back guarantee, by the time the burn in is due, the time has expired. I didn't read burn in needed in the manual, but understand caps need time to settle. I'll ask for the RMA.

 

Hi Gary:

I personally hear the most change in the first 30-hours of usage. But if it--as my wife is fond of saying--"does not make your socks go up and down" then please do return it for a cheerful refund. Life is too short to live with things that do not spark joy (sorry, now I am quoting Marie Kondo! ).

 

Speaking of sparking joy:

In sorting out the weekend's e-mail mountain this morning (oh Mondays!), I came across reports from other new EtherREGEN owners...

 

From someone in Austria--

"Hello Alex,

The Ether Regen did arrive.

I am stunned by the performance upgrade for my MolaMola Tambaqui.

Fantastic product. Worth every penny. ASR is dead wrong on the Ether Regen.

I am considering a LPS as next purchase.

Kind regards"

 

And here in the states--

"I just added the EtherREGEN to my system wired directly to my Innuos Zen Mk III. Wow! I thought I had great sound before and didn't really think I'd hear a difference sufficient to justify the price. I bought it with the ability to return it if I didn't like the performance, so I had no predisposition to imagine I heard an improvement. I had just watched the review on the Audio Science Review YouTube channel - which said it couldn't possibly affect audio sound positively. I should invite that guy to my house for some extended A-B listening! This was analogous to focusing an out-of-focus camera. Stunning improvement in clarity and sound stage. Distinct leading edges on even electric bass notes. Suddenly acoustic guitars sounded like acoustic guitars rather than pale imitations. Snare drums had the impact of snare drums. I couldn't stop listening. It's addictive. If the guy at Audio Science Review can't find a difference between this and a $20 switch, he's either measuring with instruments lacking sufficient resolving power, is measuring the wrong things or is looking at the data at the wrong level of "magnification." "

 

Yet as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary," and that is totally okay!

 

Best,

--Alex C.

 

[Superdad]

1 minute ago, xllms said:

May I know anyone running his etherREGEN using 12V LPS all these while?

Hi:

As indicated in the EtherREGEN User Guide—and on the back panel of the unit itself—any +DC voltage in the range of 7~12V is perfectly fine.

The EtherREGEN consumes the same wattage regardless of input voltage. 
The heat does not vary with input voltage.

And—assuming same performance of the power supply at different voltages—the sonic performance of EtherREGEN will be the same from 12V as from 7V.

[Superdad]

10 minutes ago, xllms said:

Thank you for the prompt reply, Superdad. Will there be any sonic difference with different Voltages?

My apologies, I was trying to be clear about that when I wrote:

13 minutes ago, Superdad said:

...assuming same performance of the power supply at different voltages—the sonic performance of EtherREGEN will be the same from 12V as from 7V.