The EtherREGEN thread for various network, cable, power experiences and experiments

[Lucie]

Sorry I didn’t make myself clear, probably due to a lack of technical knowledge and English being a foreign language to me. I mentioned the grounding of ER just to show that the “missing of ground” couldn’t explain the relatively bad results of the sBooster. I took the grounding off a minute ago or so, because (I know) it isn’t necessary with the supplied PS. I hope that makes my point clear. If not, forget about it 🥵

[Lucie]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

@Lucie, could you (just for reference and to satisfy my curiosity ) mention the type of SBooster you’ve used? Was it the latest BOTW P&P Eco MKII or an earlier version?

The model is: BOTW P&P ECO 12-13.2V. No extra SBooster Ultra connected. I think it’s not the last model. I bought it new about 2 years ago.

[Lucie]

Some findings about upstream changes:

 

My modem/router (made mandatory by my internet provider Ziggo, here in The Netherlands, a Compal CH7465LG) never seemed a very audiophile part in the chain. In forums and tests I’ve read a lot of times that the modem doesn’t play a roll in sound quality. That’s why I never experimented with it. It only has an iFi iPurifier2 after its SMPS, since a year or so. I can’t remember having heard any effect on the sound.

Because my sBooster LPS on ER did not give a good result (slightly less resolution), I had plans to sell it. But then I came up with the (at that moment seemingly silly) idea of trying it on the Compal. Immediately audible result in resolution! My wife heard it right away when she came into the room. Was it better? Unlike my wife, I like higher resolution in general, but I also found the high tones a bit sharp at the edges (test: Chet Baker, “Chet”: Alone together, both the trumpet and the saxophone). No matter the judgement, what is very clear is that modem (so "upstream") does have an effect in my system. To me that is, or rather was surprising.

Having determined this, I bought a decent cable from the “wall” to the Compal: I went from a 1.99 euros standard cable provided by Ziggo to a better, but still very cheap, Clicktronic f-connector coax cable (13.99 euros, just the most expensive Ziggo-approved cable I could find). The sharpness disappeared, immediately audible, the soundstage even widened a bit more. These may be fairly unusual findings, but I would recommend and encourage anyone to experiment upstream in the chain. Happy listening!

 

Streaming only: Tidal and Qobuz

Short system configuration (leaving out the power regenerators and power supplies):

Compal>Supra cat 7>into ER>

Roon Nucleus>AQ Vodka>into ER

ER out>AQ Vodka>Naim NDX2>Chord reference RCA>Accuphase E-600>AQ Rocket 88>Audio Physic Avanti

[Lucie]

24 minutes ago, skatbelt said:

 

Hi Lucie, I am in the Netherlands and on Ziggo too. My wifi-modem-router is a Cisco EPC 3928 with a 15V/2.0A SMPS. May be I should try replacing its SMPS with a LPS too and see what it brings to the table. A question though: did you try other Ethernet cables besides the Supra cat 7? I ask because the shielding (via the metal connector housings) could lead to noise distribution to the ER.

 

I would certainly give a good LPS a try.

I don’t technically understand the noise issue from modem/router to ER, but I trust my ears, so I have just connected a cat 5e cable with plastic connectors. It’s the only cable I had lying around, 15 m long. After some back and fourth: it’s different from Supra. To put it in words: more definition. Have to do more listening to define the changes better and to determine if I like it in the long run. Can the difference be explained from the metal vs plastic connectors or from the cable? Supra should not be too bad, the other cable is a cheap data cable...

Any recommendations for an ethernet cable with plastic connectors? The 15m won’t stay on; 3m are enough.

[Lucie]

3 hours ago, Jud said:

Whether the cable shielding is tied to the connectors (usually the case with Cat 7, Cat 8, and other shielded cables with metal connectors) doesn’t matter on the “downstream”/output side of the ER, as long as there is only one downstream/output cable.

 

On the “upstream”/input side, it is best not to have a cable with shielding tied to the connectors.

Sorry for my ignorance, but I can use some clarification.

After the shielding discussion I changed my Supra cat 7 cable with metal connectors (upstream) for a cheap cat 5e with plastic connectors. After these last couple of days I can safely conclude that the cat 5e is better. Small difference, but clear in good recordings. Slight increase in transparency. Due to the connectors, or to the cable?

Now I discovered that the connectors of my modem/router are all plastic (see photo). Am I right then, that the metal connectors as such can’t have a negative effect and that the difference in sound quality should be attributed to the cable?

 

 

[Lucie]

1. Yes, from direct experience, ethernet cables do make a difference.

3. (That's the first question there is to answer) Change both cables. From router to ER has less effect, than from ER to Streamer/dac.

2. From router to ER you should stay away from metal connectors connected to the shield. Bluejeans is good. I find it better than Supra cat 7+ (in my system). Bluejeans cat 6a has plastic connectors. You could look at Ghent as well.

From ER to streamer/dac: consider a good cable. Invest the money you saved by using the cheap Bluejeans in the last cable in the stream. Audioquest Vodka is very good. Audioquest, Chord, and Shunyata make cables which are reviewed very well.

 

[Lucie]

Yes. Glad you asked. It’s clearly better in my system. Did a lot of  back and forth. (And now I’m going to hide, because that appears to be technically impossible) -waving a white flag form my shelter-

[Lucie]

Thats good news Ponkbutler. Congrats!

Apart from the previous question, I’m curious to know: are you powering both ERs from the same LPS? From earlier comments I would expect that defeats the moat. But my technical knowledge is limited.
Can anybody comment on that? Thx in advance.

[Lucie]

This is a review of the Farad Super 3 LPS in combination with the ER.

 

I’ve had my ER since December 2019 and I enjoy it every day. It has been one of the most influential additions to my hifi system.

I’ve tried an SBooster 12V LPS a while ago with somewhat unsatisfying results and posted these findings a few months ago on this forum.

 

Let’s first explain why I re-examined an LPS for the ER. I’ve obtained very good results with dedicated power supplies in my system. Since I started using them with my Naim streamer (Naim and the Naim community justly consider power supplies to be of great value) I have gradually introduced power supplies in every part of my chain with generally good, sometimes great results. This made me decide to retry a linear power supply.

 

Posts on this forum led me to believe that the Farad was at least one of the best alternatives, apart from the fact that it is developed about 30 kilometers from where I live (#supportyourlocals :-)

 

It may be helpful to first describe my system. I’ll take two points of view: signal path and power chain.

 

The signal path: Modem -> ER ->  Roon Nucleus -> Naim NDX2 -> Accuphase E-600 -> Audio Physic Avanti .

To be precise and avoid any discussion about “the moat”: modem and Roon Nucleus are connected to ER A-side, the NDX2 streamer/DAC to the ER B-side.

 

Because this review covers a power supply, I’ll also briefly outline my power supply setup:

Wall socket -> Isol-8 Inline -> PS Audio Duet  ->Accuphase ps500v power regenerator.

 

(One outlet of the Duet connects to sBooster -> modem)

 

From the two sockets on the ps500v, one powers the amp (Accuphase E-600) directly, the other is connected to an Isotek Evo3 Polaris mains block (star-type).

 

Three linear power supplies are connected to this mains block:

Teddy Pardo XPS -> Naim NDX2

Teddy Pardo Nuc -> Roon Nucleus

Farad Super 3 -> ER

 

The cabling is a mixture of Audioquest, Siltech, Supra, Ghent, Isotek and Chord. It may not be very useful to give a detailed description of this.

 

Now I have come to the actual review of the Farad Super 3.

 

The Farad I have is the 12V-model with a Synergistic Research Orange fuse. I’ll briefly discuss the DC cable later. My listening started with the “Level 1 copper cable”, at a length of 50 cm.

 

I was a bit nervous when I sat down for a first listening impression after unboxing the Farad. How big would the difference be, assuming there would be any difference. After all, you’ve got to be realistic: it’s a confusing thought to think about the price of the Farad. With the fuse and DC-cable, I paid €944,- (ER costs $650,- = €575,-). That's about 1.6 times the price of the ER. Is that a sensible thing to do? These are rational considerations. It’s time to let the music speak.

 

The description I’ll give may be short and I it won’t be the hifi poetry that some have mastered so well. I’ll give you the notes I dryly took at that time:

 

“First impression. More detailed. Even cleaner. Much improved bass. Better separation. Comes a bit more loose from the speakers. Difference absolutely indisputable. Louder!”

 

That night my wife came home late from a short holiday. As she sat down, the first thing she said was: “Turn the volume down. That’s much too loud”. These words are not entirely unusual and mostly we tend to disagree on this, but I realized she was right. I played at the same volume as always, but the music was indeed more overwhelming. Was there more information in the music? It all seemed a bit “too much”. Puzzling. The effect was nonetheless so evident and also undesirable, that (and one may secretly laugh at my reaction, as I did myself) I checked cables, amp and even Roon settings. It was hard to believe this could be the impact of the power supply alone.

 

I left all devices turned on during the night and the following day I only picked up listening in the evening.

 

Back to my notes: “After about 20 hours: the vehemence has disappeared, as if it all settles down”. Playing mostly the same music as the night before, my wife, snapping her fingers, said : “This is the music I like.” My notes: “The sound is more organic now. I can play at even higher volume than normally (!). Bigger picture outside of the speakers. Perhaps less separation compared to the beginning, but better than with SMPS.”

 

Notes after a week:

“Seems to stabilize. Seduces me to listen with more concentration. Pulls you into the music. Detailed sound, but not exhausting at all. Volume turned back to normal. Sounds die out very long and in a detailed way. Soundstage deeper. Bigger picture. Bass still deep.”

 

Then I asked my wife for a blind test. At that moment, she still wasn’t aware that I had bought the Farad. First I let her hear the music with the SMPS, then I changed to the Farad. After only 5 seconds or so (!) she said “This is much much better. That’s clear.” I asked her to postpone her opinion and switched back to the SMPS. Her comment: “No, this is worse of course. This is not the quality level you normally play music at (sic).”

 

The difference between Farad and SMPS in my system is not subtle. It’s very very obvious and a big step forward. It improves the ER on all the qualities is has.

 

Finally a remark on the DC cable. I ordered my Farad with a “Level 2 silver DC cable”. But when I got it, it was delivered incorrectly with a “Level 1 copper DC cable”. Because of delivery delay and national holidays in Holland the right cable only arrived about two weeks later. Did I notice a difference between those cables? Risking a somewhat disappointing turn in this review: I couldn’t hear a difference. I have to admit that changing the cables is a bit of a chore, so I only switched two or three times, left it there and sent the copper cable back. Some costs could have been saved here, to be honest.

 

To come to a clear conclusion: the Farad is a huge improvement for the ER over the SMPS.

 

It’s difficult to explain in words how big the difference is. You have to hear it, of course, but one may want to get an indication… In my system (and ears) it has the same impact as the ER itself (over a standard switch), or the TeddyXPS for the NDX2. Apart from the speakers, these have been the three additions with the biggest impact on sound quality. Bigger than e.g. changing the Auralic Aries Femto for NDX2 (still quite a difference), or changing my twenty year-old Accuphase E-406V for a one year old E-600 (slight difference), or changing Kimber Cable 8pr for Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables (no difference). These examples are intended to prove that not all changes are big improvements in my opinion. The Farad really is. Highly recommended!

 

A selection of the music I listened during the evaluation:

Birds of Chicago “American Flowers” / Palatino “Palatino” / The Vogts Sisters “My own Dixie” and “Homeward” / Ill Considered “Live at the Crypt” / Paolo Fresu “P.A.R.T.E.” / Paul Motian “Sound of Love” / Michel Portal “Dockings” / Richard Galliano “Ballet Tango” …

 

P.S.: my wife asked me for a final say: she’d still rather book a holiday. 

[Lucie]

Siltech SPO-18M

[Lucie]

Short answer: no.

I just checked by reconnecting a grounding cable. No audible difference.