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

[HumanMedia]

My system is wireless endpoint to ER, to UltraRendu, to DAC.

 

The UltraRendu is on its own JS-2. I know if I put the ER on the other output of the JS-2, it is not recommended, shared 0v etc. But what if the other JS-2 output was charging an LPS 1.2? And the LPS 1.2 powered the ER? Would this break the shared 0v and be OK?

[HumanMedia]

Are there any disadvantages / advantages to using different input voltages to the ER?

 

Is more heat generated using higher input voltages, being regulated down?

 

im in a hot part of the world with temperatures over 120 Fahrenheit due in the coming months, so I will go for whatever keeps things cooler, unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise...

[HumanMedia]

34 minutes ago, PYP said:

 

Would be interested in your findings about powering with both of these after about 300 hours or so.  

 

My eR took quite a while to settle in and cycled through rough patches during the process.  Of course, the variables of our systems are all different and cannot be predicted, it seems.   Personally, I like remaining skeptical until my ears are happy (or not).  

Will report back. Knowing the sound of the Farad power supplies, I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be the perfect fit for the ER.

 

And the other variable that was added to the system with the ER was the short Belden Cat 6a that connects the ER to the ultraRendu. It has never been used, so what is the sound of that cable and what is the sound of the ER and what of these burn in changes is the sound of one or the other?

[HumanMedia]

22 hours ago, mikicasellas said:

Are you guys using the stock power cord with the ER's Stock PSU, it's curious but i can hardly hear an improvement (although there is but minimal) using an HDPLEX 200W at 9v with its variable output, BUT i can hear a more than a subtle improvement when using a more robust power cable with the stock PSU, even i can hear difference between the OYAIDE COOPER outlets vs the OYAIDE RHODIUM outlets in the wall

 

Oh! I’ve never actually used the stock power cord into the stock power supply. Ive always used a DIY shielded 14awg Belden cable with brass pin plug.  Thanks for the reminder, I will roll some cords into the stock supply and have a listen.

[HumanMedia]

21 hours ago, skatbelt said:

 

Try shunting the ER via its ground terminal screw to common ground with the JS-2. After this you don't want to go back to stock SMPS..

 

 

Hehe, thats what Ive found everywhere I use the JS-2.

Its the best for my DAC and ultraRendu too.

Im needing a separate rack for all of my power supplies. 🤗

Im waiting to hear some more feedback on the Farad with the ER from user @incus who has this combo. If I spring for another Farad I will try the JS-2 and the Farad on both the ultraRendu and EtherRegen and see what combo works the best.

[HumanMedia]

3 hours ago, stevebythebay said:

Some company’s designs dictate longer lengths https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/caelin-whats-your-view-on-ethernet-cables.27373/#post-586847  But it’s not at all clear for many others. Best to use one of sufficient length to avoid possible reflectance, such as 1.5m. 
 

As for the Niagara, does it offer isolation of each receptacle to another, or in isolated pairs?  That would help. 

In one of these threads John mentions that it’s usually capacitance requirements for the PHY to work properly to need >1m ethernet cables, but with the ER he has compensated with capacitance in order to support shorte cable lengths.

[HumanMedia]

10 hours ago, sandervdp said:

hi all,

 

I received the Farad Power Supply a couple of weeks ago. From the start, there was a noticeable improvement. @Superdad is right that you don't need fancy power supplies, as the EtherRegen itself already is a considerable improvement. But the Farad sure brings out more of the good stuff.

 

So my question, in this setup (farad to etherregen) what would be the better option out of these three; the higher gauge Canare 4s6 JSSG360, the Gotham GAC4/1 UltraPro JSSG360 or Farad's own option using lots of thin, tin plated copper wire?

 

 

 

I am poised to get another Farad for the ER. How would you describe the differences  to the stock supply? And which voltage did you go with? I can’t decide between the 7v or 9v.

 

Also re cables, I have 2 Gotham’s unused as they add midrange richness but also crunchy highs which I couldn’t live with. The Canare 4S6 was more neutral but light on bass and underwhelming. The best low cost cable for me is the Canare 4S8, which is a higher gauge (thicker) version of the 4S6. No negatives. But I haven’t tried the Audio Sensibility Silver...

 

[HumanMedia]

5 hours ago, Jud said:

From fiber back to inexpensive copper:

 

I liked the sound with the Cable Matters Cat 8. But there was also something from the Monoprice Cat 6a cables, perhaps a bit of intimacy in the musical presentation, that I missed. So I thought that since the Monoprice Cat 8 cables are quite inexpensive, I'd give them a try to see if I might achieve the best of both worlds. With the Monoprice Cat 8 I immediately felt the sense of intimacy had returned, without the defect of the Cat 6a in comparison to the Cable Matters, which is that the Cable Matters had done such a nice job of presenting top end and voices. The Monoprice Cat 8 in my system does a very nice job of that.

Identical experience here. Started with a Belden Cat6 cable from Blue Jeans with generic plastic plugs from ER to ultraRendu. Not sure if it is the shielded or unshielded version. Tried the Cable Matters for a month, it had slightly better mid bass but I slowly drifted away from the music. I thought the honeymoon period was over and the effect of the ER was fading. 
 

Put the generic Cat6 back in, and the magic is back. Did some repeated AB between the two and I would characterise the Cable Matters as rolling off the very top end, compressing and hardening the lower treble. The midrange spatiality which is the major benefit of the ER was lost thing and sound was not pin point precise anymore. The slight mid bass support this sounded blurred and muffled in comparison. The generic CAT 6 seems far more linear, open better highs and better lows and bass was extremely details and very low bass was better.

 

YMMV, different systems etc, but what is better for some can be worse for others.

 

 

[HumanMedia]

6 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.

Yes that is that is what John S. suggests as well.

 

however for whatever the reasons, (maybe not shielding related), my Cat6a with floating shield, sounds clearly better than the Cable Matters with tied shields from B side to Ultra Rendu. It’s the biggest improvement I have yet heard in my limited testing of ethernet cables.

 

Since Cable matters sound toxic to me, I might sacrIfice one and untie the shield at destination end at some time and see what difference that makes

[HumanMedia]

On 1/28/2020 at 4:20 AM, Jud said:

(I must admit that having learned the Ghent cable is nicely shielded without having the connectors tied, I have ordered one to see what difference it might make in my somewhat unusual future circumstance of having a combined modem/router feeding the ER. But I consider the $80 price quite expensive for an Ethernet cable, so it will need to be quite good to convince me I should use it rather than, for example, a Monoprice Cat 8 with nail polish applied to one connector.)

[HumanMedia]

@Jud I couldn’t  write a reply (above) to a quote from my phone, but I wanted to say that I am very eager to hear your findings with the Ghent.

 

[HumanMedia]

On 2/27/2020 at 6:48 PM, Ponkbutler said:

I don’t like the Metz connectors (they don’t always engage properly), so went with the same Belden cable from DesignaCable. It’s quite flexible being a braided CatSnake and gives a very strong, balanced performance in my system that I’m very pleased with, but doesn’t have the additional end-to-end connection. The shield on mine is floating. I prefer these to the Belden CatSnake Cat5e and much prefer them to the BJC Cat6a, Supra Cat8 abd Sablon Super Panatela (another very stiff and heavy cable with Telegartners, which engage better than the Metz but are longer, putting a lot of leverage on the sockets) never mind the Audioquest Vodkas and Wireworld Starlights. 

Very interested in exactly what cable is your favorite? Is it a Belden Cat8 with floating  shield at both ends? Can you provide a link to the exact one?

[HumanMedia]

I haven’t really started exploring power supplies with the ER apart from a couple of experiments which showed to me that different supplies have a small but definitely noticeable effect.

 

here is what I have tried in increasing quality, worst on left, best on right.

Stock supply < LPS 1.2 < Welborne Linear < JS~2

 

The surprise here was the old Welborne linear which I was using on my router. It is no longer available but is a simple floating linear cheaper than the LPS and of course the JS-2. The least surprising was the JS-2 which I usually find the best wherever I put it. Practicallity aside I would just love a rack of JS-2 for everything, but I don’t have the space for another JS-2, and it is a bit overkill IMO especially when the old Welborne sounded a hairbreadth less for a fraction of the price.

So I will have a look at for more mid level linear supplies to replace the Welborne (which is currently my default for the ER) but might just spring for another Farad3 for this particular application.

Oh and the audible difference going from left to right was improved upper frequencies, cleaner more organic sound, and more relaxed but punchier mids and bass.

 

Also used a separate ER ground with all supplies except the stock.

 

 

[HumanMedia]

Anyone tried those Sonore SGC power supplies with the ER? Or the CIAudio supplies?

 

These might be the sweet spot in terms of price - performance. If they sound good...

[HumanMedia]

On 3/3/2020 at 10:55 AM, PYP said:

 

12 V.  Haven't tried other voltages and probably won't, at least for a while...  

 

Try 7v. A couple of Farad users preferred this. However it maybe something particular to the Farad and not the ER.

[HumanMedia]

Upgraded power supply for the ER from an old Welborne (which sounded good, almost as good as the JS-2 for this particular application) to a 7v Farad3.
Noticeably better than the Welborne.

Losing the desire to test any other combinations, but at some stage might swap the Farad out with the JS-2 to directly compare. From memory alone I would characterise the difference being that the JS-2 is a bit more natural and organic and the Farad as a bit cleaner and punchier.

 

I am still amazed that power supplies (And DC cables) this far up the chain are so noticeable, but they are in my system. 

Another note about those SMPS wall warts, yes I know many measure well, especially the ground shunted ones, but despite the measurements, removing any/all from the audio system always makes it sound better. 

[HumanMedia]

Hang on, if a single supply is powering both ERs, then the separation between them is lost, so much of the benefit of the upstream ER is gone. What is the other rail powering? (It shouldn’t be anything downstream of any ER)

[HumanMedia]

14 hours ago, MartinT said:

 

Thank you, John.  I certainly intend to try things in progressive steps: LPSU, ethernet cables, vibration control, grounding etc.  I will report what I hear in each step.

If you have the discipline, let the ER burn in for a good 250 hours before any tweaks.

I found that things I needed to address or compensate for, go away after this time, after which you really know what you are dealing with.
 

After that, my biggest improvements were a good power supply and Ethernet cables with floating shields on both sides, even B-side.

[HumanMedia]

I think a couple of people might have mentioned this earlier.

i don’t believe the power supply (Farad3 @ 7v) I use for the ER has a floating ground, so I don’t have the ER grounded using its grounding screw. However A grounded alligator clip I was using with the JS-2 it was still lying next to it and I thought what the hell and put the alligator clip on the ground lug.

 

It sounds better with the ER grounded!? Definitely better highs. 
Does this mean the Farad has ground floated? I don’t think it does, so how could this make an improvement?
 

Anyone found that grounding the ER sounds better even if the power supply is not floating?

[HumanMedia]

On 5/27/2020 at 7:29 PM, trailblazers_song said:

Those of u who supply LPSU to your etherRegen, what’s the prefer voltage ?

Im using a Farad3 power supply at 7v. The Farad are not user adjustable, I went with 7v based on a couple of other people’s reports that the 7v sounded better when compared to the same supply at higher voltages. This probably only applies to this exact supply and not other supplies.

[HumanMedia]

On 6/3/2020 at 3:31 PM, Superdad said:

 

Yeah, we’ve been eyeing this foamed FEP dielectric cable for a while now.  Maybe I should invest in a 500-foot spool of it and offer nice DC cables made with it. Have to see what sort of price Chris VenHaus can come up with for a bulk buy and what the aerospace cable assembly firm I now use says about labor cost.

Remember to get them to also quote on the separate deluxe version with the JSSG360 shielding. 😁

[HumanMedia]

3 hours ago, FrankMA said:

Appreciate the fast answer Lucie. Had just ordered the Farad Super 3 for the ER. Thank you

At least a couple of people who compared the 7v Farad with higher voltage Farads With their ER and found that the 7v sounded a bit better. Should be back in this thread somewhere. Cost is the same should be easy to change the order. Unless of course you had a 12v application elsewhere that wasn’t the ER?

[HumanMedia]

52 minutes ago, skatbelt said:

 

Good info. I wonder if anyone did compare Supra CAT8+ with the Ghent JSSG360.

I think Jud did upgrade from the Cable Matters CAT8 to the Belden CatSnake CAT6a with JSSG360 shielding from Ghent. Don’t know if he has moved on from that.

 

I might have to buy one of the same, 

 

 

[HumanMedia]

On 6/15/2020 at 9:02 PM, jamesg11 said:

“I had read once or twice that powering the LPS1.2 with another linear power supply will improve the LPS1.2's performance.”

Now for another lps1.2, powered by the SR4, into the ER!

Try powering the ER directly with the SR4, remove the LPS altogether, you might find that actually sounds the best 😉

[HumanMedia]

Has anyone used the Synergistic Oranges in the JS-2 Power supply?

Worthwhile audible improvement?

Is the standard rating enough?

@Superdad What is the fuse Size and rating for a 230V JS-2?