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

[MartinT]

Look in your junk folder.  All my notifications end up there 😣

[skatbelt]

9 hours ago, Pokey77 said:

I bought two 1-Meter Cable Matters Cat 8 cables from Amazon that were highly recommended on here on the UpTone Audio forums for use on the EtherREGEN. I put them in my system on 6/11 @ 3PM. I didn't get the chance to do much in the way of testing that day but thought initially that they didn't sound as good as the Supra 8+ that I had been using and were burned in for a few months. So a friend and I listened to a few different tracks and then to our usual demo track on the Cable Matters cable. Then I replaced the Cable Matters with the Supra and within five seconds my friend said that the Supra 8+ sounded better. As we continued listening, at first I thought that the midrange was maybe not as good on the Supra. Then I realized that both the bass and the treble response were better on the Supra. After reflecting a little more, all while the track was playing through, I realized that the Supra 8+ was more even top to bottom response and was more natural and listenable. Just didn't want to go back to the Cable Matters cable, though it too was better than the Monoprice Cat 5e I've used in the past. The Supra had significantly deeper and more naturally fleshed out bass and a very good top end with midrange that flowed compared to the Cable Matters cable. The Supra is $49 and the Cable Maters 8 is $12 on Amazon. In my system, at this time, it is an easy choice, spend $49. The Supra is just better and has that musicality that I'm looking for.

 

After my friend left, I put the Cable Matters cable back on the Aurender and will leave it there to burn in for at least two weeks and try the experiment again. Who knows, it may get better. We'll just have to wait to hear the results.

 

**In regards to my two posts above, the cable diagram is incorrect. See my system config in my signature.

 

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

[Ponkbutler]

17 minutes ago, skatbelt said:

 

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

 

I prefer the DesignaCable Belden CatSnake Cat6a by a long margin, which is what the Ghent uses, with the addition of the JS wire and an additional outer sheath.

[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, 

 

 

[sandervdp]

I've also had Supra Cat8, replaced that with Ghent JSSG as I much preferred the latter (at the time Ghent didn't have the JSSG360)

 I've since swapped out a few Ghent JSSG cables for Ghent JSSG360 cables (namely etherregen to streamer, and streamer to dac (which is connected via I2S RJ45), and the 360 seems even better

[jamesg11]

I went with the Ghent Linkway Cat8 jssg360 pair into the ER & moved my original Ghent Cat6 jssg pair out of macmini into Netgear gs105 switch (in other room).

Another incremental uptick!

[Pokey77]

31 minutes ago, jamesg11 said:

I went with the Ghent Linkway Cat8 jssg360 pair into the ER & moved my original Ghent Cat6 jssg pair out of macmini into Netgear gs105 switch (in other room).

Another incremental uptick!

 

@sandervdp

 

 

Can you buy the Ghent jssg360 cables assembled or is this DIY only?

[Pokey77]

@MartinT

 

I did find that my replies from Uptone threads are going to my spam. I'll add their email to my address book. Hopefully that'll stop that.

[jamesg11]

Just now, Pokey77 said:

 

@sandervdp

 

 

Can you buy the Ghent jssg360 cables assembled or is this DIY only?

http://www.ghentaudio.com/pc/et12.html

They are a Ghent off-the-shelf. I don’t do diy!

 

[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 😉

[mrkoven]

Anyone try the ifi ipower x with ER? not sure if it'll work or not Output: 5V/3.0A, 9V/2.5A, 12V/2.0A, 15V/1.5A

[RDOK]

7 hours ago, HumanMedia said:

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

 

In my system the EtherRegen is fed just by the SR4 at the moment.

The IsoRegen is fed by the SR4T/LPS1.2 combo, the addition of the LPS1.2 giving a small up-tick in sound quality.

That makes me curious what one of de DPPwr modules from Alexei would do here. Don't have one though.

I might still try the LPS on the ER or swap the SR4 and SR4T but the -T just arrived and I do not always have time.

 

The step on the IsoRegen (sitting between a Sablon 2020 USB cable and a Devialet Epxert dac/amp) going from the LPS1.2 (on its Uptone SMPS) to the SR4T is still stunning me.

On the other had, replacing an smps by an SR4T should make a difference of course. It almost makes the LPS1.2 redundant

 

 

[kennyb123]

A brand new 12v Farad Super3 arrived here this morning and is now powering my ER.  The DC cable is a Farad Level 2 copper, which became a spare when I purchased an Audio Sensibility cable for the Super3 powering my TT2.  The power cord is a Nordost Magus that I had absconded from my home theater system.  It will eventually be replaced with a Shunyata noise reducing power cord.

 

The new Super3 is the one on the right with the LED that's glowing brighter because I have yet to apply a LightDim to it.

 

Past experience tells me that I should wait at least 2-3 hours before commenting on the sound quality.  I'll circle back with observations later.

 

And BTW, the ER can be seen to the right of my amp. It hanging out like that is just temporary until I get some time to move things around a bit to accommodate cable lengths.

 

 

 

 

[kennyb123]

The Super3 has only an hour and a half on it and yet I'm already gobsmacked.  I've been shaking my head in disbelief that a better power supply for an ethernet switch was able bring the improvements I've been hearing.  The improvments fall into the "musically important" category as well.  I just listened to Horace Silver's "The Cape Verdean Blues" last night.  It has taken a not-insignificant step towards it sounding like these instruments are in the room with me.  Transparency is improved but it's the improved timing and crispness in the time domain is what's causing my excitement.  Good gosh.

[FrankMA]

1 hour ago, kennyb123 said:

A brand new 12v Farad Super3 arrived here this morning and is now powering my ER.  

 

 

Hi Kenny,

My Farad arrived today too.  7V with the Synergistic Orange fuse and Furtech inlet upgrades. Have to use the stock Farad cable to the ER because I don't have anything else with that Farad connector. Does Audio Sensibility stock that and if yes what is it called?

Using a AQ NRG-4 PC just for now.

 

The unit is quite nice looking. Solid feel. Mattijs is great to deal with. Super fast shipping. 

 

Burning in right now and will give it 50 hrs or so before I listen for the first time

 

I did notice something odd with the 5MM/2.1 connector to the ER. Does not seem to go in all the way. Are you noticing that?

 

[kennyb123]

1 hour ago, FrankMA said:

 

Hi Kenny,

Have to use the stock Farad cable to the ER because I don't have anything else with that Farad connector. Does Audio Sensibility stock that and if yes what is it called?

 

Yes they do and they make it really easy to select the right one:

 

 

1 hour ago, FrankMA said:

 

The unit is quite nice looking. Solid feel. Mattijs is great to deal with. Super fast shipping. 

 

Agreed.

 

1 hour ago, FrankMA said:

 

Burning in right now and will give it 50 hrs or so before I listen for the first time

 

I did notice something odd with the 5MM/2.1 connector to the ER. Does not seem to go in all the way. Are you noticing that?

 

 

Yup same thing with the connector on the "free" cable that Farad provided.  Not an issue though with the Oyaide connector on the Farad Level 2 cable that I'm using.

 

[sahmen]

There is something strikingly refreshing about this thread.  People can freely discuss at length experiences--such as hearing a difference between cables, ethernet cables, for that matter, and switches, for example--that in ofter forums, and even on other threads of this site, would have long attracted the usual crowd of vampiric objectivists and and wise-cracking skeptics, the kind, who are forever seeking to pour scorn on what they seem to consider to be signs of audiophile heresy...  So what is the "garlic" that is keeping such objectivists at arm's length from here?

 

Not that I am trying to stir up some kind of hornet's nest here...  I just have a question that I will not dare pose on certain other forums I know :  Are boutique ethernet cables subject to the rules of "break-in" or "burn-in"?  I ask because i am test-driving a new SOtM dCBL Cat7 cable on my Etherregen.  It is connecting the B-side of the ER with my Metrum Acoustics Ambre, which is itself connected to a Metrum Acoustics Onyx, and a Cavalli Audio Liquid Platinum.  The system already sounded very resolving to me before I introduced the dCBL Cat7.  The addition sounds good to me already... Nothing to complain about. I am just wondering whether I should let it run in for a few days or at least before  doing some critical listening,..

 

Any thoughts?

 

Also, I'm expecting my Paul Hynes SR4T to arrive tomorrow to power the ER.  I hoping to keep track of any improvements that the LPS too will bring, separate from the progress of the dCBL Cat7.

 

Oh, and I am keeping some garlic nearby as a warning to all vampiric objectivist naysayers... I only want constructive input, and no derailing of this thread, with snarky jokes and wisecracks 🙂

 

     

[Jud]

On 6/16/2020 at 2:05 PM, jamesg11 said:

I went with the Ghent Linkway Cat8 jssg360 pair into the ER & moved my original Ghent Cat6 jssg pair out of macmini into Netgear gs105 switch (in other room).

Another incremental uptick!

 

On 6/16/2020 at 2:38 PM, Pokey77 said:

 

@sandervdp

 

 

Can you buy the Ghent jssg360 cables assembled or is this DIY only?

 

On 6/16/2020 at 2:41 PM, jamesg11 said:

http://www.ghentaudio.com/pc/et12.html

They are a Ghent off-the-shelf. I don’t do diy!

 

 

The Ghent Cat8 JSSG360 are the ones I'm using, and I really like them. No desire at all to try anything else.

 

There are also excellent inexpensive cables from Monoprice and Cable Matters if you want to spend less.

[sahmen]

BTW : I got this to dock both the ER and an LPS 1.2 sideways, and it seems to have the temperature of both units down some... It is actually a little surprising... so what gives?

 

 

 

 

I actually didn't believe this cooling hole gimmick could actually do any cooling.  However, since the temperatures of both units have become less hot, for some reason, I'm wondering whether the magic comes from the sideways positioning of the ER and LPS 1.2, or whether the "cooling hole" indeed has something to do with it. 

[ray-dude]

2 hours ago, sahmen said:

Not that I am trying to stir up some kind of hornet's nest here...  I just have a question that I will not dare pose on certain other forums I know :  Are boutique ethernet cables subject to the rules of "break-in" or "burn-in"?

 

Even for mundane Cat8 cables from Monoprice and Cable Matters, I found that they needed ~80-100 hours before the SQ with my old EtherREGEN settled out.  Aside from shock that ethernet cables were audible at all, the fact that they changed over the first couple days was a definite punch to the stomach.  The impact was visceral though (literally...the better the cable, more the visceral bass became, and the more tangible space became)

 

I have no hypothesis for break-in, but now I am a true believer in the impact of ethernet cables (running the amazing Sablon Audio 2020 ethernet cable for all the copper in my digital audio signal path)

 

(and thank you to Alex and Chris and all the contributors here for creating the community space where real discussion and exploration can happen)

[kennyb123]

Plus one on what Ray wrote.  The Cable Matters CAT8 needed at least 3 days.  I could listen with it in my system initially.  To burn it in I placed it far away from my system.

[PYP]

1 hour ago, kennyb123 said:

Plus one on what Ray wrote.  The Cable Matters CAT8 needed at least 3 days.  I could listen with it in my system initially.  To burn it in I placed it far away from my system.

 

In my system, it seems like a week is needed for just about anything new to settle in fully (ethernet copper cables included).  Don't know why.  The JS-2 LPS took a couple of weeks.  Just my ears and my system, etc.  I'm not suggesting that the SQ was bad during the settle-in time, but that to get the full effect it took more time.  

 

Strangely, months after adding the Sonore oM and JS-2 to the well settled-in eR, the system has reached an even higher (spooky real) level.  Just all came together one day and was unmistakable.  Really wish I could understand why.  I was contented with what I had and wasn't expecting anything further, but then it was like a lens focusing.  I'm always a believer that we subjectivists might well be fooling ourselves sometimes about the extent of a particular change and that one can't discount the expectation bias, but when something happens over time and without any expectation, that is as close to "proof" as I'll get that the recent changes (starting with the eR) are real.  

[kennyb123]

On 6/5/2020 at 11:58 AM, Lucie said:

 

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)

 

This is what I’ve been thinking.  
 

I didn’t believe it possible that the Super3 could have the same impact as the ER itself, which is why it took me so long to shell out the dollars.  @Lucie got it exactly right though - the impact is at least as significant as the ER itself was.  

[jamesg11]

5 hours ago, Jud said:

 

 

 

The Ghent Cat8 JSSG360 are the ones I'm using, and I really like them. No desire at all to try anything else.

 

There are also excellent inexpensive cables from Monoprice and Cable Matters if you want to spend less.

Where my original motivation to try them came from - Jud’s report, now quite some time back!

[simon_pepper]

2 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

This is what I’ve been thinking.  
 

I didn’t believe it possible that the Super3 could have the same impact as the ER itself, which is why it took me so long to shell out the dollars.  @Lucie got it exactly right though - the impact is at least as significant as the ER itself was.  

And this the 12v Super3 version?