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etherREGEN and Meitner Audio MA3


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My advice, if it's in 'it might, just might' regions for you, sit back and don't bother... 

Streamer dCS Network Bridge DAC Chord DAVE Amplifier / DRC Lyngdorf TDAI-3400 Speakers Lindemann BL-10 | JL audio E-sub e110 Head-fi and reference Bakoon HPA-21 | Audeze LCD-3 (f) Power and isolation Dedicated power line | Xentek extreme isolation transformer (1KVA, balanced) | Uptone Audio EtherREGEN + Ferrum Hypsos | Sonore OpticalModule + Uptone Audio UltraCap LPS-1.2 | Jensen CI-1RR Cables Jorma Digital XLR (digital), Grimm Audio SQM RCA (analog), Kimber 8TC + WBT (speakers), custom star-quad with Oyaide connectors (AC), Ferrum (DC) and Ghent (ethernet) Software dCS Mosaic | Tidal | Qobuz

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The point of the exercise - which I should have clarified - was to discern the degree to which Meitner Audio’s design efforts negate all the trouble we go to to clean up our digital signals. CLEARLY the benefits of other clean-up efforts remain (EtherREGEN, fiber, OCXO clocks for eR), but their value is diminished as the MA3 is bringing so much “clean up” value to the game.

 

If every DAC could do this, there’d be no pressing need for all the products we employ to clean up our digital signals. 

Digital Sources: Meitner Audio MA3 DAC, AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, Roon ROCK (NUC8i5, Akasa Plato 8x case, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1TB SSD), UpTone Audio EtherREGEN, Tidal, Qobuz. Preamplifier: none. Power Amplifier: Bel Canto e.One REF500S. Loudspeakers: GoldenEar One.R's with Herbie’s Threaded Stud Glider footers, Focal Stellia headphones. Cables: digital - Wireworld Starlight 8 Ethernet, StarTech SFPGLCLHSMST single-mode 1310nm SFP module and Small Green Computer 1 GB FMC connected by Corning LC-LC single-mode 9/125um duplex fiber; speaker - Silversmith Audio Fidelium; interconnect - Silversmith Audio Fidelium XLR; AC - Wireworld Silver Electra 7 and Electra 7; external clock - Auralis Audio Duelund Pure Silver BNC. Accessories: Power supplies - UpTone Audio JS-2’s (no stock PS’s); OCXO clock for ER - Project Clay X Geismann OCXO 10MHz Emperor Signature edition 75 Ohm; cable risers - AudioQuest Fog Lifters; power conditioning - PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3, AudioQuest Jitterbugs; AC receptacle - PS Audio Powerport Classic, Block Audio C-Lock Lite; vibration isolation - IsoAccoustic Orea Graphite footers (amps), Symposium Accoustics RollerBlock Jr's w/Tungsten balls for DAC. Room: 26' 2" W x 11' 6" D x 7' 9" H, heavily absorbent furnishings, plaster walls, suspended and carpeted wood floor.

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Interesting. Usually, DAC manufacturers claim that their DACs are oblivious to the upstream chain, but they never are IME. Maybe unicorns do exist ...

 

Have you arrived at the same conclusion as Mike, using long-term listening?

 

EDIT: I have owned two Emm Labs/Meitner DACs, and they were anything but immune to the upstream setup.

All best,

Jens

 

i5 Macbook Pro running Roon -> Uptone Etherregen -> custom-built Win10 PC serving as endpoint, with separate LPUs for mobo and a filtering digiboard (DIY) -> Audio Note DAC 5ish (a heavily modded 3.1X Bal) -> AN Kit One, heavily modded with silver wiring and Black Gates -> AN E-SPx Alnico on Townshend speaker bars. Vicoustic and GIK treatment.

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53 minutes ago, Encore said:

Have you arrived at the same conclusion as Mike, using long-term listening?

Well, the jury is still out on the AfterDark clock. Haven't A/B'ed that again yet. Will report when I do. As to the other two conclusions...

 

I scheduled the A/B'ing with Mike as soon as I determined that I could not hear the difference between the MA3 with the eR, or without it. But he was unable to come by for almost a month. In that time I did as Alex suggested and just listened to the MA3 for a few weeks, and then put the eR back. By that time my ears had grown more accustomed to its sound, and could tell that things were a bit more musical (for lack of a better word) with the eR. But not by much.

 

In that same time-frame I installed the upstream fiber, and could tell that was better too. But again, not by a lot.

 

So in a nutshell, it pretty much comes down to this, for me... The etherREGEN in front of my old Mytek Brooklyn Bridge made a profound - impossible to miss - improvement in sonics. But doing the same thing with the MA3, you have to listen real hard to hear a difference. So whatever the MA3 is doing, it is certainly doing something significant.

Digital Sources: Meitner Audio MA3 DAC, AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, Roon ROCK (NUC8i5, Akasa Plato 8x case, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1TB SSD), UpTone Audio EtherREGEN, Tidal, Qobuz. Preamplifier: none. Power Amplifier: Bel Canto e.One REF500S. Loudspeakers: GoldenEar One.R's with Herbie’s Threaded Stud Glider footers, Focal Stellia headphones. Cables: digital - Wireworld Starlight 8 Ethernet, StarTech SFPGLCLHSMST single-mode 1310nm SFP module and Small Green Computer 1 GB FMC connected by Corning LC-LC single-mode 9/125um duplex fiber; speaker - Silversmith Audio Fidelium; interconnect - Silversmith Audio Fidelium XLR; AC - Wireworld Silver Electra 7 and Electra 7; external clock - Auralis Audio Duelund Pure Silver BNC. Accessories: Power supplies - UpTone Audio JS-2’s (no stock PS’s); OCXO clock for ER - Project Clay X Geismann OCXO 10MHz Emperor Signature edition 75 Ohm; cable risers - AudioQuest Fog Lifters; power conditioning - PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3, AudioQuest Jitterbugs; AC receptacle - PS Audio Powerport Classic, Block Audio C-Lock Lite; vibration isolation - IsoAccoustic Orea Graphite footers (amps), Symposium Accoustics RollerBlock Jr's w/Tungsten balls for DAC. Room: 26' 2" W x 11' 6" D x 7' 9" H, heavily absorbent furnishings, plaster walls, suspended and carpeted wood floor.

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I just recently purchased the Meitner MA3 as well. It is an outstanding DAC.

 

 

One thing I did notice in limited testing is that the sonic signature of my direct chain was not that much different than my normal chain (which includes quite a bit of additional equipment):

 

Direct: Unifi Dream Machine>Netgear FS105>BJ CAT6>MA3

Normal: Unifi Dream Machine>Netgear FS105>Sonore OM(Farad)>Fiber>ER(Farad)/AD(Farad)>Sablon>MA3

 

Whend adding the ER and/or ER/AD Clock with my prior DAC (PS Audio Directstream Sr) the difference was night & day. An obvious, immediate improvement. Not so much now. 

 

Which leads me to believe the proprietary tech in the Meitner is having an effect on my network chain (most likely jitter reduction which is really what the ER addresses according to those who know)

 

So the question remains: has adding the Meitner closed the gap enough that I can sell off the ER/AD Clock. TBD

 

 

MAIN: Sonore Optical Module Deluxe/Farad Super 3 (7v) > Uptone EtherRegen/Farad Super 3(9v)/AfterDark Emperor Signature/Farad Super 3 (12v) > Innuos Zenith MKII SE (ER A) > ER (B) > Meitner MA-3 DAC > Ayre K-5xe MP Preamplifier > Ayre VX-5 Twenty Amplifier  > Vandersteen Quatro Woods

POWER: AQ Niagara 5000 > AQ (Hurricane)/Triode Wire Labs/Shunyata Python/Nordost Blue Heaven/Audience AU24 SE/Audio Sensibilities Sig Silver

CABLING: Silversmith Audio Fidelium Speaker/Sablon Pantela Reserva 2020 Lan/Ghent JSSG360 Cat 6/AQ Earth & Pegasus/Aurelis Deuland 75ohm

ISOLATION: Stillpoints/Symposium/IsoAcoustics/Herbie's/PS Audio Powerbase

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  • 2 weeks later...
18 hours ago, JohnSwenson said:

Why does this matter, how can you possibly hear this? Well this noise is modulating the output of the crystal, in other words adding phase noise to the clock output.

Thanks a mil’ for the great explanation John!
 

The Rollerblocks are under the MA3 DAC, and boy what a difference. Now I’m wondering if some should go under the OCXO clock connected to my eR?

Digital Sources: Meitner Audio MA3 DAC, AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt, Roon ROCK (NUC8i5, Akasa Plato 8x case, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1TB SSD), UpTone Audio EtherREGEN, Tidal, Qobuz. Preamplifier: none. Power Amplifier: Bel Canto e.One REF500S. Loudspeakers: GoldenEar One.R's with Herbie’s Threaded Stud Glider footers, Focal Stellia headphones. Cables: digital - Wireworld Starlight 8 Ethernet, StarTech SFPGLCLHSMST single-mode 1310nm SFP module and Small Green Computer 1 GB FMC connected by Corning LC-LC single-mode 9/125um duplex fiber; speaker - Silversmith Audio Fidelium; interconnect - Silversmith Audio Fidelium XLR; AC - Wireworld Silver Electra 7 and Electra 7; external clock - Auralis Audio Duelund Pure Silver BNC. Accessories: Power supplies - UpTone Audio JS-2’s (no stock PS’s); OCXO clock for ER - Project Clay X Geismann OCXO 10MHz Emperor Signature edition 75 Ohm; cable risers - AudioQuest Fog Lifters; power conditioning - PS Audio Stellar Power Plant 3, AudioQuest Jitterbugs; AC receptacle - PS Audio Powerport Classic, Block Audio C-Lock Lite; vibration isolation - IsoAccoustic Orea Graphite footers (amps), Symposium Accoustics RollerBlock Jr's w/Tungsten balls for DAC. Room: 26' 2" W x 11' 6" D x 7' 9" H, heavily absorbent furnishings, plaster walls, suspended and carpeted wood floor.

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On 6/7/2022 at 8:29 PM, Superdad said:

What I find very interesting is that the Meitner MA3 uses the same ConversDigital CDMCM-2121R mConnect Ethernet>I2S input board

as MytekBrooklyn Bridge DAC 😏. Moreover, it is not clear where the difference in the sound of both these devices with ER came from. The CDMCM-2121R is a self-sufficient board, an ethernet connector is directly connected to it and there are no built-in switch in Maitner.

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