austinpop

To be clear - I'm a Roon user. So all my comments have been about Roon Core on the server, and Roon Bridge/SL/SL+large buffers on the endpoint. However, to answer your question: yes, I've tried all the combinations of AL and Euphony, both on server and endpoint. The latest AL is now very close to Euphony SQ, but Euphony still sounds a little better to me. Squeezelite with large buffers is possible on both AL and Euphony. It makes the same improvement on Euphony as it does on AL. Standalone server is a new use case for me, and I''ve just started to explore that, comparing Euphony/Roon and Euphony/Stylus. Too early to say much other than Stylus sounds very, very good. I've asked Euphony if they can make Stylus an endpoint to Roon, and they said they'll consider if it's feasible. Here's hoping!

Very interesting findings about the SQ variations simply due to the "presence" of a network connection. I have found the same, and it varies by machine, and what is upstream of the box, in terms of switches, the network speed (100 vs. 1000 Mbps), etc. It appears the new computer you're playing with does not degrade SQ with a network cable attached. In this scenario, if you're not planning to actually stream data, and your only use for the network is for control purposes, then yeah I'd think the JCAT card is overkill. But like most of these things, actual experience may be different.

Yes - I think I have a stale cookies issue in my Chrome browser. When I click on the open.qobuz.com/... link, I just get taken to Qobuz home page. I tried it on a pristine browser I don't normally use, and I get the Listen on Qobuz button. So I'll flush cookies and try again. Even so... until I can search public playlists or paste an URL directly into Qobuz or Roon, I don't consider this a solution.

Unfortunately, does not help those of us not on Android and BubbleUPnP. Maybe I'm missing something, but when someone sends you a link to an album or playlist, say in an email or a forum post, what are the steps to go from the URL - like https://open.qobuz.com/album/0075597939187 - to having it open in the Qobuz app? Forget UPnP and Android. Just a general question on any platform. Ideally, I'd like to click the link in my browser and have it open up in the Qobuz app. That doesn't seem to work. I sometimes have better luck by editing the URL from https://open.qobuz.com/album/0075597939187 to https://play.qobuz.com/album/0075597939187 So I stand by my comment - this is needlessly complicated. There should be a way in Qobuz or Roon to just paste in the URL.

Is there a similarly easy way to add the public playlist via the Qobuz app itself?

Thanks John, Now it all makes sense. Thank you for the cogent and detailed explanation. So it is indeed the case that theoretically, the B side is "cleaner," and the best use of this switch is to connect the upstream network to a single port on the A side, and the endpoint on the B side. And if you're Larry, repeat this 4 times.

No, thank you!

Alex, I'm getting mixed messages here. Are the A and B side symmetric (in terms of SQ) or not? It sounds like you're saying that it's not, and for max performance/SQ, the A side should be used for the upstream (router, upstream switch, bridged server, etc) the single100Mbps port on the B side to the endpoint. I recently posted a picture on another thread of my current setup, where I use 2 ports on what you would call the clean (or B) side: one to the endpoint/streamer, and one directly to the DAC. This enabled me to evaluate the benefit of the switch on an Ethernet DAC, and compare the Ethernet and USB inputs of the DAC, both paths benefiting from the switch. Here's the picture: My thought on how to replicate this with the EtherRegen - in the fulness of time! - was to reverse the A and B side: connect the upstream to the single port on the B side, and then connect the streamer and DAC in my picture to 2 of the 4 ports on the A side. It sounds like that is bass-ackward and would be a suboptimal use of the EtherRegen. Please clarify?

+1000 The current support is painful. Not only are public playlists not searchable by key word, you can't just take an URL like the above and paste it into Roon or even the Qobuz app! You have to navigate the URL in a browser, then select Play in Qobuz, then in the Qobuz app, "heart" it, and only then does it show up in your playlists in Roon. Eventually - whenever Roon next syncs with Qobuz. <sarcasm> Could Qobuz please make this a little more convoluted? The above is just too easy to do. </sarcasm>

+1 I have been wondering the same. I certainly formed an impression during earlier discussions that the two sides of the isolation boundary were symmetric. Perhaps I misunderstood? I've not been following the back and forth in detail. The scenario I'm thinking of is where the router attaches to the single port side, and then the other side has multiple clean ports for server, endpoint, etc?

Thanks for that update Kevin! You actually answered a question I meant to ask at the end of my last post but forgot: are you folks who've been making similar enhancements also finding yourself on a similar plateau?

Good suggestions. I've updated the post.

While I have a different configuration, I agree with Larry - we're at a point now where most of us are happy with the excellent SQ we are enjoying. Here is what my current system looks like: I am alternating between AL and Euphony as the OS for the Server and the Endpoint. With the recent changes, AL has almost, but not quite, caught up in SQ with Euphony. I own both, so continue to monitor improvements and can easily switch back and forth as needed. One very interesting finding, which I will expand on in an upcoming review, is that with the improvements in my network chain with the bridged JCAT Net Femto card and the SOtM switch, the SQ through the Ethernet interface of the DAC is now very close to the SQ through the USB input. This is true across the Ethernet DACs at my disposal, the Ayre QX-8, the QX-5, and my current DAC under review. The USB path still wins out, but by a smaller margin than ever before. Of course, with USB you can also play with alternated endpoints like Squeezelite, buffers, etc. Still, this suggests that there may be an alternate path to great SQ using just reclocking switches and Ethernet DACs. This has the benefit of being a low-spaghetti solution. I am currently trying to see if I can systematically force my entire chain to 100Mbps. Like many here, I am finding 100Mbps to sound better than 1Gbps. Eric @limniscate and I rediscovered the advantage of 100Mbps in a recent listening session on his system, which he recently upgraded with the fabulous Maggie 20.7's. In addition to enjoying the music, we wanted to test the effect of the SOtM switch powered by an SR7 DR rail, on the Ethernet input of the DAC under review. We set up the USB chain as the baseline: Wall (router) > Zenith SE > tX-USBultra (SR7 DR) > DAC Note - we used SOtM dCBL-Cat7 ethernet cables and Lush USB cables for all experiments. We next tried the SOtM switch upstream of the SE: Wall (router) > SOtM switch (SR7 DR) > Zenith SE > tX-USBultra (SR7 DR) > DAC Oddly enough, this sounded worse. Upon investigation, we found from the lights on the SE's Ethernet port that in the baseline case, when connecting directly to his router, his SE was negotiating down to a rate of 100Mbps. With the switch in the path, the switch was auto-negotiating 1Gbps both to the router, and to the SE. Net net (pun intended!) - the SE in the baseline case was running at 100Mbps and sounding better. Next, we tried a direct path from the SE to the DAC via Ethernet: Wall (router) > Zenith SE (bridged) > (via Ethernet) > DAC This sounded significantly worse than the USB path. Soundstage depth was lacking, and the overall presentation was flat and boring. Since the DAC only supports 100Mbps, in this case both ports on the SE were at 100Mbps. Then we added the SOtM switch between the SE and the DAC: Wall (router) > Zenith SE > SOtM switch (SR7 DR) > DAC In this case, the speed negotiated by the ports were: SE LAN: 100Mbps (to router) SE streamer: 1Gbps (to switch) Ethernet DAC: 100Mbps (to switch) This was by far the most dramatic improvement I've ever heard from an Ethernet switch. Comparing this path to the baseline USB path, the USB path still won. The gap was small running Roon as the endpoint, but widened again when using squeezelite (the so-called experimental option on the Zenith SE). As I try to force 100Mbps end to end, I find myself wishing for a 100Mbps/1Gbps config option on the SOtM switch. While a case can be made that the speed should properly be configured on the nodes, many OSes like InnuOS and Euphony don't allow any way to override the auto-negotiate setting of the Ethernet interface. Even on AL it is a bit fiddly, and best left to the Linux experts. As far as what is next on my system - not much! I am finally very happy with my digital path upstream of my DAC. The next big thing for me is power supply improvements. I am eagerly awaiting (and awaiting, and awaiting) my 3-rail SR7 DRXL, which will allow me to run my NUC, tX-USBultra, and SOtM switch on SR7 rails. That should be it for me until I can try the Uptone EtherRegen switch against the SOtM and TLS switches. I so want to be DONE. I say that, but knowing myself, tweaking will likely continue!

Yes, they plan to offer it as a total system. This is along the same lines as the far more expensive Sennheiser HE-1. But that said, I was curious about flexibility and was pleased to learn that while you can use the builtin DAC via the usual digital inputs, as well as Ethernet (including, if I'm remembering correctly, Roon endpoint support), they also offer SE and balanced analog inputs to support any external DAC. Building on Chris' article, I too was invited to have a listen to this system. What they were displaying was a prototype, so changes are still possible between now and the official launch in Munich. I try to be circumspect when describing what I hear at shows. The true measure of a system or a component can only be made in your own home, integrated with the rest of your system, etc. At best, I look for things that pique my curiosity. With the Aperio, consider my curiosity piqued! I found it extremely resolving, with a sweet treble, and super fast and clean transients. I expect this from high-end eletrostatics. I also heard very tight bass with excellent low-end extension, which is not as common. Caveat: this is on a first listen, so this is not my last word on this headphone system. But in terms of coming away wanting a lot more time with this system - oh yeah! I look forward to getting my hands on a review sample to really put this system through its paces.

Having joined Chris for this preview and listen, I can attest to the fact that it's quite special.