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

@octaviars Yes, that makes sense. 😀 Not sure why Emile recommended that >10m length.

30 minutes ago, Ricardo007 said:

The higher the better since less current in ER

The power will be the same as P=U*I and it draws almost the same at 7 and 12V think it was around 7-7.2W no matter what voltage I used and the temperatur was that same regardless of voltage. 

Thank you @ricardo007 and @octaviars.

Quick initial impressions from some power experiments

Mac Mini (Roon server) -> stock enet -> stock switch -> stock ethernet cable -> EtherRegen -> Startech CAT7 (6") -> NUC i7 running Euphony HQPlayer -> Lush^2 -> LPS 1.2/ISO Regen -> Lush^2 -> Chord DAVE (dedicated 30A circuit, Isolation transformer, etc) -> Voxative 9.87 speakers (4D driver) direct (no amp)

Switched from the stock ER PS to a PowerAdd Pilot2 laptop batter at 12V (no ground wire, single cable to upstream side, single cable to downstream side).  Detail on bass tightened up noticeably, and attacks seem sharper (both pleasant surprises!).  Giving it an extended listen right now, before coming to any conclusion.

Next will be to switch to optical input on the ER to see what that does.   I'll report back when I have more listening time

5 hours ago, ray-dude said:

Next will be to switch to optical input on the ER to see what that does.   I'll report back when I have more listening time

Hi Ray: 

Could you also try eliminating your stock switch--or leave it if it is your only network<router connection--and plug the Mac mini directly into an 'A'-side RJ45 port?

Let us know what you hear.

Thanks,

ALEX

I'll eliminate the switch Alex, but unfortunately my server is literally in my closet (with storage drives, etc) right by my internet router so not easy to move around.  I'll experiment with taking the line from my router to the generic switch directly to ER, and with putting gigabit media converter going from stock switch to ER and router to ER.  May not be until the weekend though.

(v2 upgrade was painless and flawless BTW...thank you for making it so easy to do)

Curiosity got the best of me.  Quick test with the generic switch out of the path (router direct to ER, only one connection into ER and one connection out) and the difference is basically gone now.  If I do a confirmation bias squint, I maybe hear a VERY slight difference, but if its there, vanishingly small (6 guesses out of 10 difference, vs 8 or 9 guesses out of 10 before) .  Very interesting!

I need to get back to work (alas), so will resist playing with the media converter in the mix.

Alex, was there anything behind your suggestion?  Would be interesting to have a hypothesis on what mechanisms might be at play here.

21 hours ago, Nenon said:

 

That's a different transceiver. Here is the one Emile recommended - https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-1000BASE-ZX-SFP-Transceiver-Module/dp/B0747WZ8LZ/ 

Thank you

On 11/30/2019 at 11:05 AM, FileMakerDev said:

I just pulled the trigger on one of these (already being a very happy Lush^2 USB owner/enthusiast).

 

https://stordiau.com/collections/cables-and-more-snakes-oil/products/ethist-2-ethernet-cable

 

Will share impressions in due course.

The ET^2 arrived today and I've been listening to it for the last four hours or so. The ET^2 replaces an AQ Cinnamon in my digital chain, which is now

VortexBox > generic ethernet cable > hub > generic ethernet cable > EtherRegen > ET^2 > ultraRendu > Lush^2 > ISO-Regen > Lush^2 > Lampizator Big 7

The short verdict: significant improvement.

Details here.

I saw a couple posts in which people discussed attaching a heat sink to the top of the ER.  Have others tried this and, if so, has it resulted in a noticeable drop in temperature?  I don't see the harm in doing this and likely will unless it is deemed to be a poor move.

52 minutes ago, dminches said:

Ik zag een paar berichten waarin mensen het hechten van een koellichaam aan de bovenkant van de ER bespraken. Hebben anderen dit geprobeerd en, zo ja, heeft het geleid tot een merkbare temperatuurdaling? Ik zie hier geen kwaad in en zal dat waarschijnlijk ook doen, tenzij het als een slechte zet wordt beschouwd.

 

why, if it’s not necessary ?

6 hours ago, Johnnydev said:

why, if it’s not necessary ?

How you know it isn’t necessary?

47 minutes ago, ray-dude said:

For me, the LPS 1.2 and SR4 have a material and very welcome impact to SQ. 

Very nicely done and thanks for sharing your impressions.  As you saw in my other post, I just sold two LPS-1.2 supplies without even trying either with the ER.  The main driver there was having heard how much of an improvement the Farad supples made with the HMS and TT2.  Funding those is my current top priority as these seemed to fall in the game changer category.  Also later this month I’ll get to hear the benefit from adding two stacks of ASC 11” isothermal tube traps.  The stacks of 13” isothermal traps I placed in the corners behind my speakers were most certainly in the game changer category - and a friend tells me that he heard no diminishing returns from adding the second pair of stacks.  We shall see.

 Nice to know that I can circle back to the ER for further improvements after I get some of the big rocks addressed.  Thanks for your report.

1 hour ago, ray-dude said:

That being said, I have a very non-conventional setup: I have DAVE directly driving very high efficiency single drivers (104dB sensitivity), and the bass units on the Voxativ's each have dual very high efficiency bass drivers (99dB sensitivity) drive by 200W class AB amp.  These have the fastest cleanest bass I've ever heard (particularly effective for creating a very strong sense for the space a recording was made, and imaging the lower resonances in piano and cello/bass violin).  Upgraded power to the ER is a big win for me, but YMMV.

Great report Ray. And I'd love to hear your unique system sometime!   (I don't get down to San Diego very often, though I know it is lovely there.)

Haven't heard the Farad yet (although I am sorely tempted to order one to be able to do so), but I can confirm that a SR4 on TT2 and HMS are most definitely worthwhile.  The good news is that the added SQ lift you're going to get with your HMS+TT2 will reveal even more from your other tweaks (ER included).  Amazing how the whole gets to be so much more than the sum of the parts.

Just now, ray-dude said:

Amazing how the whole gets to be so much more than the sum of the parts.

I keep reminding my wife that I am more than the sum of my (aging) parts, but I don't think she is buying it. 

Now where did it put that AbsREGEN device? 

Just now, Superdad said:

 

Great report Ray. And I'd love to hear your unique system sometime!   (I don't get down to San Diego very often, though I know it is lovely there.)

You're always welcome Alex!  Please drop a note if you're down this way and we'll host a listening session (and wine tasting session) with the local audio crazies

2 hours ago, ray-dude said:

I bypassed the stock switch by my AV setup since this improved bass detail and dynamics considerably

I would like to know why having other switches in the chain matters if the ER A-side ports are all galvanically isolated from each other and all the noise is gone once the moat has been crossed.  Isn't the moat supposed to make such things irrelevant @Superdad

On 11/24/2019 at 7:43 AM, jos said:

I’m a bit unsure about my ER setup. I have on the A-side my NAS, iMac, Apple router & Apple TV connected. The first 3 devices with Supra cat8 and the Apple TV3 with a generic UTP 6a cable. The Apple TV is optical connected to my DAC. I don’t use this device often, just so now and then to watch a movie or photo’s. I assume my Supra cables are ‘shield-tied’, according to the manual. The B-side of the ER is connected with Supra cat8 to my ultraRendu feeding my DAC. But according to the manual this is not a problem. I still have my Netgear GS108 switch at hand.

 

In this situation: do I potentially introduce undesirable leakage current, or not? If so, what should I do? Thanks for any help!

 

I don’t have my ER yet, but based on my experience with connecting a WiFi bridge to my ultraRendu, I would try substituting Blue Jeans CAT 6a for the Supra CAT 8 on the B side of the ER. You might be pleased with the improvement in clarity and timbral accuracy.

Can't remember who suggested trying grounding the eR, but thank you.  Doesn't make any sense to me that this would work, but it works.

Someone else suggested the easily-managed flat ethernet cables and tried one on the A side of the eR.  Sounds fine and takes stress off the connection, which I prefer.  

5 minutes ago, ray-dude said:

I should say that for the record, I'm really really uncomfortable so clearly hearing differences between ethernet cables....this way (even more) madness dwells.

That is for sure, but you are providing a public service doing all this testing.  I just can't make myself do too much of this experimenting any more.  Grounding the darn thing was enough.  It is so crowded behind my rack and I have to keep my head down to clear the bottom of the diffuser (on the wall behind the rack), which will leave its mark on your head if you mess with it.  😖

Since we are talking brands, before the eR, I found that a Purist Audio Design Cat7 cable made a nice difference, which really surprised me given bits = bits.  On the other hand, the Blue Jeans certified 6a, didn't sound right.  Currently, I have a monoprice 6a to the A side and the Purist Audio Design on the B side.  Sounding very nice.