Bricki

Thanks for sharing this Larry... I've put this UE300 on my endpoint nuc between my Etheregen b side and turned off the LAN in the bios.... I'm impressed with the change after a few days... Things are still settling in and the initial harshness seems to have worn off now. Have you found that there ue300 sounds particularly good/better than other usb nics? Or will others have a similar impact? Are all USB 3.0 ports direct to cpu?

I'm sure the lps1.2 would indeed sound better but I don't have one...I was only sharing what I have experience with using... other PSU's would of course work as well. The edgerouter X comes with a 12v smps so I thought I'd share that I managed to power it with the lps1 at 7v so that others knew that it was possible. The SFP model is preferred in order to isolate your WiFi access point using fiber...I already had the non SFP version... If I was buying again then I'd opt for the SFP version and isolate my WAP.

Yes that's correct. I originally bought an edgerouter X a few years ago to try as a router. I got a bit scared about bricking my ISP router in bridge mode when installing it, so I thought I would configure it as a switch in the setup wizard first and see if I liked it. At the time all the talk was about switches and we were all eagerly awaiting the release of the Etheregen and the sotm switch had been released so it made sense to me at the time to try it as a switch first. After a few days with it setup as a switch, with my ISP router unchanged I thought it sounded terrible and I put it on the shelf and forgot about it.. Then the Etheregen was released and it made a big difference in my setup and I read about @Nenon with his experience with the edgerouter X... I had recently got some apacer ram from him which sounded excellent, so I was very confident in his assessment of the edgerouter X. I dusted off the edgerouter X and got to setting it up properly with my ISP router in bridge mode. Once setup with HWNAT turned on, I noticed immediately that music sounded more dynamic and real - kick drums kick harder and sound more like they have a real impact in the room and more slam... my engagement with the music took another step up. If it wasn't for @Nenon sharing his discoveries with us on AS then my edgerouter X would still be sitting unused on the shelf. Something else I had sitting unused on the shelf was an uptone lps1, so I was happy to discover that it could easily power the edgerouter X.

In my experience, the edgerouter X set up as a switch sounds like rubbish... However, when used as a router and replacing the DHCP duties of my ISP provided modem/router - it provided a very nice uptick in sound quality. Partly due to being able to turn off WiFi and run the ISP modem/router in bridge mode. I now have a separate WiFi access point attached to the edgerouter X. The non SFP edgerouter X can be powered by an lps1 at 7v and the PSU has a significant impact on sound quality as well 👍

Thanks 😁 I will try to remove /var/roon directory and contact you via email if that's still not enough.

Hi Piero @hifi25nl Disregard my last post... I've sorted that issue Is there any reason why 2.6 requires more RAM for ramroot than 2.5? I have adjusted ram min and zram min in /etc/ramroot.conf.... But I'm still about 400mb short of the required amount... I've cleaned the system, uninstalled roonserver after both packages (roonbridge and roonserver) are installed automatically after selecting install in the menu....I previously had AL2.5 ramroot working on 4gig of RAM...I can't figure out what I've done differently... Is it the package installer that that makes it bigger and if so is there any way that you could do a mini version for me again like last time? Thanks

Hi Piero @hifi25nl In Audiolinux 2.6, how can I delete roonserver? I only need roonbridge. I have previously used pamac but that no longer seems to be installed

BTW 10 minutes ago I just upgraded from Audiolinux 2.5 to 2.6 with the new 5.6.19 kernel and it really does sound considerably better 😳... it's a really really nice upgrade... even more clarity and ease

Ok thanks...do you use hyper threading? I disabled it in my bios years ago and I've never retested it... Have you tried a 10th gen NUC? Or is it worth just spending more and doing a full ATX build? If I do an atx build I won't have an adequate PSU🙄... Is your Etheregen further up your chain near your router? Edit.... Sorry, I realise these questions are very hard to answer... Kind of like, how long is a piece of string? 🙄 But I'm trying to learn from others and address my systems weakest point with my annual HiFi budget spend 😁... figuring out my weakest point is the hard part... Where my dollars will be most effective.

I only have dual core machines so the only option for me with isolated cores is to choose the half option... What sounds best does seem to depend on what other software and settings you are using... I'm currently using Audiolinux 2.5 with the non BFQ kernel intel pstate and roon build 610 and I'm thinking that I'm better off without isolated cpu cores in this configuration

Interesting... When did you move away from isolated cores? I haven't tried without isolated cores since changing from the BFQ kernel to the non BFQ... Also Audiolinux 2.5 was a nice bump in SQ for my system... With the non BFQ kernel the Intel pstate scaling driver is now much better than acpi also... I have just removed isolated cores on my roon core and have been listening for a few minutes... So far I think it's now better without isolated cpu cores... Some slightly lower level sounds seem a little less veiled... perhaps a bit more body to the double bass as well and bit more ambience. BTW do you still have your core and endpoint on the B side of the Etheregen? I moved my roon server back to the A side with just the endpoint on the B side with no bridge...I thought this sounded better particularly after the addition of an edgerouter X

I noticed an improvement with 610 also but I am using Audiolinux 2.5 with isolated cores on a dual core machines... So it must be more than just core distribution because I only have one core for audio applications😁

I just wanted to ask you about the WBT solder Is it the best solder you've used (sound wise) for all applications? Best for DC cables as well as analogue interconnects? Is it easy to work with? Any harder to work with than normal solder? My soldering experience is a bit narrow and I could do with a few pointers🤣 Do you use a temperature controlled iron? What wattage iron would be best for this solder if not using temp controlled iron? 25W? 40W? I think the melting point of this solder is around 270 degrees celsius... So for temp controlled iron should we be aiming much higher than that? Sorry if these seem like basic questions. The only soldering I've done before has been with cheaper materials... Now that I'm using oyaid DC barrels etc I don't want to make a mistake... I'm about to buy a new iron because I can't find my old one in my tool box 🤣

The FI-50 NCF IEC plugs sound absolutely fantastic in my system 👍 and speaking of burn in - they take a ridiculously long time to fully burn in. They still have an irritating treble to them after 450 hours and it's not until after 500 hours that they fully settle down and the bass comes back...I found the same time frame with both an FI-50 NCF IEC and an FI-06 NCF IEC inlet... I used furutech TCS-31 for the AC cable and that has a nice "full" furutech house sound to it. When you consider that the FI-50 NCF IEC can have almost the same level of impact as the PSU itself then I don't consider it expensive... I rest my IEC plugs on constrained layer dampening discs for vibration control and that has another nice impact even with the FI-50 plugs that have a suppressor ring built in. 😁👍

Interesting 😁 The most recent cable I was testing this with was a DC cable between an uptone LPS1 and a ubiquity edgerouter X (my only router and DHCP server). I found a much more natural tone without JSSG 360. More ease and a more rounded analogue feel to vocals - less digital edge. It's perhaps system dependent. I had previously thought it would be better whenever I put it. It definitely changes the sound wherever I put it... At one stage I had 8 layers of 4 x JSSG 360 on my USB cable.... Now I've gone full circle back to nothing 🤣

Thanks again for this recommendation Nenon. I have been intending to try this Mundorf cable for a while but I've been completing so many other small mods lately. I'll be sure to try it in the coming months. I'm interested to know if you still use the JSSG360 shielding on these DC cables? Recently my cables have been performing better sonically without JSSG360 shielding. I have now removed it from all ethernet, USB and DC cables. I had a lot of it😁. Removing it got rid of an annoying harsh digital edge to the treble. I can now listen to Milt Jackson on the vibraphone in pleasant ease 😄

Amazing level of detail 👌... I've loved reading this Ray!

JSSG360 on data cables Over the last 6 months I've made many changes in my system including the addition of an Etheregen and an lps1 powered edgerouter x as my main network router...and after burning in a cable matters cat 8 I decided it was time to try putting a JSSG360 shield over it... After doing that I plugged it back in on the b side of my Etheregen and was quite shocked because I thought it sounded worse 😬. I took the shielding off and put the cable back and wondered why - what I thought was once a good tweak was instead having a negative impact... I have since removed JSSG360 shielding from my curious USB cable and decided that it was definitely better without it as well. At one point I thought that it was removing noise from the sound but since my system has become far more transparent (so many things have changed, apacer RAM, furutech FI-50 NCF on my endpoint NUC as well as all the network tweaks) I feel like it's taking away ambience and the true space of the recording as well as dimension and depth. I still have JSSG360 on some DC cables...I haven't tried removing them yet. Has anyone else had a similar experience with JSSG360 as your system has because more transparent? As @austinpop has said in this thread before, it pays to go back and re-check old tweaks as your system changes and becomes more transparent.

This is an astonishingly well written, thorough and enjoyable read. Congratulations Rajiv, you're a real talent 👍 P.S. I agree with your assessment. The Etheregen has brought new levels of musical engagement and realism to my system too 😁

Thanks again Larry for sharing your experiments, I have finally had a chance to spend several hours trying out your recent suggestions. I got myself a TP Link UE300 with the realtek 8153 chipset and I decided to go for your full suggestion of putting the server on the b side of the Etheregen feeding into the RJ45 port of the server and then bridge one USB NIC on the server to another USB NIC (UE 300) on the endpoint NUC, joined with the cable matters cat 8. I changed this connection speed to 100Mbps because in my system I found 1Gbps too glassy in the treble. On the A side of the Etheregen I only have a Supra cat8 going to my router... I have also turned off 5Ghz WiFi on the router for a small gain (less glassy treble). I have been using this configuration for several hours now and so far I'm liking what I'm hearing. I think that there are some gains from having the server on the b side further separated from the router... I am hearing more ambient cues and decay on some tracks and small background details that simply weren't there before. The addition of the Etheregen in my system really made music incredibly enjoyable and engaging, so I'll see how I like this new configuration over the next week and if I don't feel as engaged with the music as I did before then I might revert back to just the endpoint on the B side again to compare, but for now I'm saying that your configuration is a success in my system 😁👍

BTW with regards to the furutech IEC inlets They are a very worthwhile modification. I recently installed the FI-06 NCF IEC inlet on my integrated amp and I am very pleased with the results, particularly considering their relatively low price point. I also swapped an FI-11 IEC plug for an FI-50 NCF and found it to be a very worthwhile upgrade also. This is used on the power cord for my sps-500 that powers my Audiolinux endpoint NUC. In both cases the furutech rhodium plating takes an exceptional amount of time to burn in... there is an irritating harshness to the sound that does not disappear until you have over 500 hours burn in time. In the long run you are left with a smooth sound without harshness and extra clarity and transient attack as well as a larger sound stage and greater depth.

Interesting, so your endpoint is not directly connected to the Etheregen? 🤔. I will have to give this a try when I get a chance

G'day Larry So are using your Etheregen "within" your ethernet bridge? A to B?

My Etheregen is approaching 120 hours. I am finding, like others have said that it has gotten better with time and improved on an aleady excellent improvement. I am finding that all types of music are more engaging and captivating whenever I am within earshot. It's more than just a sound quality improvement, it puts the fun back into your music collection 😁👍

I am up to 72 hours now and things are starting to get more silky smooth. I've just been listening to some Milt Jackson on the vibraphone... This album is normally full of irritating treble glare but the Etheregen has made it beautiful and relaxed.