Uptone Audio EtherREGEN Owners & Discussion Thread

[dbastin]

@ikhuong

 

Consider keeping the OM and do this ...

 

OM > fibre > ER Side A > ER Side B > ethernet > endpoint.

 

Dont plug anything else into ER Side A.  Put everything else upstream of OM using a decent switch.  Every bit helps.  That's what I'd do. 

 

If you dont, I'd be interested to buy the OM to do this instead of fibre from my switch.

 

BTW, I really mean every bit helps.  For eample, I have tried the SOtM ISO Cat both downstream of ER and upstream of fibre and it made a noticable improvement (less upstream than downstream).  I even easily noticed an improvement replacing the Wireworld Starlight with WW Platinum ... upstream of the fibre!  That is 4 cables upstream of endpoint!

 

But note my system is very revealing and my ethernet system is fairly advanced, currently ...

 

nbn > Cat 6 > router > Cat 8 > Cat 5e (many metres in wall) > WW Platinum > ISO CAT > WW Platinum > Ubquiti EdgeSwitch 10 x SFP > fibre > ER > JCAT Signature Gold > Antipodrs EX > Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Reference > Devialet Pro.

 

It also has hi performance  LPS, power cords, grounding on EdgeSwitch and ER.

 

Improving ethernet has achieved improvements perhaps on par or more than from a very hi quality power conditioner.

 

Actually its probably a greater improvement than my recent upgrade from Dynaudio C1 to stand mount speakers twice the cost!

 

Here's an ER for sale ...

 

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa40je-uptone-audio-etherregen-digital

 

My ER came via FedEx, perhaps because post was at a stand still at the time.

Edited July 23, 2020 by dbastin
typo

[ikhuong]

8 hours ago, dbastin said:

@ikhuong

 

Consider keeping the OM and do this ...

 

OM > fibre > ER Side A > ER Side B > ethernet > endpoint.

 

Dont plug anything else into ER Side A.  Put everything else upstream of OM using a decent switch.  Every bit helps.  That's what I'd do. 

 

If you dont, I'd be interested to buy the OM to do this instead of fibre from my switch.

 

BTW, I really mean every bit helps.  For eample, I have tried the SOtM ISO Cat both downstream of ER and upstream of fibre and it made a noticable improvement (less upstream than downstream).  I even easily noticed and improvement replacing the Wireworld Stsrlight with WW Platinum ... upstream of the fibre!  That is 4 cables upstream of endpoint!

 

But note my system is very revealing and my ethernet system is fairly advanced currently ...

 

nbn > Cat 6 > router > Cat 8 > Cat 5e (many metres in wall) > WW Platinum > ISO CAT > WW Platinum > Ubquiti EdgeSwitch 10 x SFP > fibre > ER > JCAT Signature Gold > Antipodrs EX > Synergistic Research Atmosphere X Reference > Devialet Pro.

 

It also has hi performance  LPS, power cords, grounding on EdgeSwitch and ER.

 

Improving ethernet has achieved improvements perhaps on par or more than from a very hi quality power conditioner.

 

Actually its probably a greater improvement than my recent upgrade from Dynaudio C1 to stand mount speakers twice the cost!

 

Here's an ER for sale ...

 

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa40je-uptone-audio-etherregen-digital

 

My ER came via FedEx, perhaps because post was at a stand still at the time.

I have Cisco optic switch on another end before going to ER (if i buy it)

I have read somewhere That JR who designed those optic systems said the fiber converter on the noisy side/router is also matter and

would improve sound if we put OM or etherrendu on that end. I have not Been bought by his idea yet on clock/digital footprint as we

implement fiber in

between to help system to immune with whatever happens on the router end. And now have to tweak the router side which negative the statement 100% galvanic isolation by optic

 

 

Edited July 22, 2020 by ikhuong

[dbastin]

As I recall, a recent quite comprehensive review of ER found that, using fibre, OM upstream of ER sounded better than a generic switch or media convertor (I dont recall which).

 

Try not to listen to the technical explanations.  In ethernet audio, some things provide improvements that don't make technical sense.   Experiment and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

[Furutechfan]

I am not sure if anyone has covered this issue here. I have a smps powering my uptone lps 1.2 which powers my ER. I was wondering why my SQ sounded so mediocre after moving the Lps 1.2 from the computer room to the front room where all my hifi gear was set up. I then remember someone sharing that they had banished all smps from the audio chain and found that sq improved a lot.

 

So out of curiosity I moved the smps powering the lps 1.2 to a different power line from my hifi gear and immediately the magic was back...sound stage widened, sense of  dynamic compression was gone !  

 

The first thing I remembered which alluded to the smps being the culprit was that I had the gieselier gold tune powering the ER initially and the SQ exhibited none of the sound stage compression. I know that the gieseler lps is powered by a power transformer and not a smps.  

 

So the conclusion is throw those smps as far away as you can. Can anyone offer me any ideas on how else to power the uptone LPS 1.2 ?

[Ittaku]

11 minutes ago, Limmie said:

The first thing I remembered which alluded to the smps being the culprit was that I had the gieselier gold tune powering the ER initially and the SQ exhibited none of the sound stage compression. I know that the gieseler lps is powered by a power transformer and not a smps.  

 

So the conclusion is throw those smps as far away as you can.

Depends on the SMPS. I've done some measurements of actual noise going to hardware and being injected back into the mains, and good quality SMPS actually decrease powerline noise, whilst cheap linear power supplies inject noise from the electronic component they're powering back into the powerline. As always, implementation is more important than the technology itself.

[Stereophilus]

59 minutes ago, Limmie said:

So the conclusion is throw those smps as far away as you can. Can anyone offer me any ideas on how else to power the uptone LPS 1.2 ?

If you still have the Gieseler Gold Tune LPSU then that will power the LPS 1.2

 

Personally, I feel the power supply to the ER is the biggest factor in how it changes SQ.  My upstream OM also seems to show SQ benefit from a good quality (Gieseler) LPSU.

[dbastin]

2 hours ago, Limmie said:

Can anyone offer me any ideas on how else to power the uptone LPS 1.2 ?

The ERs SMPS seems quite good for this purpose.  Otherwise maybe ifi powerx would be good.

[Furutechfan]

Thanks for your suggestions guys. Using one lps to power another is probably an overkill atm. The ifi powerx could be a good compromise. I will probably just leave it on a separate power line for now as it seems to have taken care of the problem.

 

cheers

[HumanMedia]

On 09/08/2020 at 10:28 PM, Limmie said:

So the conclusion is throw those smps as far away as you can. Can anyone offer me any ideas on how else to power the uptone LPS 1.2 ?

Forget power supply centipedes (and SMPS) sell your LPS 1.2 and put the money towards a single box Farad3 at 7v. Huge improvement for the ER (and just about everything else you use them on. I have 12 different linear supplies and will only buy Farads and UpTone JS-2s from now on. 
 

I know this might be contentious, but I really mean it. Get the best power supplies you can afford. And banish all SMPS they all seem to negatively impact the sound despite measurements, maybe it’s their excessive AC leakage current or maybe they have interactions in the GHZ range which are not measured by typical AC noise testing devices. IMO.

Edited August 18, 2020 by HumanMedia

[frednork]

5 minutes ago, HumanMedia said:

Forget power supply centipedes (and SMPS) sell your LPS 1.2 and put the money towards a single box Farad3 at 7v. Huge improvement for the ER (and just about everything else you use them on. I have 12 different linear supplies and will only buy Farads and UpTone JS-2s from now on. 

interested in what the other power supplies are

[dbastin]

I'm tempted to start a thread àbout LPSs (and DC cables), like the ones on grounding, and ethernet switches.  They can be very effective and with ethernet, a number may be needed, or just one dual or multi output LPS.  The location of some ethernet gear may be remote from power conditioning, so it misses out on that benefit.

 

For interest, Antipodes has released a new series of gear, including a dual output hybrid SMPS/LPS PSU to upgrade some of its new and some older servers PSUs.  Its a scaled back version of the new PSU in its top of the line $18k dual CPU server + render which replaces its CX + EX solution.  Antipodes are fanatical about power supply and eliminating noise, so its likely to be excellent.  Its a similar price to JCATs.

 

I'm tempted to get a dual output LPS to power both ER and Router from one high quality power cord out of one power conditioner outlet.  As my hifi is distant from the nbn box, I'll move the router up to the hifi by doing  ...

 

nbn > Cat 8 > media convertor > fibre > router

 

And in case you havent discovered, changing the router can make a good improvement.  I am using $130 Ubiquiti Edgerouter X SFP.  I am using $50 TP link WiFi Access point to get the wifi noise out of the router.  Even with their standard PSUs out of a household common power outlet, the improvement is obvious compared to the standard iinet.  I imagine a good LPS powered via a power conditioner would gain a further improvement.

[Furutechfan]

1 hour ago, HumanMedia said:

Forget power supply centipedes (and SMPS) sell your LPS 1.2 and put the money towards a single box Farad3 at 7v. Huge improvement for the ER (and just about everything else you use them on. I have 12 different linear supplies and will only buy Farads and UpTone JS-2s from now on. 
 

I know this might be contentious, but I really mean it. Get the best power supplies you can afford. And banish all SMPS they all seem to negatively impact the sound despite measurements, maybe it’s their excessive AC leakage current or maybe they have interactions in the GHZ range which are not measured by typical AC noise testing devices. IMO.

That's exactly what I have experienced too. Unfortunately the quality of the lps makes a significant difference. 

[awayward]

11 hours ago, HumanMedia said:

Forget power supply centipedes (and SMPS) sell your LPS 1.2 and put the money towards a single box Farad3 at 7v. Huge improvement for the ER (and just about everything else you use them on. I have 12 different linear supplies and will only buy Farads and UpTone JS-2s from now on. 
 

I know this might be contentious, but I really mean it. Get the best power supplies you can afford. And banish all SMPS they all seem to negatively impact the sound despite measurements, maybe it’s their excessive AC leakage current or maybe they have interactions in the GHZ range which are not measured by typical AC noise testing devices. IMO.

The Farad3 looks very interesting, have you had any experience with the upgrade options, fuses, AC and DC cables?

[HumanMedia]

13 hours ago, awayward said:

The Farad3 looks very interesting, have you had any experience with the upgrade options, fuses, AC and DC cables?

Fuses make a difference, I’ve tried stock and the Furutech. Furutech is smoother and lower bass. May try a synergistic orange if I get the nerve to spend that much. AC power cords as well, I’ve only tried a Bunnings 18awg generic and my ubiquitous Belden 16xxx 14awg shielded and the Belden is unsurprisingly more weighty around 100hz. DC cables made less of a difference but I’ve only tried the stock DC and the ‘Level 1’ from Farad. I have a custom built Canare 4S8 cable with JSSG360 shielding from Ghent cable waiting to be cleared at Mascot right now which might be a great not too expensive DC cable upgrade. Will let you know if it ever gets here.

 

Edit - but the stock Farad3 is great and fuses and cords can be changed later.

Edited August 19, 2020 by HumanMedia

[HumanMedia]

On 18/08/2020 at 7:56 PM, frednork said:

interested in what the other power supplies are

Off the top of my head without having to look behind racks for the exact model numbers - Welborne, Keces, Teddy Pardo, Paul Hynes SR4, Uptone LPS1.2, CIAudio, Sbooster BOTW, Farad3 x 2, Uptone JS-2 x 2. Now that Ive listed them I can't even remember where the Sbooster is and its a good power supply.

 

Also have an iFi SMPS and the Uptone SMPS and the Chord SMPS which are all slightly higher quality SMPS but none are used and sit in boxes well away from any wall outlets where they can only cause trouble. :-)

 

These days I don't think of power supplies as merely a supplement to a component, I think of them as separate audio components in their own rights. Many supplies will stay with me longer than the components they are currently powering.

Edited August 19, 2020 by HumanMedia

[frednork]

3 minutes ago, HumanMedia said:

Off the top of my head without having to look behind racks - Welborne, Keces, Teddy Pardo, Paul Hynes SR4, Uptone LPS1.2, CIAudio, Sbooster BOTW, Farad3 x 2, Uptone JS-2 x 2. Now that Ive listed them I can't remember where the Sbooster is and its a good power supply. Also have an iFi SMPS and the Uptone SMPS and the Chord SMPS which are all slightly higher quality SMPS but none are used and are Verboten.

nice. care to rank or note differences between them?

[HumanMedia]

And while the two DC power cords I have tried on the Farad were not that much different from each other, DC cords make a big difference generally. The key attributes are thicker gauge the better, star-quad geometry and JSSG360 shielding. It doesn't have to be expensive esoteric materials as long as it starts with those attributes. (although OFC and foamed teflon dielectric are very nice indeed). Off to listen to some Kraftwerk.

[tate6969]

The hardest part of all this is trying to find out where to buy one, especially without import taxes!

 

Suggestions welcome.

[Stereophilus]

5 hours ago, tate6969 said:

The hardest part of all this is trying to find out where to buy one, especially without import taxes!

 

Suggestions welcome.

Email Alex Crespi at Uptone Audio.  He has always been very accommodating IME.

[dbastin]

5 hours ago, tate6969 said:

Suggestions welcome

US$620 here

https://www.adark.co/collections/uptone-audio/products/uptone-etherregen-femto-switch-vip-purchase?variant=30267631698038

Edited August 29, 2020 by dbastin

[ikhuong]

Hi all, waiting my EtherRegen which has been shipped from US, cannot wait,

 

would it be worth to invest in a Linear power supply for etherRegen?

on website or AR forums, Uptone advised it would be very hard to find a power supply to beat or clear improvement verus stock, I don’t want to throw a thousand for a small improvement 

 

Would Gieseler M18PSU - Kraftwerk worth to consider?

 

thanks,

[awayward]

9 minutes ago, ikhuong said:

Hi all, waiting my EtherRegen which has been shipped from US, cannot wait,

 

would it be worth to invest in a Linear power supply for etherRegen?

on website or AR forums, Uptone advised it would be very hard to find a power supply to beat or clear improvement verus stock, I don’t want to throw a thousand for a small improvement 

 

Would Gieseler M18PSU - Kraftwerk worth to consider?

 

thanks,

You should get a substantial improvement in SQ just with the stock psu, it will take 80-100 hours of use to reach its full potential. I’d suggest seeing if you are happy with it after burn in first, I got a small improvement with the Uptone Ultracap lps 1.2

[Snoopy8]

27 minutes ago, ikhuong said:

Hi all, waiting my EtherRegen which has been shipped from US, cannot wait,

 

would it be worth to invest in a Linear power supply for etherRegen?

on website or AR forums, Uptone advised it would be very hard to find a power supply to beat or clear improvement verus stock, I don’t want to throw a thousand for a small improvement 

 

Would Gieseler M18PSU - Kraftwerk worth to consider?

 

thanks,

On AudiophileStyle (AS), people are reporting improvements with Farad Super3, Uptone JS2 (increased demand because of ER, despite Uptone advice!) and Paul Hynes SR4 (& even SR7!). Yes, using PSUs costing lots more than ER.

 

Am using a Gieseler PSU with my ER. Saw a small but noticeable improvement in sound stage and details.

 

However, agree with @awayward that you should burn in and listen first. Minimum 24 hours, if you can wait that long, 80 - 100 hours is ideal.

[tate6969]

5 hours ago, dbastin said:

US$620 here

https://www.adark.co/collections/uptone-audio/products/uptone-etherregen-femto-switch-vip-purchase?variant=30267631698038

Thanks! Didn’t turn up in their search function for some reason.

[tate6969]

5 hours ago, Stereophilus said:

Email Alex Crespi at Uptone Audio.  He has always been very accommodating IME.

Thanks. Will see how I go.