EtherREGEN versus direct network cable

Thank you for this info.
I read some reviews, both pro and contra. I’m using direct cable (and Pink Faun Lan Isolator), and sound quality is very good. I’m searching for improvenents…

Did you hear any difference between the opticalModule and the ER? How did you power the opticalModule?

Thanks!

The majority of people who have actually heard an EtherRegen in their system (and not just tested it like ASR) seem to like it, including those who responded here.

Why not take advantage of Uptone’s 30 day trial period and hear how you like it in your system?

If it’s not for you it can be returned for a refund.

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Yes, eR gives a little more full sound, oM a cleaner sound (but subtle differences). All in all I think eR sounds a little better, but it also costs a lot more. I power the oM with two 20Ah LiFePo4 cells in series (3.2v each), I also run streamer and DAC on similar batteries (floating so no ground connection).

https://shop.gwl.eu/LiFePO4-cells-3-2-V/LiFePO4-High-Power-Cell-3-2V-20Ah-Alu-case-CE.html

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Thanks @Magnus - that’s useful info. I have, and really like the ER but also have an unused oM laying around, hence my questions.

After adding an expensive LPS to the oM the price differential between that and the ER is pretty small but I hadn’t considered using batteries - I’ll have to look into that, how long do they last between charges?

I have set it up so my batteries lasts more than a day (probably several days) and then I charge at night when sleeping.

I heard some people who used oM -> fiber -> eR -> HiFi ethernet -> streamer, maybe something to try.

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Yes, I’ve considered putting them both in the chain but have concerns about too many circuits=more noise.

My streamer has optical input so my setup would be:

Switch->ER->oM->streamer

With them oM to streamer being optical of course.

Why not compare them and see which one you like best:
switch -> fiber -> eR or oM -> TP ethernet -> HiFi
Fiber will always remove all noise from up-stream, so whatever comers before fiber is not important.

Because I need to buy a LPS for the oM to do this, and my streamer supports optical in so I have no ethernet in my system after the ER.

I’m a big fan of optical but in my system what comes before fiber still has influence. For instance, having a standard SFP switch in place of the ER yields lower performance. You said yourself you liked the ER over the oM, so certainly what converts ethernet to optical is important.

I have both the Pink Faun and the EtherREGEN and although the Pink Faun will offer sound quality improvements in most cases, the EtherREGEN does so much more for the sound quality. See my review at https://youtu.be/Io4SDi5hLxs.

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Hello,

I have a Lumin X1 with an optical input and wanted to try the same setup. Unfortunately it did not work this way as the oM only works with 1Gb/s connection, and the B side of the ER is only 100Mb/s.

So the oM has to be before the ER and there can be optical between them, but in this case it has to be LAN connection between the ER and the streamer:

Lan -> oM -> optical to ER A-side -> LAN from ER B-side -> Lumin X1

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Uptone say the reverse mode B to A is almost as good so why not use the Lan on the B side then optical from the A side to the X1?

Uptone says the reverse mode B to A is exactly the same as A to B, not almost as good.

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Have you tried this without oM?
Roon Core and/or NAS - network switch - ER B-side - ER optical - Lumin X1 SFP

If this sounds the same (or better) to you, you can reduce one box and reserve the oM for other purposes.

Thanks to your recommendation from yesterday I doubble checked the SFP module in the Lumin and it was a single-mode Planet module. Previously someone recommended that type for the ER and I did not realize that it is not ideal for the Lumin, and it did nout sound right. So last night I installed multi-mode TP link modules on both ends and suddenly it became really good, sounds much better now :slight_smile:

The system is currently a bit complicated but sounds good. I will try it without the OM later anyway as you suggested:

Roon Core LAN - Edgerouter X SFP optical - OM - ER B-side - ER optical - Lumin X1 SFP

**Correction **

I have a problem with the configuration: (I’m testing at DSD512)

Lan → oM → optical to ER A-side → LAN from ER B-side → Streamer

I get what seems like network errors if I used anything above DSD128. (Roon reports that the stream is running slow and the skips to the next song.) The NUC running Roon has it’s fan running at full.

So I tried…

Lan → ER B-port → ER A-port optical → optical oM → LAN → Streamer

I just hiss for any above DSD128 and no errors with the second configuration.

Do you really need the media converter?

I think it should work in both configurations, so that would be a good question for the UpTone Audio manufacturer.

Hello George. ER is gigabit in and out of the A-port, but not the slower B-port. Maybe your optical oM or streamer needs to connect at the faster network speed.

Maybe a basic Netgear GS108 switch and BJC cat 6 cables might sort you out instead of this homeopathy-based setup? Just sayin.

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