EtherREGEN with an AfterDark OCXO clock; WOW

Audio Gear Talk
60

So fired it up yesterday evening and first impressions were, terrible! Best way to describe it was everything sounded slightly fuzzy, similar to FM radio with a slightly dodgy reception.

Thankfully, having left it on for over 20 hours I’m putting the above down to my impatience and it sounds bloody great this morning.

I’ve mainly focused on acoustic tracks so far (Nick Drake, Willie Dunne, etc) and to my ears at least, the level of detail is greatly enhanced with much more clarity and separation than before.

Hopefully will get chance to crank up the volume this afternoon and play some “bigger” tracks, but if this morning is anything to go by, it’s looking like a good addition in my set up (Topping D90 / Pre90, MF M2Si, MA Silver 200s).

61

if you power both the ER and the AD clock using the same LPS (dual output), you are shorting the moat in the ER.

Power to ER is into the A side
Clock in ER is on the B side

62

Honestly, I don’t understand what that means!

63

Anyone try this combination plus ENO ag Filter?

1 Like
64

Essentially… Don’t power the ER and the AD clock using the same lps.

2 Likes
65

Done! I am using an iFi power adaptor for the ER and the second power out for the SOtM SMS 200.

Appreciate your help.

66

No worries man.

But, just to be sure, do mean both the ER and the Sotm are connected to the same power supply?

If that is the case, then the Sotm should be connected to the A side (the side with the sfp and 4 Lan ports).

If you want to keep the Sotm on the B side (single Lan port), then the ER and Sotm should be on separate power supplies.

1 Like
67

So how I have it at the moment is ER is on a separate PSU with the SotM and Clock on the dual PSU.

Cisco switch connects to the ER side with four ports and the SotM connects via ethernet to the ER single port side.

All very confusing and appreciate you guidance on getting the best out of the set-up!

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68

ah good that sounds about right!

69

I bought the ENO Ag with cable. Because it outperforms my EtherREGEN without putting the two in combination, I demoted ER to System #2 so that I can enjoy network “filtering” in both.

1 Like
70

I just added the ENO filter after EtherRegen to the chain & approx 50+ hrs into run-in process. Truthfully, I was already quite pleased with the more relaxed sound of the ER. Then I read about the combination of the ER plus an external master clock which arrives this week. More on the addition of the AfterDark Emperor Double Crown clock later. As for the ENO System, the improvements I’m hearing are subtle with & without the ER inline. Perhaps, a touch more separation and air between instruments & vocals. Listening at low volume may be more revealing. Rich at Network Acoustics sees no reason why ENO shouldn’t improve on RFI the EtherRegen leaves behind. Setup is already decent, quiet & resolving so I may be reaching the point of diminishing returns.

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71

Like you, I’m happy with the ER. In my systems (which are Meridian-centric), I hear a bigger boost from the ENO rather than the subtle effect you describe, so I separated the two.

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72

I’m already happily invested in ER & clock, but got impatient waiting for clock to be built & shipped. That’s when I stumbled on the ENO. After reading everything about it I could find, talking to satisfied customers who switched from ER to ENO as well as Rich from the manufacturer, I ordered the Ag version of the system. As the Dutch audio reviewer Hans says in his comprehensive YouTube review of the ENO (he’s a big fan of the ER as well), the improvement the ENO provides as compared to the ER is the difference between “very excellent & very, very excellent”. He goes on to say the improvement with both ER & ENO in the chain falls somewhere in between. I’ll be interested to hear what, if anything, the AfterDark clock adds to the party.

1 Like
73

Perhaps a Mod can merge this topic with EtherRegen with an AfterDark OCXO clock; WOW?

74

Dumb question, I am trying a Valhalla BNC digital cable from the Ether Regen to a AfterDark clock.
The Valhalla has a arrow pointing the direction. Does the arrow point towards the clock or to the EtherRegen?

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My guess would be in the direction of the signal so towards the ER

76

I believe arrow should go toward EtherRegen. That’s how all my Synergistic Research cables work. Frank Smith at Ctronic Music (US distributor) says it shouldn’t make a difference. My AfterDark upgraded BNC is not directional & it sounds fantastic! I went with Emperor Double Crown. 48hrs into the run-in process, the improvements were stunning! It truly is the single best upgrade I’ve made & ive made a bunch of them.

2 Likes
77

Holy Crap!

The addition of the AfterDark Emperor Double Crown OCXO paired with the EtherRegen has produced absolutely stunning improvements to an already decent system. It truly is the single best upgrade I’ve made and there have been a bunch of them. I liken this to a key component upgrade or better. In general, the music stream feels more relaxed without sacrificing detail. Silky smooth! The soundstage is wider, deeper & taller, more layering, instruments & voices have more air & space between them, everything seems to have a well defined place on stage, individual notes have a sharper attack & longer decay, darker background, a not so subtle increase in detail & all of this at lower volume as well. In addition to the EtherRegen & Double Crown, there is an ENO Ag system & AQVOX SE switch in line. However, the AfterDark Emperor Double Crown & companion LPS made the most dramatic improvements of all of them. Way beyond my expectations! Now back to picking up my jaw off the floor.

6 Likes
78

i posted on the AS forum Afterdark thread on their clock.

I said that they had increased the price to USD750 for the ER Queen version, when I had paid USD450 not too long ago.

LOL they deleted my post…

79

I also think you got it wrong. The higher price is for the Trifecta with three clock outputs and a built-in linear power supply.