I think I’m one in a unique situation with an integrated (Strata) and a WiFi connection to compare as a standard with no ground loops, AC leakage, or other Gremlins at all (known or unknown).
Its hard with these comparisons since the EtherRegen was going straight into my Strata. With it being a super integrated there is already maximum Synergy and I believe a much lower threshold for reducing the already established Synergy.
In addition… I have no details about the Bridge in the Strata. It could be unique and/or may respond to the EtherRegen in a novel unexpected way due to the Bridge’s design or implementation with the DAC.
Ironically in my system… the $20 Netgear Switch GS 105 made the minimal SQ impact when comparing WiFi to Ethernet streaming of music and minimal effect with the Ethernet plugged in when watching TV over toslink.
The EtherRegen is similar to the Cisco SG-110G as changing the character of the sound dramatically which leads me to conclude in my System… the EtherRegen is not a neutral component but rather heavily coloring the sound of my Strata.
However, we can’t generalize that the EtherRegen colors everyone’s systems. This is highly context dependent.
My system is very simple. Strata plugged into SP3 regenerator plugged into 20A dedicated. Power cables BAV Iconoclast. Only Toslink and speaker wire connected to Strata. It’s much harder to detect independent component coloration as the box # rises and complexity rises. Also, with more complex systems with more noise/ground loops present, the coloration may be small change and perceived rather neutral.
I have Mac Mini to DSD Jr via Curious Evolved USB cable. Balanced out to Freya+ preamp. At the time I then went out to Crown XLS 2502? (Not 100% on that model #) now I have BHK everything so maybe I would hear a difference.
The ether regen was from router to Mac mini. Used regular amazon CAT5
This would suggest that the suspected network noise is small change compared to the noise floor of your MacMini with USB connection. Or alternatively that the influence of noise or network gear is fairly isolated in your current setup… Either way, network noise at this point is a non-issue for you.
My system is very different as Ethernet goes straight into Bridge and directly to DAC. There isn’t much circuitry to balance out noise or for isolation on my end while I believe your system naturally provides more isolation.
See above… i had a big SQ drop with my Strata. WiFi works out very well for me. All switches and Ethernet provide some level of degradation in my system compared to WiFi. But with a super integrated like Strata, there is much more sensitivity to screwing the whole thing up.
I’ve had an EtherRegen since the first batch were delivered. My only observation for the new unit was that it initially sounded pretty coarse. It took the better part of a week to clean up and to open up. It replaced a GigaFOIL at the least you get galvanic isolation at best improved sound and the ability to remove a noisy switch, in my case. My impression is that it contributes nicely to my system. The only quirk is it needs a weekly reboot or ROON starts to have issues.
All of this isn’t making me feel better about spending my hard earned money on the magic network box. I have an Apple Airport extreme in the middle of a big tower computer (running JRiver) and my DSD. Both runs (Tower to Airport and airport to DSD) are relatively lengthy runs of category 6e cabling. Guess I’ll find out soon.
Mine’s been running continuously since Jan. I do have a slow speed fan blowing across it 24/7 though…little sucker gets hotter than I like without some active cooling.
Just last week I took it out of the chain for a few hours and then back in. It’s subtle but that last bit of ‘noise’ is removed. That said, it’s a pretty minimal effect on my setup. It’s certainly not for the worse though.
It did sound a bit rough for a few days while I let it cook under its own heat.
I use it in reverse, feeding B Ethernet in and A optical out to my endpoint.
@amsco15 It’s not magic at all, I know you didn’t mean it per se, but it will reduce noise carried on the connections but if you have little to start with there will be less impact.
There’s also the synergy thing, that last bit of noise carried by Ethernet might have a pleasing effect on ones’ ear/brain.
The good news is if it doesn’t work for you… you can easily return; Alex is easy to deal with.
I would recommend comparison at least a few other switches… I would recommend Netgear GS105… maybe try a few others too. You could order off of amazon and return what doesn’t work.
In the end… if these are unnecessary… boom $640 back in your pocket.
I’m sorry to say that every Ethernet cable I’ve tried changes the sound as well. I would avoid shielded fancy audiophile cables as they unite the ground plane of your gear with the switch. Stay with BJC Cat5e, cat6, and cat6a. To my ears the Netgear with Cat6 was the clear winner in my system with the other two causing significant muffling. With EtherRegen ironically the Cat6 was worst with the Cat5e being best (in the end though it was the best of the bad).
It’s impossible to predict what the best combination will be with yours so the best will be to try a few… luckily they’re are all inexpensive and returnable.
No easy answers here as cxp is 100% correct. It is system dependent. In my case I have the EtherREGEN parked right next to the DSD and connected with a short run one of Blue Jeans cat 6a ethernet patch cords - something like $25. FWIW, I let it cook for 48 or so hours before the first listen.
My Rx is to treat this as part of the “in-home trial trend” and enjoy the ride, as you won’t be out anything if it doesn’t work out for you and decide to return it. My experience with Alex has been good.
I have an EtherRegen feeding a JCAT Femto card in the PinkFaun. I had some trouble trying to get everything running after a power outage so I took the ER (and the JCAT) out of the system for a couple of days. Once everything was running again I ended up putting the ER (and JCAT) back in the system and the music is better with it in. Is it a huge improvement? No but well worth the money to me. And it is a hot running little bugger. I haven’t checked the temp feels like it is in the 110-120F range.
You can’t arbitrarily say CAT8 cables don’t sound good. The argument for CAT5e or 6 over CAT 8 is moot. Yes they can sound really good and they are fast enough for audiophile use. As for CAT8 cables, I’ve made and sold 100’s of CAT8 10% silver Ethernet cables. I use Telegartner terminations that accommodate the 22 gauge cables. These cables are sold with a 100% money back guarantee. In 1 year of selling these cables I’ve never had one returned. People can hear a positive contribution. I let my ears decide for me and if they sound good, mission accomplished. AudioQuest’s Diamond is CAT7, a weird version Of Ethernet that never really gained favour and was superseded by CAT8. It’s a great sounding cable that I voiced and tried to replicate it’s attributes. The AudioQuest sounds wonderful, albeit at a really expensive price. Furthermore, the CAT8 shielding does offer benefits in some installations.
My concern over shielding in cat cables comes down to the shielding and how exactly having a ground running from a network switch going straight to into a network bridge is beneficial?
What good is a shield if that ground transfers that noise to your network bridge? Shouldn’t this drain the noise away from our DAC’s instead of into them? To my knowledge, many of the grounded cables terminate on both ends which means it may be transferred into the device. Also, much of the network gear being deployed may or may not be designed around grounded Cat cables… Where does the ground noise go on the bridge side ?
I have only evaluated Cat7 in my system when I had an Ultrarendu and AQ Vodka, Cardas, and Wireworld Cat8, all significantly altered the SQ of in negative ways. Each one created an etched character that some may say is clearer but timbre and body were eliminated.
What I caution is going down an expensive Cat cable rabbit hole to color a system and introduce ground noise in order to balance the other coloring and noise from network gear. My problem is I have witnessed how some switches sound very thin, others have a full bodied sound. Next, we test out different Cat cables to counter the color of the switch. This whole thing appears to send us chasing our tails.
It is not clear at all how Cat6 noise rejection is not good enough for audio purposes. It has natural twisting which provides RF rejection. I am extremely suspicious that shielded cables sound the way they do because we are dropping the noise floor for the outside RF. I think this is much more complicated with noise transferred to and through the NIC card on the bridge inherent to the cable itself and not the outside. i suspect that in an attempt to better shield from the outside and increase internal bandwidth we are just altering the noise patterns going into our devices (internal noise).
I would much rather prefer to see confirmation by those who hear improvements in their systems that they run a listening test with an alternative input source and compare Ethernet plugged/unplugged. In my experience I have not encountered a Cat cable that doesn’t alter the sound of a parallel source… although my Netgear + Cat6 was the closest i’ve heard. This is combination specific of course.
My frustration is this never-ending hole and marketing that says more bandwidth is better without actually addressing the real issues or even understanding critical issues in this area.
Nonetheless, I have not run my parallel test with your cable so I can’t speak to it… can you please post a link? I’m intrigued and would be open to testing it. I am legitimately interested in knowing if any of my statements are inaccurate from a technical perspective.
The issue with ground doesn’t crop up in the Telegartner terminations. At least they way I make them. The individual Foil shields don’t carry signal or ground. The braid can be grounded. My shields float because Telegartner terminations use a pin to carry a ground at both ends I don’t use the braid as a ground. It doesn’t need to be grounded to work correctly.