Anyone use the AfterDark LPS?
I like that it has two rails so powers two different devices (don’t like accumulating boxes)
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I am using one now. It can power both the Afterdark Clock and the EtherREGEN at the same time.
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Ordered the AfterDark (AD) Emperor Double Crown and LPS, yesterday, via the group buy. Have a tracking number but doesn’t appear to be in-transit, yet.
@aangen, probably too early to tell but wonder if there will be + or - influence of the ER/moat and sharing power w/the clock? All gear will be powered through my P15 and it’s feeding DS/bridge II. Sucks that to really do a comparison requires powering down the ER and AD for changes…then hrs, days, weeks to ultimately stabilize.
For that exact reason i will use that LPS only to power the clock ,and keep using Farad3 for Etherregen. Just don´t mess with the MOAT !! 
( waiting for my AD to arrive… )
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Where was the group buy? I might be interested.
For members of Audiophile Style board. Direct link and have to input the “audiophilestyle.com” discount code @ checkout…change pricing at the top of the page to your native currency and it shows the conversion:
Many threads between ER and AfterDark, so don’t remember which one, exactly, mentions the code. Get your read on here:
and here:
I’d prefer a single PS and am currently running the ER via the provided walwart. Hopefully, there isn’t a negative impact with the AD juicing both. I’m going to experiment.
I’m sure that you can do the equivalent for vinyl / analog as you mentioned above. Look at how you can upgrade the Linn Sondek LP12 and that is not even extreme.
I like both vinyl and digital, no opinion about which is better. There are simply times I am in the mood to see mechanics silently moving, doing it’s magic to please my mind with music other times I like the convenience of playing music by a simple tap on a touchscreen.
My dealer sent me the Silent Angel N8 Ethernet switch to try in front of my NAD C 658. To my mind it does improve the sound, it would be no extra box as it replaces a switch that I need anyway. It is EUR 350 extra, so I asked my wife to do A/B listening with me tomorrow. I need to know if I am fooling myself or whether it is indeed an improvement. I think I am hearing improvements from the Atlas Eos 4DD power cable for the NAD and Hyper Streaming Ethernet cable. It is marginal compared to the N8.
But it is EUR 350, (EUR 950 with those cables). Putting that money on a bank account and saving EUR 200 extra I could buy a Velodyne Deep Blue 12” acoustic suspension (closed cabinet) subwoofer.
For me the important question is: Is the improvement I think I am hearing from the N8 going to be as significant as adding a sub to my 60 Hz bottom frequency monitors.
I think the subwoofer first and the silent angel N8 and maybe cables later.
I just picked up one of the clocks with Audiophile Style discount. If I like it enough I’ll probably find a decent Mutec as they come up every now and then. I needed more black boxes stacked in my audio room. Thanks for making the Rabbit hole big enough to accommodate me Al! 
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I bought a Shunyata Sigma 75 ohm Clock Cable today. Got it used for under a grand. Fun.
I did not power down my EtherREGEN when I connected the clock. It is still being powered by the Keces P8, some day I’ll hook it up to the Afterdark supply I suppose.
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Someone nice just pointed something out to me. I just powered up the external clock and hooked it up to my EtherREGEN. The correct procedure according to the manual is:
- Remove DC power from the EtherREGEN.
- Set the CLOCK INT/EXT switch to the EXT position.
- Connect a BNC clock cable from a 10MHz reference clock. 4) Power on the reference clock.
- Apply DC power to the EtherREGEN.
I have done this now. I am hoping the wonderful difference I heard gets more wonderful.
Look at all this egg on my face!
[hides]
aangen,
Credibility _______________ Gone*
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Al, your experience lends credence to my question on whether what is changing is the noise profile. Perhaps the presence of a MHz clock is exciting the ground plane enough to make magic happen. 
This was my reply to the nice person who helped me realize my mistake:
I appreciate your kind words!
I am sitting here listening and it sounds as wonderful today as it did yesterday. But you and I both know the truth i.e. what I heard yesterday could not have had anything to do with the clock. Unless of course the clock can have an effect when the external clock switch is not in the ext position. I really doubt this.
I paid $900 today for a used Shunyata Sigma clock cable and the nice fellow who sold me this gear said that should make a huge difference.
But you and I both know his gear isn’t making a difference in my system. Maybe, just maybe it is now. But absolutely not yesterday. And folks are ordering this gear. Sigh.
I think I have to fully confess my error. I can keep posting, but I have taken a hit.
It sounds really good here in my room though. My imagination works miracles!
My sincere apologies to anyone who I have mislead with my foolishness.
I will learn from this, as will you…
There is no fool like an old fool…
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Hi Philipp,
I do prefer driving on the German Autobahn in my Mazda 6 rather than my wife’s Kia Rio, driving around for shopping and taking kids everywhere the Kia is the preferred vehicle.
I should have used the term “new enthousiasts” rather than “young folks”.
What I tried to say:
The often exaggerated comments about sound improvement of accessories that cost more than the audio equipment is a demotivation to “new enthousiasts” who start saving money for equipment that by itself is already very expensive.
My dealer is very kind to let me try accessories that have a similar price relation to my audio equipment as Al’s (@aangen) accessories to his system. I also think I hear improvement but am not even sure. What is certain: it are by far not the improvements the Stellar Gain Cell DAC or now the NAD C 658 achieved by connecting them between my CD Player with volume control and active loudspeakers.
The biggest bang for the bucks are speakers, amps and sources.
The accessories are the cherry on the cake. Everybody needs to be really careful with those cherries. The cherries are not necessary, they can make the system sweet (improve) but also sour (spending a lot of money for nothing or degrading the system). At the end it is the system that reproduces (correction “makes” is not appropriate) the music, not the accessories.
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I recently disconnected my Ether Regen after having it installed for a few months. I honestly did not notice any staggering differences. Perhaps, music sounded a touch more relaxed without it? Just not sure enough either way to say that it’s had a real impact, but it certainly seems to do something … But all things considered, I’d probably rather invest in the analog side of things … The biggest sonic impact I’ve noticed lately is moving the big TV out from in front of the hifi … Didn’t cost anything and it sounds a lot better, if only because I can see the gear … However, I am all for experimenting, especially within a certain price point … But no way can I go back to having several different little gizmos with their wall warts, and various cables sprouting every which way … That was the deal I made with myself …
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After seeing your post, I decided to see if I can get rid of the EtherRegen from my system also I always want the fewest parts in the chain. I pull out the WW Platinum 8 Ethernet cable from the B side of the EtherRegen and plugged it into the TP-Link switch box, and the other end into my Esoteric transport. I am playing music from a NAS drive.
No way, my friend!! The sound got duller and lost air, presence, and tranparency. The EtherRegen is contributing a large part to the liveness of the overall sound. I do also have the tricked out Farad Super 3 powering the EtherRegen though. I don’t know where I put the stock power supply from the EtherRegen, but if I find it I will compare it to the Farad. I seem to remember it was slightly better with the Farad.
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Interesting. I plan to reinstall it and see what the difference is once more before I decide to sell it or not … I’m using the stock power wart. The main thing I noticed with it installed was that transients were “hotter” and there was a sense of instruments being more forward, but while it was fun to listen to, I don’t know if that was an improvement or just different. But will A/B it some more.
I have compared on my NAD C 658:
- Technics CD Player into optical input
- Silent Angel N8 - BlueSound Vault2 into Ethernet input
- Silent Angel - iMac with BluOS into Ethernet
- Linksys regular switch - iMac with BluOS into Ethernet
- Different Power cable options with all configurations
Same music files were used, the original CD, ripped ALAC and ripped FLAC. Could not make up a differ Between ALAC and FLAC.
Experience:
The CD Player beats streaming in sound quality.
With streaming the iMac with BluOS sounded better than the Vault2, the Vault2 sounded restricted.
The Silent Angel N8 had the same effect on the music as the Vault2.
When comparing power cable options I noticed that the biggest impact on sound was the polarity of the plugs. Using Schuko plugs (living in The Netherlands) we can easily mix up Phase and Neutral. Plugging and unplugging during the listening / comparison process by far the biggest difference in SQ was caused by turning the plug 180 deg. In the outlet. We first thought the “audiophile” power cable made the difference, but it was the difference between phase - neutral.
Disclaimer:
The following conclusion can only be drawn for my lifestyle system, it may be a completely different case with other equipment. Especially with high end equipment operating with linear power supplies.
Conclusion:
CD Player beat the streaming on same music file resolution. I have not compared high resolution to red book CD.
Accessories like “dedicated audiophile” switch, server and power cables had a negligible effect.
Streaming even if a bit less in SQ than CD is still very good and offers way more convenience when using the system for background music.
The budget for accessories can go into speakers and sources it makes a much bigger difference there since all those audiophile accessories are not cheap.
Finally:
Be happy with what you have and enjoy the music.
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Well … The Ether-R is now reinstalled and I do “notice” what I noticed before, which is an enhanced aspect to transients, and a more forward presentation. I’m just running the wall-wart into the non-dedicated outlet, modem/router>>Ethernet cable>> Ether-R >> Ethernet cable >> Bel Canto Black Ex. As usual, it wonks up the Black Ex streamer, so I have to switch it off and on a couple of times, and fuss with the Seek app on the iPad. But after a bit, everything works normal again. Looking at this from a bang-for-buck angle, I got a whole lot more for my $600+ when I installed the Gaia isolators under my speakers (Gibbon X, from Devore Fidelity). That was huge. Impossible not to notice. With the Ether-R, I really have to sit and debate myself if I’m really hearing anything significant, or even if what I’m hearing is an improvement or just an augmentation? Not to say that other folks here aren’t having revelatory experiences, or that I haven’t had an interesting time listening w/the device … I’m just not convinced it’s essential or necessary for my system. And on top of that, just seeing that the inevitable path is switching out the wallwart for a better power supply, adding an external clock (and adding a better power supply to that), then of course adding more cables, and pretty soon you’ve got a stack of little boxes and wires and it’s just all cluttered again, where you used to have this clean and simple set up that sounded pretty great anyway. So I would say what the guy said above: Enjoy the music, and if this helps you enjoy the music even more, fantastic. For me, it’s … interesting. I’ll probably sell it soon, though, so keep an eye on marketplace if you want one slightly cheaper than $640.
Adding: By contrast, a product a lot of folks here have cast shade upon has been one of the best single audio components I’ve ever had … the BluSound PowerNode 2i … For a couple bills more than the Ether-R, it has given me a LOT of enjoyment. Perhaps it’s not “audiophile” enough, but it has really increased the amount of music I listen to and enjoy. So take that FWIW, YMMV, GFE BBQ LOL.
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Looks like the EtherRegen doesn’t work in every system. In my system, it lifts a bit of veil and makes the music clearer and engaging. It is indispensable with my NAS drive.
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