Use of optical into—or out of—EtherREGEN is not required to obtain best performance. The whole point of all the isolation and re-clocking techniques we are using (in dual domains) is to make most all of the upstream stuff not matter. Other than the complete galvanic isolation that optical offers going into the EtherREGEN (which we duplicate going across the moat), there is likely no advantage to running optical into it. If you happen to have a router with an optical port and have already run many feet of optical cable to your music system rack, then sure, use the optical port of the EtherREGEN. But don’t go out of your way to run fiber-optic if you do not already have it.
For the few people who have an endpoint with optical input (the excellent Sonore opticalRendu comes to mind), one can “turn around” the EtherREGEN and feed that DAC-connected endpoint from the optical cage, while connecting the lone ‘B’-side port to the network. Thus ‘B’ >’A’.
Only Gigabit LC-optical or copper interface modules are compatible with the SFP cage of the EtherREGEN. They can be SX multi-mode, LX multi-mode, or LX single-mode, as long as they are Gigabit and match what is used at the other end of the optical cable
I tried in the same session the Lumin U2 mini (supposedly better than the U1 mini) versus the N200, the Aurender delivered a more refined and natural sound.
Thanks. That’s to be expected at 2.5x the cost, I suppose, but thanks and appreciate it. N150 is closer to U2 mini price, and I suppose N200 is quite a bit better than N150.
Innuos server/streamers require a wired connection, so mine is fed with fibre, and outputs via usb to the music player. There is separate CAT6a from my modem to a wireless access point. Everything else the music player does (Spotify, Roon, Airplay, uPnP) is done wireless. There are 6 other Roon Ready devices in the room, all wireless. I could remove the usb cable and use Innuos in uPnP mode wirelessly.
Having a system with ethernet and/or wireless onboard, like the Bridge, just makes life a lot simpler.
I liked my Silent Angel M1T quite a lot. Was too easy to use though. So have been punishing myself with DIY solutions lately. Their forum is not anywhere near as developed as this one. So if there is anything that I can help with from memory, you can private message me. A couple notes off the top: The I2S over HDMI came in PS Audio format (for me last year at least). So no messing with pins. The I2S over HDMI is limited to DSD128 though. USB is for higher. I had the 8GB version for my large music library. The unit and the app handled these fine. No UPnP disconnects. Lots to say for the Silent Angel M1T.
After following the discussion here I wonder if I can bring everyone back down into the real world and ask a basic question. I have, what I consider a pretty resolving system but I stream Qobuz high res music in a pretty basic way. iPad via a camera adapter to the usb input of by Benchmark DAC. I’ve been doing this for a few years now and I think it sounds pretty great. So, let’s be real. What kind of improvements should I expect to hear if I were to invest in the level of gear I have been reading about here? I’m not trying to be provocative.
I have tested all sorts of permutations with streaming including from my phone and a tablet directly connected to a DAC. It’s a noisy connection. Sound Quality drops off a cliff. Perhaps if you cleaned up the USB signal. I highly recommend you borrow a streamer or two and try them. It’s really the only way you are going to know (hear) the difference.
So if I were to replace my DAC with a directstream DAC Mkll and continued to stream in this same way I would be compromising the new DACs performance in a significant way correct?
I was going to say that you need a resolving system to appreciate the benefit of a separate streamer, and if you get a MK2 then for sure a separate streamer will improve the SQ more!
Perhaps my best upgrade path going forward would be to look into a good streamer first and enjoy the benefits now and the Mkll more as a future move. On the other hand, if replacing the Benchmark proves to be as significant as you say maybe that should remain my first priority. Decisions decisions.
