Matrix X-SPDIF 2

Meanwhile, now that we’ve recovered from being Star Struck, what’s the low down on a Matrix setup vs the EtherRegen?

And can HQPlayer work with the ER somehow?

In my system the Matrix and ER are additive and compliment each other - they work wonderfully together.

HQPlayer doesn’t work with the ER?

I made a few changes today, the first change was to pull the Bridge 2 out. If it made a difference I cannot hear it. No change. No difference. Nada.

The manufacturer of my Preamps main business is extremely expensive audio and power cables. They make a particular 20 amp cable for my preamp and they include it with the preamp, Today that cable was swapped out for a Shunyata Sigma NR. I hear a positive difference.

With the Bridge out of the system I hooked the B side of the EtherREGEN to my Euphony PTS server via an Inakustik Cat 7 Referenz Ethernet cable. The EtherREGEN is fed by fiber optic cable to my Cisco Switch. Previously the Bridge 2 was on the B side and the Euphony server was on the A side. None of this hurt the sound at all.

And finally, I yanked the Uptone LPS 1.2 out of the Matrix and replaced it with an Sbooster with the Ultra MK II add on outputting 7.5 volts to the Matrix. I am not certain I can hear a big change here but since acquiring two Sboosters my attraction to the Uptone LPS 1.2 is diminished. I can pull the Ultra MK II off and feed 9 volts to the Matrix to see if my preference for 9 volts holds up. No hurry to try this.

Overall everything sounds strong, solid bottom, 3D imaging and better than when I started the day. How much better? Probably not a huge difference but I am appreciative of it and feel with a few hours listening I may become more aware of the differences.

I have an inkling that perhaps the system is less forgiving of bland recordings, while being more expressive with great recordings. Hmmmm.

I’ll probably put the Bridge 2 back in as in my setup it causes no harm that I can hear. I wish I could get one of you guys who can hear the difference to drop by and see if you can pick it out on my system.

Anyway, salute!

P.S. I am currently using the Shunyata Sigma USB cable to the Matrix and just for giggles the Revelation Audio Labs HDMI cable to the DSD.

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Hi Al,
Thank you for your report. What media were you listening to, CD, Vinyl or streaming (flac, hi res)? Did you get an impression your changes favored one media over the other?
Chas

I have Samsung SSD inside my Euphony server and I am listening to Flac rips from my CDs.

I listened to a couple of songs from Robyn Hitchcock from his album “Good Night Oslo”. The tracks were “I’m Falling” and “Good Night Oslo”. The top end seemed a tad over-cooked and overall the sound was a tad fey. I took the Ultra MKII addon off and am now feeding 9 volts into the Matrix. Ahhhhhh, there is the sound I love.

I am going to order a 9 volt Ultra MKII. Maybe two of them.

My next move is to install an UltraRendu to Sigma USB to Matrix to RAL to DSD. I think I will power the UltraRendu at 9 volts and let it power the Matrix over the USB link. I am doing this in another system and I like what I hear.

I will try streaming next and see how that sounds Chas.

I posted my impression of a little gadget, USBe Perfect, from UnderwoodHiFi/Wally, compared it to Matrix X-SPDIF2, in a separate topic, thought people without the Matrix may also find it interesting.

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Question al. I look at the specs for sbooster and I see 5-6v and 9-10v among others. How do you get to 7.5?

If the ER is the last stop before the DS(J), connecting to the Bridge II, then the answer appears to be no because the Bridge II is not a NAA, which is required by HQPlayer when connecting over a network.

There may be some other way to use Roon/ HQP with the ER, but I’m not sure how. Apparently Bascom King owns and uses a EtherRegen with the Bridge II, though I’m guessing he must not use HQPlayer. I’m reticent to use Roon without HQPLAYER.

ER is a ethernet pass through device. Nothing in your system can or will detect it,except your ears. 100% function in every setup ,the only limitation is it’s 100MB output from b port,not gigabit speeds there.
It does not show up like Matrix as one of your output devices.

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Is there a way to get rid of your Cisco switch in the ethernet path? So that you have only ER. If that is possible you might be in a nice upgrade in SQ. When I played with Aqvox switch and ER it was very obvious that ER works best solo. And nowadays Inakustik Exzellenz cat6 cables throughout it.

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The Ultra MKII add on drops the voltage to 7.5 volts. The Ultra can be ordered with different output levels. It is a $99 device. I am going to order one that outputs 9v. I bought two Sboosters used from a user here and the additional Ultra MKII.

I am curious as to how one would avoid a switch. Plug right into the noisy router. No thanks. The Cisco I have is a pro level piece with an optical connection between it and the EtherREGEN. Cisco WS-C2960-BTC-L V02 Catalyst.
My router is in another room and there is nothing special about it.

Edit: actually I could run an Ethernet cable from the router to the EtherREGEN. Would I then connect the needed switch to the A side of the EtherREGEN?

What’s coming out of the router is dirty and what comes out of the ER is clean so if you put a switch on the clean side of the ER you would be negating much of the good work the ER is doing (for anything subsequently connected to the switch).

Ideally, I would move the Cisco switch a long way away from the ER and connect them via optical.

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No, I said if I ran from the router to the a side of the EtherREGEN would I connect the switch to the a side as well? The b side is the clean side.

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I plug right into my Net Gear cable Modem router. Interestingly it responds fantastically to a 12V LPS compared to its noisy switching power supply. Found the router likes a R core transformer LPS over a torroidal bestI do i5 sonic transporter to cable modem by Inakustik Referenz then another Inakustik Referenz to UltraRendu via USB into Matrix and RAL into DSD Sr. Just two ethernet cords total.

If you have enough cords to try this i would be interested how that compares. I have what seems to be a quiet floor and great imaging and soundstage. There is no switch other than router acting as one.

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Either side A or B can be the clean side, my apologies I misunderstood and made an assumption.

There’s no reason why you can’t connect both the router and switch to the dirty side.

I would still move the Cisco router as far away as possible and connect it via optical.

The B side is the clean side of the moat. The A side is the side that connects up to the Internet and has the four ports. I currently have nothing connected to the A side, the EtherREGEN is connected via Fiber and the Euphony server is on the B side. I disagree with your statement that either side can be the clean side as that is clearly what the B side is for. Clear to me at least. I do agree that the A side is cleaner than many other devices. :slight_smile:

Hoping not to derail the discussion, but I have a question:

I have an opportunity to get a final Wireworld ethernet cable to go INTO the etherRegen. I already have a short WW ethernet cable between the etherRegen and ultraRendu, along with WW HDMI and USB cables. This new cable would complete my WW loom.

The problem, as I see it, is that I’d have to move my mesh node MUCH closer to the rack and DAC in order to keep the cable length short and my wallet intact. As it stands now, the node is away from the rack by a good 6-8 feet, but I can’t afford a WW cable that long.

If I moved my wireless mesh node closer to – or on – the rack, would I be setting myself up for noise/EMF issues by having it too close the the DAC, possibly negating any advantage of having the WW cable installed?

A and B can both be considered clean. The manual suggests that you can reverse the direction. The moat takes care of things.

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That would be my recommendation to go from router via cat cable to ER A side and to use B side to your primary source. Then you can connect Cisco to A side too if you must.
Otherwise just like nycenglish said,get that Cisco off the main loop far away not connecting it to ER.

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