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  1. I was fortunate enough to try all 3 voltages side by side In my system, the 7v sounded slightly better I think one or two others were also able to compare and found the same Differences between them are very small though, my guess is you'll like what you'll hear no matter the voltage
  2. the oppo has s/pdif out to the dac, much better than optical out from the mac mini so that's why the apple tv goes into the oppo the 9+ is only referencing the sound from the MacMini source (mainly local FLACs) to Ambre btw. The sound from Apple TV (e.g. when watching netflix) seems to be significantly less Not sure if that is due to compression or leakage/noise/cheap clocks BluRay is much, much better than netflix via ATV and a lot closer to MacMini/Ambre Still have to try Netflix on Oppo (a bit clumsy to control, but if SQ is much better could be worth it)
  3. hi james, correct, the apple tv is connected to the netgear, then from there the apple tv's HDMI goes into the back of the oppo, which goes via HDMI into a projector and S/PDIF into the dac
  4. Hi Simon, thanks for this suggestion, but not sure how to pull that off. There's only 1 outlet on the dedicated power circuit, which is roughly 10m away from the mac mini/oppo/atv. And the router is another 25m away from that location
  5. hi all, thanks for the comments, really helpful i've attached topologies of various experiments, and a very subjective score on my enjoyment as a result hopefully that gives some insight and what works and doesn't work in my system - 1: ran microrendu, ultrarendu for a long time, which I never really enjoyed for some reason, could be totaldac not liking the usb - 2: big change when I switched to the Ambre, and ran AES/EBU into the totaldac - 3: small improvement with an Adagio replacing the totaldac (possibly due to I2S, definitely better than AES/EBU on the Adagio) - 4: this is where I started, as suggested by @simon_pepper was pretty good - 5: tried the etherregen closer to the streamer, with SMPS plugged into shared circuit, not good, all digital harsh was back, this was worse than the netgear - 6: the SMPS powering the etherregen from the dedicated circuit was a big improvement, and best setup till then - 7: the Farad brought a nice improvement, really happy with the sound currently I replaced the SMPS from the cable modem with a medical grade SMPS, but no noteworthy changes, so don't feel like experimenting more upstream, unless you all think otherwise. I liked the suggestions for the OpticalModule However, I also use this system to stream netflix/movies (oppo connected to dac over s/pdif) So was thinking that an upstream etherregen would improve the quality of the apple tv stream signal as well, an optical module would not do that I see couple of experiments for the upstream etherregen: - router on B, everything else on A, to create a moat from the ISP/rest of the network - in this setup, could try fiber to isolate the two etherregens even more - all equipment on A, B to downstream etherregen to create double moat Will post back if the etherregen comes in and can run these experiments thanks all for your thoughts so far
  6. After enjoying the EtherRegen for more than 6 months now, have decided to go ahead and order a second one The EtherRegen has so dramatically increased the enjoyment I get out of my set music, that it's worth seeing what another one upstream might do See below for my system setup. The EtherRegen will replace the Netgear in this setup. Any ideas on how the moat should be crossed? Cable modem on the b-side, everything else (oppo, mac mini, apple tv, downstream etherregen) on the a-side? That should isolate it from the rest of the network most, right? And the second etherregen will create another moat to isolate the streamer from the server/etc. Is that correct? And is it worth experimenting with fiber in between the etherregens? Also happy to hear any other suggestions for experiments
  7. I've also had Supra Cat8, replaced that with Ghent JSSG as I much preferred the latter (at the time Ghent didn't have the JSSG360) I've since swapped out a few Ghent JSSG cables for Ghent JSSG360 cables (namely etherregen to streamer, and streamer to dac (which is connected via I2S RJ45), and the 360 seems even better
  8. With regards to John's post above, I'm actually having the opportunity to try the Farad power supply at different voltages. I originally ordered a 12v, based on John's recommendation because of the lower current. Then there was a post here that the 7v was sounding better, after which Mattijs of Farad very generously offered to send a 7v and 9v to compare against the 12v. So currently having three Farad's lined up. First thoughts are that I do tend to agree that 7v seems to be slightly better sounding, a bit more micro-detail/texture. But that might be because of the Farad's design. And these are very small differences. Will do some more listening and will post in the other thread later. The EtherRegen is a huge improvement. Feeding it with a high quality power supply brought a lot extra for me. But I think it's more about the quality of the power supply itself than the specific voltage. Hope that helps...
  9. @sahmen happy to hear you're enjoying the ER so much! As a fellow Ambre owner, I can confirm that the EtherRegen has a very positive effect on it It gets even better after burn-in. The Ambre should be able to run from the B-side without problems. I have it running that way, without any trickery. Have you tried taking the power off of the etherregen? When Roon didn't see my Ambre/Adagio combo, just unplugging the DC cable from the etherregen and putting it back in solved it..
  10. Could not agree more. Years ago, I ordered an Aqvox audiphile switch and returned it after a couple of weeks of listening. It did not make a meaningful difference compared to a netgear with a proper power supply for example and I thought money was better spent elsewhere. Then almost two years ago, the story broke about the EtherRegen. Based on all the thinking that went into it, and that was described in detail here, I decided to give the idea of a special switch one more try with the EtherRegen, and I'm happy I did. I'm actually contemplating purchasing a second one, replacing the other switch in my setup (which is JS-2 mac mini > JS-2 powered netgear FS105 > 10m JSSG cable > Farad-powered EtherRegen > .3m JSSG360 cable > Metrum Ambre streamer)
  11. @HumanMedia I find the differences between Farad and SMPS hard to describe. It's similar to what the EtherRegen itself brings; music is easier to listen to, more stress free. Once you remove a certain amount of noise, you hear more of the original music. I find it easiest to hear with string instruments and vocals. It sounds more like the real thing. That's what the ER was doing, and that's what a better power supply for the ER is doing (and also what I2S was doing vs USB in my system). The SMPS was in the same (dedicated) circuit as my streamer, dac and amp, so part of the improvement might also result from less switching mode noise going into those components, don't know. I do have the Farad configured as a 12v, so Incus's comments in the other thread preferring 7v over 12v have me slightly worried ;) But I think either is fine, and I do remember John Swenson recommending 12v for an ER power supply (can't seem to find that thread now, but it's here on AS somewhere) Thanks all for the tips on dc cables, will go with the cheaper Neotech 7N solid core copper for now, and will definitely try the audio sensibility solid core silver some day..
  12. hi all, I received the Farad Power Supply a couple of weeks ago. From the start, there was a noticeable improvement. @Superdad is right that you don't need fancy power supplies, as the EtherRegen itself already is a considerable improvement. But the Farad sure brings out more of the good stuff. The Farad comes standard with a generic DC cable. I'm thinking of ordering a better version. Now I'm confused about what I've read. In the post from @JohnSwenson about DC cables, he recommends thick wires, star quad configuration, e.g. the Ghent Canare 4s6. However, I remember Alex mentioning he thinks the Gotham GAC4/1 is a good option. which is also star quad, but using a lot of tiny 38AWG conductors to make only 22AWG. And if I look at the Farad cables, their best cable (level 2) is also made of thinner wires run in parallel, which seems to run counter to John's advice? So my question, in this setup (farad to etherregen) what would be the better option out of these three; the higher gauge Canare 4s6 JSSG360, the Gotham GAC4/1 UltraPro JSSG360 or Farad's own option using lots of thin, tin plated copper wire?
  13. Hello everyone, Here's another review from the December batch, the EtherRegen has been in the system now for a couple of weeks. I've waited a while to post to make sure that what I was hearing was consistent, and needed some time to do proper comparisons. In short, the EtherRegen is a must have for anyone seriously involved in digital audio, as has been stated here already. It's not night and day difference, as those only come from room or speaker changes. But the EtherRegen does make the difference between good vs great (or between great vs magical depending on where you are in your journey ;). These differences can be picked up in short A/B comparisons. I find Agnes Obel's The Curse a good test track; starting from 1:00 or so, it's easy to hear if there's any digital noise riding along. And there was definitely less (if any?) with the EtherRegen in the chain. It's also noticeable over the long term. I like how @Jud and others keep posting tracks they (re)discover. That is definitely my experience of the EtherRegen as well, everything is just more musical (correct timing?) and therefor more enjoyable. Another side effect is that Tidal is now perfectly listenable. Before the EtherRegen, I could never finish an album on Tidal, if I liked it, I would download FLAC and play local files instead. Not anymore. One thing I do want to point out is that the EtherRegen is sensitive to power. I've tried it in 3 different places. First as a drop-in replacement of a Netgear FS105, powered by an Uptone JS-2. That was a clear improvement. But there was a 10m cable to the streamer. So tried it with its SMPS in a non-dedicated circuit at 1m from streamer. That wasn't good and was actually worse sounding than the Netgear powered by the JS-2. The SMPS is now plugged into my dedicated circuit (with a Shunyata conditioner), with a 1m JSSG360 ethernet cable to the switch, and this is the best sounding option so far. But will definitely try what an LPS will bring over the SMPS here (will probably order the Farad LPS over the coming days) Alex, John, thanks for a great product! And happy listening all!
  14. Hi there, Since I found about the JS2 (and MMK) through these forums, it seems only fair to post a review. I have a Weiss DAC202, which is very sensitive to the incoming signal. It can sound quite poor with bad sources and really amazing with proper sources. While looking for ways to improve my Mac Mini source/transport, I came across the JS2 and accompanying MMK. I contacted UptoneAudio/Alex and he was great at answering any questions I had. I was a bit skeptical at first, as funds are not unlimited, and I have to carefully think on what to upgrade next, but decided to take the plunge here. The JS2 shipped quickly. When it arrived, and I had it hooked up, there seemed to be a problem with the linear fan controller. Alex was quick to help out, and offered to send a replacement. While waiting for the replacement, I listened to the mini with JS2, but without the fan controller. This was already quite impressive, and way better than I've heard before. I also have an Oppo transport going into the same DAC, and the Mini was now even more clearly beating it. Then, about a week later, the linear fan controller arrived. I had it connected in about 15 mins or so, so it was easy to compare before and after. The difference was.. amazing! I was already happy with the JS2, but this really takes it to the next level. With the fan controller installed, everything suddenly felt right. You know, when you really don't want to stop listening.. Blacker backgrounds, better dynamics and voices are so realistic it's almost scary Absolutely the best I've ever heard from my system. There are no trade-offs, it's better on every level. As I said, the Weiss is quite sensitive, so as always, YMMV, but I'd highly recommend this to any Mac Mini user
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