so-no-mah

I installed a pair of the DXE filters between my cable modem and a long run of crappy CAT 5 to my router near my system and another one before the router. When I built my house 13 years ago, I had taken a break from high-end audio and of course I never imagined that I'd be streaming high-res music from the web, so I kinda cheaped-out on the Ethernet cable going to the living room. So far, I am quite favorably impressed. I feel like I am hearing further into each recording, soundstage depth in particular is improved, and bass detail is better as well. I also detect an improvement in dynamics and slam. In my experience these changes are indicative of a lowered noise floor. Streamed files now sound very much the same as do local CD rips. I thus far can not detect any downsides and I am not inclined to add additional DXEs after the router. The chain after my (Sbooster powered) router, I have an (LPS 1.2 powered) EtherREGEN to a second (Sbooster powered) EtherREGEN to an (Uptone JS-2 powered) RoonNucleus+. Cabling is all AQ Cinnamon Ethernet ahead of the second EtherREGEN .

I'm going to try a set between my cable modem in the garage and my Nighthawk router (the latter powered by an Sbooster LPS). Unfortunately, when I built my house, I just ran low end Cat 5 between them, not thinking that I'd ever be playing music over that link!

Added a second EtherREGEN powered by an LPS 1.2. So good...

Two days into the new OS. Very impressive!

For what it's worth, my Audioquest Cinnamon Ethernet cable has metal connectors, but there is no continuity between the plug ends suggesting that the shield is floating and not tied...

My JS-2 also responded quite well to first a Synergistic Blue and then the Orange fuse. I use them in anything with a fuse and I up-rate them to the next higher fuse value. -Andy

I recently swapped a Sonore opticalModule for the 10Gtek fiber transceiver I was using between my router and the ER. The 10GTek stuff powered by an HDPlex LPS with an Sbooster Ultra DC module was a definite improvement over an AQ Cinnamon Ethernet cable. Swapping our the 10GTek for the opticalModule and the associated System Optique SFPs and fiber link was a real ear opener. After a bit of break-in with the oM in the chain I honestly feel like I have new speakers! -Andy Digital Chain is (very long!): Router > AQ Cinnamon Ethernet > oM (HDplex LPS) > 5m Fiber > ER (Sbooster LPS) > Synergistic Reference Ethernet > Roon Nucleus+ (JS-2) > Curious USB Link > ISO Regen (LPS 1.2) > VBUS Isolator > Synergistic Reference USB > Matrix X-SPDIF 2 (JS-2) > AQ Mocha HDMI > PS Audio DSD Sr. via I2S

The Synergistic Orange fuses are really special, so by all means get them on special!

On the weekend I replaced the HDPlex LPS powering my ER with an Sbooster 10 volt with a spare SR Blue fuse to very good effect in terms of detail, texture, sound stage, bass and imaging. This afternoon I switched from wired Ethernet (AQ Cinnamon) to fiber with the 10Gtek converter to the ER's SFP on the A side. I believe I got a further uptick in sound quality. It seems to play to the ER's strengths in terms of intimacy, staging and that "in the room" feeling I so clearly noticed when I first installed the ER..For less that $100, it's definitely worth exploring....

Hi Alex, as you know I am one of the 40 or so of us PS Audio Directstream DAC (DSD) owners with a Bridge II and an EtherREGEN. My streamer is a Roon Nuceus+. Regardless of how I connected things, the ER made a significant and positive difference in the sound of my system as I have reported elsewhere. (And I'm not at all surprised that John and Ted Smith got along like a house on fire. BTW, I can recommend the AudioStream podcast with Ted to be quite fascinating, at least to audio nerds like me.) Initially I connected both my router and the Nucleus+ to the A side of the ER with the B side going to the Bridge II (Ethernet cables were all AQ Cinnamon). At the same time, I had the Nucleus+connected via the USB input by way of a Curious Link, an LPS 1.2 powered IsoREGEN and a Synergistic Atmosphere Reference USB. The Bridge II allowed me to do the final unfold of MQA streams which was desirable to me as a Tidal user. With MQA files the Bridge II was my preferred input (though not by much), but when it came to CD files ripped to an internal SSD in the Nucleus+, it was a very close call for me. As you may know, many PS DSD owners have gotten good results using the Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 box which converts USB to I2S via HDMI among other things, and some DSD users believe I2S is the unit's best sounding input. This is what I found as well, to the point that I will be physically removing the Bridge II from the DSD. Accordingly, I now have my router connected to the A side of the ER with the B side connected directly to my Nucleus+. From there it is Curious USB to IsoREGEN to Synergestic Reference to the X-SPDIF 2 then AQ Mocha HDMI to the DSD's I2S input. I personally found that this is the best way to go, even though I'm losing the 2nd MQA unfold from the Bridge II. To head off some questions, my Nucleus+ and the Matrix are powered by a JS-2 and my ER is powered by an HDPlex via a Ghent JSSG 360. The ER and most of the rest of the system are connected to a Synergistic Research Active Ground Block. My takeaway is that switches do matter. A lot. If you don't have an EtherREGEN, try one. And when you do get one, experiment with your setup to determine what configuration you enjoy most. Best to you and yours along with the AS community. Stay safe, Andy

During over 50 years in this hobby, I have learned that Everything Matters. I wish that it didn't, but I have repeatedly found that it does (though admittedly not always for the better--pick your fights). Rajiv's masterful review is testament to this notion. The psychological term "expectation bias" gets thrown around a lot around these parts, but remember that it cuts both ways. I'm referring to those who reflexively "expect" that nothing short of "upgrading" a source component, an amplifier or a loudspeaker can possibly make a difference in how we subjectively experience and interact with our favorite music in our homes. Even to the extent of using limited or irrelevant measurements to support this particular form of bias (yet not even trying something interesting out there despite ubiquitous offers of free trials), Expecting no audible changes when swapping or adding any particular piece of your system is likewise a form of bias. Dismissing any thoughtfully engineered product with good reviews / word of mouth out of hand, just seems dumb to me. It suggests that these folks are not really serious about realizing the greatest degree emotion and joy when experiencing their favorite music. Lately, I have been listening to AudioStream podcasts on my daily hikes, most recently interviews with the likes of digital luminaries such as Ted Smith (PS Audio), Rob Watts (Chord), Gordon Rankin (Wavelength), Vince Galbo (MSB) and Bob Stuart (Meridian/MQA), And certainly put John's White Paper in the mix as well. All are pursuing perfection in technically very different ways, but pay close attention and you begin to realize that they are all seeking to deliver much the same thing in the end. Over very long careers, they have developed deep experiential knowledge about why Everything Matters. Why noise can ride on the signal impacting not the bits, but how--and more importantly when--the shift from zero to one occurs. Why humans can detect the absence of transient and harmonic content that is well above the limits of our hearing in the frequency domain. Few of my friends are audiophiles, but to a one they love music. And they all love to enjoy their favorite music at my house. Yeah at first they might roll their eyes at the array of doodads large and small spilling out onto the floor (hey, I'm a bachelor), but when they're in the sweet spot and you hand them the iPad controlling Roon, you know that they're gonna be there for a while, all smiles. And why, after they depart, I might spend another hour or so continuing the concert. Finally,in a last ditch attempt to get this rant at least semi back on topic, in a few short months there have been multiple dozens of folks reporting remarkably consistent impressions of what the ER brings to the streaming party. With 1200 sold (I was in the first batch) and rarely does an Uptone Audio appear for sale on Audiogon. Kinda tells you something. If it's an hallucination, it's a mass hallucination!!! Andy

During over 50 years in this hobby, I have learned that Everything Matters. I wish that it didn't, but it does. The term expectation bias gets thrown around a lot around these parts, but it cuts both ways. There are those who expect that nothing other than a source component, an amplifier or a loudspeaker can possibly make a difference. Expecting no audible changes in results from swapping or adding any element of your system, yet not trying something out there despite the offer of a free trial presents another set of limitations. Dismissing any well-engineered product out of hand, just seems dumb to me. Unless of course you're not really serious about the getting the best presentation of your music you can achieve in your home (given your budget of course). I have been listening to AudioStream podcasts lately on my daily hikes, most recently interviews with the likes of Ted Smith (PS Audio), Rob Watts (Chord), Gordon Rankin (Wavelength), Vince Galbo (MSB) or Bob Stuart (Meridian+MQA), Put John's White Paper in the mix as well. All are pursuing perfection in very different ways technically, but pay attention and you begin to realize that they are all saying much the same thing. Over very long careers, they have developed deep deep knowledge about why Everything Matters. Why noise can ride on the signal not really affecting the bits, but how--and more importantly when--the shift from zero to one occurs. Why humans can detect the absence of transient and harmonic content well above the limits of our hearing in the frequency domain. A plain reading of John's White Paper explains why. Few of my friends are audiophiles, but to a one they love music. And they want to experience their favorite music at my house. Yeah at first they might roll their eyes at the array of boxes large and small, but when they're in the sweet spot and you hand them the iPad controlling Roon, you know that they're gonna be there for a while. with a big smile on their faces. And why after they depart, why I might spend another hour or so listening to music that moves me the most.

I very happily run my Nucleus+ with internal SSD at 12v via the JS-2...

For me, after introducing the Ether REGEN between my router and my Roon Nucleus+ with internal SSD holding my music library, I have become agnostic as to whether I play tracks from Tidal or the SSD....

+mikeg That's how I have mine set up and it sounds great. And Alex, the SR ground block is a star grounding scheme that is connected to the earth ground of the house AC. I my setup I have added a second ground rod at the breaker box in an attempt to further lower AC ground impedance. I'm a believer! As for others seeking to experiment with grounding the ER when using a JS-2, rather than trying to kludge a ground wire to the JS-2 case, maybe try connecting a wire from the ER to the ground pin of a 3 prong male AC plug and connect it to an unused AC outlet?