Thanks for a very interesting mini review, I have an EE8 switch and I was wondering what benefits using a Haynes SR4 would bring over the ‘medical’ SMS?
According to the EE website: none, and LPSes are not suitable for the EE.
According to the Chord dealer where I bought the EE: an LPS is at least a worthwhile and possibly essential upgrade.
According to user reports: either one or the other or anything in between.
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Thank you @SEH. Very kind.
@Suedkiez pretty much nails it, insofar as what everyone at one time has said (the designers are in the first camp). Some say adding one is massive. Others, like me, say it is noticeable (if judging solely by a difference heard) and in many ways a perceived improvement over the SMPS. There are debates over this fora-wide about what an LPSU like the Hynes brings or doesn’t bring to the table. Some even say these aftermarket linear power supplies could potentially degrade the sound. I will just say it’s a ‘suck it and see’ proposition like everything else; and now especially when it comes to an ‘audio switch’. Chord’s DAC designer says much of the same song; it even goes so far as to void the warranty. Alan Shaw, famous speaker designer of one of my favorite speakers also says don’t bother with fancy cables or an amp for that matter. Honestly, if I was half as smart or talented at what these gentlemen have done and accomplished, I’d likely state such things for several reasons. But I’m not, so I won’t. Instead, horses for courses, I say.
I cannot speak for others, so I won’t even attempt it. For me, however, I think it brings a worthy overall improvement over the supplied SMPS. Just think what I wrote and add x2 in the areas of dynamics and dimensionality, especially. There’s also an ease or coherence to the performance, which I think translates to it sounding less hi-fi. I only tried the one supplied with the EE8 straight out of the box while it bedded-in with Internet radio. I’d sit and listen every so often and still thought it sounded very good.
The UpTone UltraCap LPS-1.2 was on-par with the Hynes in my set up, and it uses an SMPS in the first stage, though supposedly mains immune. Buying used, this wonderful LPSU is almost half of what a Hynes or maybe a Farad3 would cost. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with an aftermarket PC on it, as I switched between three very respectable ones and perceived no real improvement between them, so you potentially save there, too.
Anyway, I hope this somewhat helps. If you already have the EE8 and enjoy it, then out of sight, out of mind. However, if you were looking into an LPSU anyway, I’d highly recommend one for it. I can’t promise it’ll improve things in your system, but I can say without a doubt that you’ll notice a difference. There just is. It is exactly the kind of appreciable add-on the Hynes SR4 brought to my Chord Qutest over its own SMPS. Very additive in terms of enjoyment, IMO.
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One additional thing: The location of the switch’s PS might make a difference. In my case, it is in a different circuit from the hifi. Others may have it in the hifi’s power strip or an adjacent socket. Can only try out to be sure.
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This is a good consideration. Mine is on a different circuit, on a different floor entirely. However, in the case of my UpTone JS-2 (powering my bass management unit and turntable) and Hynes SR4 (powering the Qutest), they are on the same rack, in the same room, plugged into a PS Audio Stellar P3 AC Regenerator, which is plugged into a dedicated 20a circuit. So who knows if it’s all for naught in the end?
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I thought I’d also point out this thread in case you missed it:
Keeping the switch (EtherRegen in my case) and NAS/Roon core on a separate circuit from the Hi-Fi definitely helps in my system.
And, FWIW, adding a LPS (variant of the Sean Jacobs/ Custom hi-Fi Cables DC3 in my case) made a very worthwhile difference to the performance of the switch itself. Still have to experiment with adding an XCXO clock…
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It is interesting to note that the none of the ER designers are graduates of any prestigious university, I think none of them have any kind of formal graduate or post graduate education.
I use an Uptone JS-2 Dual Output, choke filtered linear power supply to power my EE plus my Roon Nucleus. The JS-2 came with a first class power cable and I purchased a second one from Uptone.
I bought an EE because it’s backed by one of my favorite companies (Chord) and by my long time Naim dealer.
I’ve owned a variety of switches, some costing as much as twice what the EE cost and I prefer the EE.
I’m not up to describing why, certainly not as elegantly as the OP has. Suffice to say that I prefer listening to my system with the EE in it.
I use Nordost Haimdall 2 Ethernet cables connecting the router, ND555, NAS and Roon Nucleus together to the EE.
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That explains why their ER white paper sounds kind of unscientific, snake oil paper, full of strange words like current leakages, etc. but who cares, as long as they have some solid followers.
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Indeed, the EtherRegen’s white paper simply isn’t one.
It looks a bit funny if you ask me…
They probably lost quite a few customers with that.
This so called white paper was a thing, among a few others, that retain me from trying the ER in the first place.
The whole project: the board, the white paper, the information provided by UpTone, etc. The whole thing looks like UpTone is a group of friends tinkering some audio stuff.
But, I tried and bought the ER.
It happens it actually makes a difference, for better.
And I’ll keep it until something with a better design shows up.
EDIT :
The better design could even be… another UpTone product! 
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“current leakqge” and “leakage current” seem perfectly acceptable concepts and terms. Just take a look at e.g. the Fluke website.
I really can’t see why you find it acceptable to go for a personal hatchet job. If you’ve tried one and don’t like it, fair enough. And vice versa. That can be useful for people to know and encourage or disencourage a purchase. But these mini-diatribes just make for a nastier world and serve no purpose. And this is not personal. The same thing goes for Quinn’s post and Thomas’s, the latter at least referencing his positive use of the product.
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But…but…it is rumoured none of them have even been to University!
Are you mad?
I have it on very good authority that one of them attended their local community college and almost attained a City & Guilds in Electrical Stuff. Good enough for me.
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Concepts and terms, yes. How are they applicable to switches?
Current leaking where? In the ethernet cable??
I’m afraid I’m not playing these games - and games they are unless you are someone like Simon in S who actually knows anything about this stuff. I don’t. I just find the ad hominen invective unpleasant and unhelpful.
But like Thomas I have found that the ER makes a positive difference in my system, so it stays in. Just like the Naim gear does and without making any claims about the semiconductor or circuit design or whether Julian studied electronic engineering at Oxbridge or whatever…
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I don’t know which ad-hominem invective you mean, I wrote none. (And I don’t care if they went to Uni or which one). And I have also no idea if these things are applicable to switches, they might be or they might not. However, the mere usage of terms that are in use in some fields does not make them correct or applicable - in fact, using such terms in a manner that is disconnected from their established usage is a common tactic of all kinds of fake science products*. Hence my question if these terms and concepts do make sense in the context of switches.
* Such as “magnetic field mattresses” and similar products preying on consumers who do not have the means to dissect these claims
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If it is true they have not been to University, then they’ve done a pretty good job.
Good enough for me too.
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Did I miss where the OP blind tested the choices? Also which Cisco? No POE?
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[quote=“Thomas, post:44, topic:14644, full:true”]
Umm, isn’t that pretty much the basis of the entire cottage/boutique audiophile industry, including the company who’s forum we are currently on?
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