One step forward: ER +lpsu

You can use the PoE one you have that sends leccy down an ethernet cable to feed a cisco PD switch.

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I thought a Cisco poE was doing it for me at one point, but it seemed to introduce a fatigue in the highs I just couldnā€™t get past. Yes, it sounded more ā€˜excitingā€™ at first but Iā€™m not sure it actually lowered the ā€˜noise floor.ā€™ YMMV.

I find high quality fiber to be better - opticalModules with single mode Finisair SFPā€™s, first one powered by an Uptone SMPS charger, second by Uptone LPS 1.2. Havenā€™t tried an eR and donā€™t plan to as now there is only one patch cable ( a Ghent Cat 6a JSSG) between the two oMā€™s and Iā€™m using the SFP out of my main Cisco to get to the first oM. I also use the other SFP out of the Cisco to go to a 10GTek FMC (powered by an HDPLEX 160) that then feeds the office UQ via BJC Cat 6a. The 10GTek sounds just a bit better than an equivalent TP-Link I have on hand (the 10GTek came as part of a demo deal I got on an opticalRendu from Sonore). But the expense of two oMā€™s and power supplies (well at least one for the downstream unit) is a bit much so again YMMV but for me it was worth it as I pan on sticking with the V1 and opticalRendu for a long time to come.

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OK, but that implies one has a PD-model type of Cisco switch, which can use POE-input as its power-input. Maybe Iā€™m mistaken, but I thought all other type of Cisco switches always use AC-power, whereas the POE capability (in my case of the WS-3560-8PC-S) is only suited for powering other ethernet devices. Not other (non-PD-model) Cisco switches. Anyway, I can of course always give it another go. Thanks for your help.

Yes, AFAIK the device you send power to must be a PD Cisco.

If you havenā€™t got one you canā€™t do PoE.

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Yes, youā€™ve gone much further into the ethernet chain than I have - indeed, further than almost everyone on this forum.

I may experiment with a fibre link too, and with Roon.

Both of those are now at the top of my to do list - just need to get my head around how they fit into the longer term picture first.

I wouldnā€™t sweat it. Though if I were to invest in one it would be Roon. Despite its foibles, its brought more musical enjoyment than any of the other tweaks Iā€™ve done. The rest is just icing on the cake, much of it a way to just fill idle hands and a curious mind.

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People seem to be divided on Roon. Some point a better sound with it, some a degradation, other hear no real differences ( most of them).

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Well my ER has been dispatched, could be a week or so yet.
Wife picked up a couple of granite chopping boards 40x30x1cm for siting the ER, instead of on the carpet. Ā£10 eachā€¦bargain.

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Not everything has to be about the ā€˜sound.ā€™ For me it was about discovering new music and having my local library and streaming library integrated. I have no clue whether itā€™s better or worse sounding than other solutions and Iā€™m not ever going to be comparing. I have a lifetime sub bought for $500 so I donā€™t care. I donā€™t use its DSP or upsampling which does sound worse/deader to me.

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I understand completely and donā€™t criticize Roon. But Jimdog searches to uplift the sound quality, from what I understand. Not sure Roon will give him that.
More Qobuz with Bubleupnp I feel.

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Ok. Just for the record Iā€™ve never noticed any less sound quality with Roon. But that said, better sound is not really the reason to get Roon, esp if not running various endpoints or interested in its music discovery or library capabilities. I did notice it recently sounding better with better hardware as I upgraded the SSD on my server to an NVME and the case to a fanless. But things like that could possibly have an affect no matter the software one is running. Best, CP

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There seems to be a synergy between the 2ā€¦my view is that the ā€œcompleteā€ ER is with an lpsuā€¦

Yes, but that means the complete ER is more than twice the price of a bare ER.

Which is fine.

But each of us must decide whether those funds would be best spent elsewhere.

Hi, just did that now. Iā€™m happy to confirm the clearly noticeably wider and deeper soundstage, separation between instruments, as well as greater detail retrieval. Better this way!

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You must trust me Jim, the best upgrade I had for less than 1,5 k euros was with ER/MCRU.
It was bigger than going from Melco N1h to N1z, and maybe better than going from Xps to 555dr on Nds, both upgrades costed much more.
Itā€™s like going from stock power cables on all my components to powerlines on all them ( even if I donā€™t have powerlines anymore).

However I am not saying that all people will observe the same uplift with ER/ good ps.

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Similarly, I found adding the Sean Jacobs DC3+ made a big difference. Not as big as a second PS on the ND555 but closeā€¦

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Finally - finallyā€¦after owning the ER for 10 months now with the bundled SMPS it shipped with - I cracked and tried an LPS I just managed to find when clearing my walled-off man-cave full of old junk and useful ā€˜things for the futureā€™.

Anyway, an old Farnell adjustable LPS was dug-out - huge thing rated to 2A - last used 30 years ago. Checked it worked - read the ER voltage guide and decided to try it at 11v just short of the suggested 12v max to allow a bit of room for any old noise this thing may have after all this timeā€¦
Farnell L30DT

Found a connector of correct kind and powered the ER - seems to take about 0.7A at 11v - and then try it:

Well it is rather better - understatement.

Massive increase in top to bottom dynamic range - quite frightening on some music I know well that was recorded in the pre-compression days. Played ā€˜Angel of the Morningā€™ from an early Master CD rip by Juice Newton - and I nearly jumped out of my skin at the drum kit.

Across a range of music it is far better - far more natural acoustic rendering - perspectives with the image far better defined as to ā€˜over there and back thereā€™ far more than I previously had.
Bass extension is just ā€˜there and easyā€™ now with far easier articulation of rhythms and how loud or softly things are played the while. My speakers also sound ā€˜biggerā€™ in that they have opened-out more at LF.
Top-end is just easy and open clarity - no smearing at all - by comparison the SMPS was closed-in and now not a veil but rather a soft partition wall has been removed.
Vocals - far better insight into tone colours and again just sounding like the singer is using a better microphone and Iā€™m hearing a lot more.

ā€¦so pleased. :bear:

Perhaps Iā€™ll now eventually get a ā€˜properā€™ HiFi LPS, but the free one is rather good considering I just bunged it in.

DB.

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My ER just turned up todayā€¦your description and others like @MichaelF have me thinking to tryā€¦post lockdown. You have done well to resistšŸ˜

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Run it in for a few days and it will open-out and by day 10 you should have most of what it does.

The LPS upgrade is a ā€˜nice to knowā€™ thing to plan-in ahead, but Iā€™ve enjoyed my ER for 10 months with the bundled SMPS - just enjoying it some more with the turbo-mode enabled via the LPS.

DB.

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Yay join the club!!! Well done.

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