… and so to the latest experiments with Paul Hynes linear power supplies.
One of the SR4T supplies is resting until new dc cables arrive.
The ER certainly benefits by replacing the standard 7.5V Uptone power supply brick with an SR4T and copper dc cable.
However, the opticalRendu benefits significantly more. Music becomes significantly cleaner, clearer, crisper and with a perceived increase in dynamic range on transients, without any loss of boogie factor.
For now, we are very happy to settle for one SR4T on the oR, while the ER stays on the standard Uptone supply.
I look forward to your thoughts when the new cables arrive. I have always been more than happy with my silver DC cable. What works in one set up is not necessarily universal for every system.
I do not wish to imply that silver cables in general harm the music. I might have been unlucky with an individual example that has a defect such as a faulty solder joint etc. Replacements, both copper and silver, are on their way for us to try.
I’ll keep you posted on progress when the new ones arrive.
I for one will be very interested in your findings BF.
Santa should be delivering my SR4T on the 25th and he asked Paul Haynes which cable should be chosen. Paul told Santa:
“ The silver cable beats the copper in all areas of performance and thankfully the fine silver we use does not show the overly bright characteristics associated normally with silver cabling.”
So it will be supplied with a silver cable. I guess it wouldn’t be a major difficulty to swap for Copper later if need be.
Kevin
In that case, even more reason to hope that I have a slightly faulty cable, as I can’t for the life of me think why or how a dc connector cable to an ethernet switch should make analogue music sound a bit slow. Hopefully mine just has a faulty solder joint or similar.
@Bluesfan - thanks for continuing to share the experience. FWIW I also have the silver dc lead supplied from PH. Honestly after a week of the Atom kicking out tunes in the background while I work I’ve lost sight of any initial concern and when I actually sit down to listen all I hear is the improvements. Bias? - who knows, I’m just gobsmacked at how good, to my ears, such a modest system can sound…
It might just be a question of time to let everything settle and come good. I too was advised by PH that the silver cable was worth the extra pennies. Let’s hope your replacement cables are OK.
I do not mean to pick a fight with anyone but I have always found silver to be better than copper: faster and more revealing. However, I have also found that it takes an age to burn in and deliver its full potential. So, I encourage perseverance!
yesterday i received my eR, installed it on the rack with stock power supply.
First impression is that sound is bit harsh and certainly more extended with more body on bass and treble and more detail. I use no name ethernet cable on port A and Chord C-stream on B port.
Questions:
-Better to install it near the router away from the system or as it is now?
-I own a LPS 1.2 ps, may utilize later but read the manual that this way needs to use a ground cable (like turntable?). If this is the case can i connect it to 252’s turntable post?
You can use the lps 1.2 without problem. No need to ground. I have the ER too and before used it with the lp 1.2. It gives a bit cleaner and softer sound.
The ER needs at minimum 50 hours to burn in. I use mine on my Fraimlite rack. 0,75 m audioquest diamond from ER to switch and same from Melco to Nds.
If you have still a bit harsh after 50/100 hours, maybe you can try grounding. For me there is absolute softness and great prat.
Hi Michael,
A new copper dc cable and a new silver dc cable arrived today from Stephen at Paul Hynes Design.
With the ER running with its standard supply, I replaced the copper lead on the opticalRendu’s SR4T with the new silver lead, then gave it the full 5 minutes of burn-in time.
Delicious.
It’s subtly but evidently better with the new silver cable than the fairly well run in copper one. Music developed a new calm, effortless ease of replay. If anything, timing is better too.
Flushed with success, the second SR4T has been pressed into service with a copper dc cable for the EtherRegen. Gosh, it’s the imaging of singers’ voices that hit us first. Lead singers are so palpably there as a stable holographic 3D human image in between the speakers. Then the incredible resolution of the subtle texture of notes, whether a brushed cymbal or a plucked guitar string. It’s so very lifelike and captivating. So real. And piano. Piano notes have much more realistic richness, body and extended decay, no longer a shallow pastiche of the real instrument.
But does it boogie when appropriate? Yes and in spades. The key though is that it doesn’t sound forced or artificial; it’s just right.
That is great news BF and a relief for me!!! I think you will get more in the coming days. Are you going to stay with the copper cable on the ER or try the silver?
You are getting exactly the same experiences with your listening that I got, the realism is amazing and just puts a smile on your face doesn’t it?
With the marked absence of live concerts to attend this year, the system has been more appreciated than ever.
The harshness should disappear in a day or two as things settle.
I have my ER in the same room as my system and it is connected to my Melco with a 2m DesignCable 6a ethernet lead. My main router is in the office and has a 15m run to the listening room ER.
You shouldn’t need to earth the ER if you are also connecting a turntable to your system.
BF
So before you added this new power supply to your (non-switching) switch, your very posh hifi system including Chord DAVE, mScaler, amazing Naim amps and ART speakers could only produce a shallow pastiche of a real piano - whereas now, now, with a linear power supply on the eR suddenly piano notes have much more realistic richness, body and extended decay.
Jim
To BF and other owners of the eR who frequent this thread and who also happen to be Roon users, a word of advice - do not venture onto the Roon forum, or more specifically the thread about the potential value of “Audiophile switches”.
Any mention of the possibility that a network switch can add sonic value to a streaming system is mercilessly ridiculed, let alone the potential benefits of further adding a linear power supply to the switch.
Logically, I would completely agree with the sceptics, yet our ears say otherwise. In our case, all the technical stuff around breaking earth ground loops (whatever they are!) applies, yet even so…
I’ve paid my money and am very happy to keep the kit.
I don’t have an ‘Audiophile’ network switch (unless a Cisco 2960 counts) so I don’t have an opinion of the ER and its possible value, but I still bear the scars from some years ago when I voiced the opinion that network streamers (i.e. pre DAC in the network) can have an influence on sound quality.
These scars have mostly healed, but I still haven’t fully recovered from the aftermath of when I voiced my opinion that Tidal MQA Masters sounded quite good on my systems.
Both streamed Tidal Master aka MQA and locally stored MQA sound excellent on my NDS through Roon, with the Roon Core making the 1st unfold, as a bit perfect stream.
This works for all the MQA 44.1 released on Tidal recently, and the MQA 48, MQA 88.1 & MQA 96 which is all capable with the 1st unfold process, and then the MQA 176.4, MQA 192 & MQA 352.8 which is still played albeit not at the OSF.
