NewAlkyogre
Active member
Think I have to take my words back. I don't see any other alternatives for the etherregen. The other ones I was thinking about are all ethernet filters that are unclocked. An improvement, but without clock it is not as good as the uptone etherregen. Beside of that, the grounding plug is also missing. So my next improvement for the setup will be the etherregen.Not at it's price point of only $680. As for the generic networking-industry Ethernet switches, e.g. TP-link, etc., they all have junk RJ45 connectors, cr*p word clocks and PHY chips in them, and generally don't support optical connectivity. They're also powered by really nasty switch-mode power supplies, which is another major source of audible noise components.
Moreover, other Ethernet switches do not have or use the proprietary moat (the ADIM™, the Active Differential Isolation Moat) that was designed by John Swenson specifically for EtherREGEN, nor the same quality PHY chips.
Here are some other key features that EtherREGEN uses that are not available from other brands or generic Ethernet swtiches:
There are reasons why EtheREGEN has won the awards it has and has sold over...3200 units.
- EtherREGEN has two isolated data/power/clock domains. Each isolated domain is re-clocked using 10GHz-capable ultra-low-jitter (less than 0.8 picoseconds) differential flip-flops.
- The clocking system runs from an advanced, programmable, jitter-attenuating clock synthesizer with four differential outputs. It is referenced to an ultra-low-jitter/phase-noise Crystek CCHD-575 oscillator. Importantly, the clock distribution system (for the switch chip, the special Ethernet format conversion chips, and the high-speed flip-flops) is run differentially throughout. Special conversion buffers are positioned just millimeters from chips that require single-ended clocks.
- The magnetics of the four Gigabit ‘A’-side ports are a special design. UpTone chose an RJ45 module that utilizes 12 transformer cores in each port (most Ethernet ports have 2~6 cores), and ground their center-taps through capacitors in a way that blocks port-to-port AC leakage currents.
- To support its performance, the power networks of the EtherREGEN are as sophisticated and costly as the rest of the design. UpTone uses 12 of the world’s lowest-noise, lowest-impedance integrated voltage regulators—the famous Linear Technology LT3045 and LT3042. Supporting both the voltage regulators and the data chips are 195 low-inductance, X7R and X5R capacitors sized and selected by their derating curves.
Also, most other Ethernet switches do not support connectivity via fiber which really is best type of connection for longer connection runs, nor do they have a proper chassis-ground terminal, which can be connected to a Shunyata Altaira or Gemini ground-plane noise reduction hub for another notable increase in audio quality.
There are other high-end audio grade Ethernet switches available, e.g. the Silent Angel Bonn N8, which I've had in-house and wrote a review for. It's an excellent Ethernet switch for high-end audio use, but the Bonn N8 sells for 1600 bucks, and it still doesn't have a fiber SFP optical port.
Cheers.
But not tomorrow, at the moment I am collecting money for an upgrade of my house.