Uptone Audio EtherREGEN
€ 680.00 Excl. VAT
“Technology Breakthrough of the Year”
The plan is to not order more of Gen 1, but to wait for release of Gen 2.
Gen 2 is pushed to early 2024. Price is not set yet, would guess some increase of price due to higher component prices.
Please contact us if interest in writing you up for waiting list of Gen 2 in 2024.
Here are Alex from Uptone comments of Gen 1 and Gen 2:
https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/38968-etherregen-the-long-development-thread-some-gen2-dev-pics-and-update-starting-on-page-92/page/94/?fbclid=IwAR3J-HHAPDb3tUgsGnv_nEkI_l6ci4qVZ3C3Km1k4p6XKHeSxcA9zWfnTjw#comment-1252567
All price are excluding VAT, VAT for your country will calculated and added at check-out. If no VAT is added, please contact us to add your country or to arrange manual invoice.
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Out of stock
Description
Uptone Audio EtherREGEN
UpTone Audio is proud to announce availability of EtherREGEN. In development for nearly two years, this unique and highly advanced Ethernet switch will exceed expectations—producing surprising audible sonic improvements in fine music systems.
The goals and architecture of the EtherREGEN are completely different that any other Ethernet switch anywhere on the planet!
Other “audiophile” Ethernet switches are mostly either just clock and power supply modifications of cheap off-the-shelf switches, or passive magnetics augmented with passive filter parts and a single fancy clock board.
EtherREGEN is an all-new, from the ground-up design, built on a costly 6-layer circuit board, and its components and topology are unmatched by any other Ethernet switch.
The heart of what makes our switch so unusual is the use of ACTIVE, HIGH-SPEED, LOW-JITTER DIFFERENTIAL DIGITAL ISOLATOR chips combined with ULTRA-LOW JITTER DIFFERENTIAL RE-CLOCKING FLIP-FLOPS. No other Ethernet switch on the market attempts this (doing this, and doing it correctly is neither easy nor cheap!). On the circuit board photos you can see the isolators set across the wide “moat.”
Let’s back up a moment to explain the usage and reason for the EtherREGEN:
On what we call the ‘A’-side, there are 4 Gigabit copper Ethernet ports, plus an SFP cage for a Gigabit LC optical module. A typical user will attach a cable from their main network router or switch, and if desired any NAS (network attached storage) or other devices.
Across the “moat” at the other end of the EtherREGEN is a lone 100Mbps copper Ethernet port. We refer to this as the ‘B’-side port. It is to this port that you will attach whatever is your one computer/streamer/renderer endpoint—the component that is directly connected to your DAC (of course this includes the increasing number of DACs which themselves have an Ethernet input).
So why does this arrangement matter?
There are two types of sound-degrading influences the EtherREGEN is designed to radically decrease: Leakage—both high-impedance and low-impedance—and clock phase-noise. The clock phase-noise travels on the Ethernet signal itself and travels on power and ground planes. [Every edge coming out of any digital device caries the jitter/phase-noise of the clock used to “clock out” that edge, this shows up on the ground-plane and affects the threshold of chips’ clock inputs. This is an oversimplification of a complex subject; we intend to publish a short white paper and measurements to demonstrate this.]
The circuitry across the moat is designed to eliminate the signal-borne phase-noise from one side to the other. EtherREGEN is mostly symmetrical—there is no “dirty side” or “clean side.” While it works identically in both directions, it is best to have the DAC-attached Ethernet endpoint device (computer/streamer/etc.) alone on one side—typically the ‘B’ side.
The circuitry between ports on the ‘A’ side decreases some phase-noise effects to some degree, but not nearly as much as crossing the ‘A’>’B’ moat.
The COMBINATION of the differential isolators and the differential flip-flops is what delivers the unrivaled performance of the EtherREGEN. The differential isolators prevent the data-borne clock signature from getting onto the PCB ground-plane, while the differential flip-flops prevent the signature from getting into the flip-flop’s own internal ground network. It takes both to accomplish the great feats of the EtherREGEN.
Reviews:
Manufacturer: https://uptoneaudio.com/
Product website: https://uptoneaudio.com/products/EtherREGEN
6 reviews for Uptone Audio EtherREGEN
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Heini (verified owner) –
wow, just wow!
I never thought that an audiophile switch would matter at all.
Boy was I wrong.
It get even better after hours of burn-in.
I am using it with the UltraRendu, and the result still surprises me.
The conversation with Joel before buying this was flawless.
It it quite some money for a switch, and you might think it makes no difference with this switch vs a default consumer switch.
But the difference is huge in my setup.
TC –
After three good years feeding my DAC with a Sonore microRendu (powered by an UpTone LPS-1), which had taken my system’s sound quality into a new league, and which was further improved by the addition an UpTone Iso Regen, I have now added a combined set of upgrades that is the most dramatic improvement I’ve ever experienced:
Adding 1) an UpTone EtherRegen ethernet switch feeding, via optical fiber, 2) a Sonore opticalRendu powered by a Farad Super3, replacing the microRendu (I’ve kept the Iso Regen in the chain).
Joel here at Metawave was fantastic to work with — prompt, very communicative, and helpful before, during, and after the sale, volunteering a variety of useful information and working generously to get me the package of opticalRendu, Super3, and fiber and power cables and other options that would deliver the best results at a reasonable price, and in a short time frame.
Now, after a few weeks of burn-in, the combination of the EtherRegen and the opticalRendu powered by the Super3, plus Iso Regen, has achieved, in my system at least, a stunning synergy: whole new levels of intimacy and presence, percussive detail and impact combined with supreme gentleness and removal of harshness, and almost awe-inspiring expansion of the width and depth of the soundstage into the kind of holographic immersion that I’d heard others talk about but hadn’t fully experienced before.
I have no relationship with Joel or Meta Wave other than as a satisfied customer — I just want to thank him for helping me to take these combined steps, which can seem daunting (I was hesitating myself), but which turned out to be more worthwhile than I’d imagined. It’s a cliche but I feel it’s true: now it’s like hearing all my music again for the first time.
r.salgado (verified owner) –
Dear all,
I have this for a week now and consider this money very well spend. It further enhances the SQ of my Sonore Ultrarendu beyond any doubt from the first second, and I’m as objective as possible here. All the good things you read are true. Take also into account that this device is not tied to a specific brand or model, ensuring its application for a long time to come in your audio system, and I would say this purchase (if you can afford it, it’s not cheap) is a no-brainer.
Jens Astrup (verified owner) –
I have grown up on vinyl, and good analog sound as the goal that I’m striving for with my digital setup. With the EtherREGEN my digital setup just took a huge step closer to that goal. And I’m still on the switch-mode power supply that comes with the unit.
Having worked on optimizing how bits are served to my DAC, I was expecting an improvement with EtherREGEN but I wasn’t quite prepared for the magnitude of improvement that it has broad about in my system. This is easily the most bang for the buck I have gotten in my digital setup (Roon Core on a older Macbook Pro -> TP Link access point/router/switch -> EoP -> EtherREGEN -> custom-built Win10 PC with dual linear power supplies -> SPDIF -> Audio Note DAC).
As Heini writes above, and as Rajiv Arora writes in his review on Audiophilestyle.com, the ER needs a couple of days of burn-in. Initially I was a bit disappointed, but from day 2 I was blown away.
Joel has been very responsive and helpful.
Sébastien LE CRAZ (verified owner) –
Hi,
I received the Uptone audio EtherRegen switch from Joel quickly after my order even if I live in Belgium. I want to upgrade all the aspects of my hifi system. I read a lot about audio switches to reclock the digital signal and deciced to get one to see if it could optimise my hifi system. Normally people would use it between the internet router and a streamer, in my case it was between a router and a tv box. The signal is a mix of video and sound digital signal. To be honest I was not sure at all it would work but I took the chance. The result is beyond my dream. I thought my hifi system was already optimised but with that switch it gave life to the sound. The striking thing is the dynamic the system gets. These are not just some frequencies that get better but the whole spectrum. The other thing is the increase of details one can hear. The last thing with this switch is the clock input. I did not use it so far because I do not have a clock, but this a an upgrade that can be the final touch of the system.
Sébastien
niels.andersen (verified owner) –
Have had the EtherREGEN in my network for a week now, and I can say without hesitation or reservation; I am entirely satisfied. The sonic gains are quite remarkable. In particular I like the black back ground and the fact that everything sounds more articulate, more relaxed, more analogue.
I’ve seen one more huge advantage which I didn’t expect: My old switch (some 5 years), has clearly been a bottleneck that hitherto has gone unnoticed. To be understood in the sense; My remotes and my stereo setup are now reacting to commands very significantly faster than before. I am delighted.
Finally, it was a pleasure doing business with Joel at Meta Wave. He is responsive and he cares for the customer.
Wholeheartedly recommeded.