[sahmen]

@Cees Ruijtenberg : Are there two fuses in the Onyx, as there are in the Ambre, and are they of the same size? (5 X 20mm or 0.75"). Thanks.

 

[lithiumnk]

If i go USB Pavane first, then add an Ambre later on, am I going to regret the USB pavane since can't use i2s with ambre?

Or is it really, just not that big of a deal?

I had tried onyx before getting pavane for a month and preferred coaxial over USB.
I2s was an instant step up. Never tried AES.

Btw pavane has an excellent pairing with hpa4....Will try with abyss TC and susvara asap...

 

[gvl2016]

Totally agree with you.

I am rediscovering my library after addition of Ether Regen and audiolinux for pi4 on ambre.
I have upgraded to pi4b. Better than pi3b+(stock).

Modded ambre is in same league as DCS network bridge according to some reports.

Folks, there isn't an engineering reason why EtherRegen could make any difference. Save your moneys for things you really need...

 

[sahmen]

Folks, there isn't an engineering reason why EtherRegen could make any difference. Save your moneys for things you really need...

Okay, I think I know where this is going, and I would normally not even offer any kind of response, because debates such as thIs always risk bringing on one of my least favorite aspects of this hobby... The said "aspects" are debates that start off as if they are discussions about "science," but often turn out to be really about either subjective preferences that cannot be proven, at best (because they have nothing to do with science), or, at worst, about prejudices butting heads in futility. In futility as they cannot be proven by any scientific evidence, for the simple reason that there are several aspects of our hobby, especially, those in the area of rules governing the relationship between scientific measurements, tastes, preferences, and even sensory perceptions, that cannot be explained by any science that is available.

Such debates often begin in disagreements, and more often than not, end in unresolved stalemates, sometimes very acrimonious stalemates, not necessarily because one of the parties is more "correct" than the other, but because they have engaged on a path that is doomed to end in a cul de sac, and the participants do not know how to agree to disagree before they end up in that cul de Sac. This pattern is unfortunately quite familiar, tired, and old, in this hobby, and I am sure everyone or most people have seen or even experienced it at least once in audiophile discussions, if not 10 times or even more. I personally do not find it either entertaining or too productive, so I am definitely not trying to have one now, although I shall try to respond to your statement once, as nicely and politely as I can, for reasons of human camaraderie, forum goodwill, and friendship , and then hope we can put this behind us, even if we happen to disagree, before this devolves into another one of those stalemate scenarios I just mentioned.

So here goes:

1. I am no engineer, so I cannot take any scientifically informed position about your statement regarding engineering reasons and the 'etherregen, which does not mean I am buying the statement either, but even if it were true, it still wouldn't make any difference to me, because I do not think engineering has the authority to explain many aspects of this hobby that we enjoy, and why we enjoy them or not. For example, there are no engineering reasons why some types of music or sounds move me to tears, while others fill me with warm and fuzzy feelings, while others yet simply annoy me or leave me cold... Yet such a lack of engineering reasons will not stop me from seeking and listening to the music that sounds pleasing to my ears, so why should anything be different about the etherregen, if it enhances the enjoyment of the music I listen to...? You see where I am going with this...?

2. On another note, a lot of audio experts and insiders have already said it, so I shall take it for granted that this is sufficiently well-known info, and not belabor it too much : There is a lot about what we hear in music, sounds effects, and their relationship to our senses of appreciation that engineering reasons cannot account for, even while it takes great and well-honed engineering skills to make the best AV gear currently available on the market. One simple case in point is the relationship between measurements and sound quality, or in other words, the fact that the equipment that measure best do not necessarily sound the best, and that there are actually equipment that measure very well that positively sound soulless and plain awful! Again this issue is well known, and I see no need to argue it with any length...

3.More seriously, and in case you think I am taking the demand for engineering reasons too lightly, the reason why I cannot take what you have said at face value, lies in my own trust in the work of John Swenson, who is the brains behind the etherregen. He himself has been researching this science for decades, and has a wealth of scientific and engineering reasons to explain the kind of work the etherregen does, and why it makes the difference it makes Again I am no engineer, but I know John Swenson is a person of integrity, and not just a very smart electrical engineer... I have taken some free expert advice from him and applied them to my home audio system, and the results have been immediately palpable and overwhelmingly positive, So we do have a history, albeit a small one, and at this point I feel a lot more comfortable and confident than not, about accepting his word and his engineering reasons about the etherregen and how it works, and that is why I have opted to purchase one in the first place,

Incidentally my own unit arrives next month, so I have not experienced it myself yet... However, there are others on Audiophile style whose judgment I trust from experience, who have more sophisticated rigs than mine, and who have reported overwhelmingly positive results in using the Etherregen, and at this point, I see no good reason to doubt their positive impressions, In fact they have only confirmed my confidence and the level of comfort with which I have embraced the etherregen, and I am sure I am going to enjoy it. In the very unlikely chance that I do not enjoy it, I would simply resell it on the market, and that would be very easy since the etherregen is extremely popular among its own niche of enthusiasts at the moment.

Incidentally, this rant has turned out to be waaaay longer than I planned. That is okay, but I'd prefer not to have a long futile etherregen-related debate, since it would be off topic to start with, and second, since it is not likely to get us anywhere interesting under these circumstances,

Thanks for your attention !

 

[gvl2016]

Wow. Take it easy man.

 

[Don Quichotte]

Yes, there is - slightly more detailed and soundstage is wider. Noticable but not really a big deal.
Where are you located at?

Romania (E.U.), why?
The reason for my question is that I'll be looking for a DAC later this year (2020) and I'm gathering information about various options, including the best way to feed them some quality signal. Thanks for the reply!

 

[sahmen]

Wow. Take it easy man.

I am already easy, man. Seriously. No worries. I wish you could see me.

 

[513487]

@Cees Ruijtenberg : Are there two fuses in the Onyx, as there are in the Ambre, and are they of the same size? (5 X 20mm or 0.75"). Thanks.

Yes 20x5 mm

 

[sahmen]

Yes 20x5 mm

Many thanks, Cees.

 

[LOUD]

Yes 20x5 mm

I have read your posts with interest and I agree with what you have said about John Swenson’s UpTone Audio products.

I assume you are changing the fuse in your Metrum DAC. I would be interested in what you are thinking of doing. I just upgraded the fuses in my amplifiers and am thinking of doing so for the DAC as well.

 

[sahmen]

I have read your posts with interest and I agree with what you have said about John Swenson’s UpTone Audio products.

I assume you are changing the fuse in your Metrum DAC. I would be interested in what you are thinking of doing. I just upgraded the fuses in my amplifiers and am thinking of doing so for the DAC as well.

Yes, I am thinking of replacing the fuses in my Onyx with Synergistic Research Orange versions to see how things shake out. I swapped out the 2 fuses on the Ambre and the result was pretty striking, which is what has got me curious about what the same swap might do for the Onyx. I shall report back my findings once I get around to it.

 

[cj3209]

Yes, I am thinking of replacing the fuses in my Onyx with Synergistic Research Orange versions to see how things shake out. I swapped out the 2 fuses on the Ambre and the result was pretty striking, which is what has got me curious about what the same swap might do for the Onyx. I shall report back my findings once I get around to it.

That's not a cheap upgrade with each fuse running $160 usd...lol...

I'm not sure how a fuse can affect sound but I'm the guy who replaced my SONY IER foam piece with a piece of sock so maybe I shouldn't be saying anything...lol...BTW, it improved the sound quite a bit...

 

[MarkR7]

The good news you only need to replace ONE fuse for the 110v rail (assuming you are in the US). The second fuse is for the 220v rail, and not needed. That’s what I did when I put an SR Blue fuse in the Onyx (replaced just the one fuse). In fact, I pulled out the other unused fuse altogether.

 

[sahmen]

That's not a cheap upgrade with each fuse running $160 usd...lol...

I'm not sure how a fuse can affect sound but I'm the guy who replaced my SONY IER foam piece with a piece of sock so maybe I shouldn't be saying anything...lol...BTW, it improved the sound quite a bit...

A cheap upgrade, it certainly isn't and that is why I am getting them from Highend Electronics, which has this 30 day return policy :

Spoiler: Return Policy

"We guarantee customer satisfaction! Our return policy is the fairest you'll find anywhere. For any new product you buy from us, we offer a 30-day return period (60 days on Synergistic Research Atmosphere cables) after purchase for items returned to us in the original purchase condition, in its original packaging. We'll refund the purchase price you paid minus the cost of us shipping the item to you...."

Ergo, if I try them in the Onyx, and they're not living up to the hype, then they go right back for my refund, with very little harm done (if any at all). If they turn out to be as great as the reviews say, then my Onyx gets to reward my ears for hitting pay dirt, and I reap all the benefits of a nice mod, hopefully, for a few years... Besides, it is an entirely reversible mod, thanks partly to the excellent modularity of the Onyx, and I might end up enjoying the little experiment itself too.

Oh, and less I forget : I am getting an end of year buy two get one free promo on these particular fuses, so if they are as great as the hype says they are, the free extra fuse will go to my Yggy A2, and that might turn out to be another big win for the Yggy too, not to mention a free one as well.... Personally, I do not see this as a bad or even too expensive way to spend the holidays, considering the fact that others could be burning thousands of $$$ on crap tables in casinos across the country in just a matter of days, if not hours or even minutes, this holiday season, even as we speak now, In the light of such considerations, I do not consider this little adventure to be a bad investment of my time at all...Quite the contrary. Of course, as we always say, YMMV.

 

[sahmen]

The good news you only need to replace ONE fuse for the 110v rail (assuming you are in the US). The second fuse is for the 220v rail, and not needed. That’s what I did when I put an SR Blue fuse in the Onyx (replaced just the one fuse). In fact, I pulled out the other unused fuse altogether.

Hey thanks for the tip, and I'm in the US so it is very helpful... By the way, how is the blue fuse working out for the Onyx, if I might ask?