[flyte3333]

Ethernet cables don’t need to be grounded. It’s the router that your Aurender is connected to via the Ethernet cable that needs to be grounded if you want to reduce the leakage current noise further.

Remember though, JohnS measured a few switches. Grounding some of them worked (the high impedance leakage currents were shunted) but grounding others had no effect at all - the leakage currents sailed right through.

The same would apply to routers. Unless you had an elaborate and custom test setup like John, I would recommend grounding a switch (not router) that John tested and confirmed worked, like the Netgear GS105 or GS108.

Grounding something he didn’t test could be hit and miss.

And I’ve asked John - we can’t test this at home doing a simple ground continuity test. It’s a little more complex with switches.

 

[ecwl]

Remember though, JohnS measured a few switches. Grounding some of them worked (the high impedance leakage currents were shunted) but grounding others had no effect at all - the leakage currents sailed right through.

That is absolutely true. But I was actually assuming that @minibox has internal storage on his N100 and that the N100 is the only ethernet device connected to the WiFi router. If that were true, then only the WiFi router needs to be grounded. In my home system, every ethernet device (NAS, desktop PC, Oppo Blu-ray player) and router/modem that is connected to the same router as my UltraRendu is grounded. For people who find all of this too complicated, I think they'll just have to wait for Uptone to release their EtherREGEN in the summer/fall to block the network devices' leakage current noise. Fortunately, most devices do have grounded power supplies. It was just my router, my cable modem and my NAS that didn't.

 

[flyte3333]

That is absolutely true. But I was actually assuming that @minibox has internal storage on his N100 and that the N100 is the only ethernet device connected to the WiFi router.

Completely understood. My only point is that grounding this router may still let leakage from the router’s SMPS through to the downstream streamer. Grounding it MAY shunt the high impedance leakage or it may not. It’s a wild guess when you use a non tested unit and difficult for the average Joe like me to test.

John’s recommendation is to add a Netgear GS105 or GS108 and ground it’s power supply just before the networked streamer - he’s tested that it does a very good job of blocking leakage, for quite cheap too.

Or wait for the better pricey one he’s designing, as you say.

 

[ecwl]

Completely understood. My only point is that grounding this router may still let leakage from the router’s PSU through to the downstream streamer... John’s recommendation is to add a Netgear GS105 or GS108 and ground it’s power supply just before the networked streamer

Just to clarify, perhaps we have different understanding of the issue and I may be wrong... Grounding the router would stop the leakage from the router's PSU to the downstream streamer. What it may or may not do is to stop the leakage from Ethernet devices upstream from the router, like my NAS's PSU's or my cable modem's PSU's leakage from going from the ethernet cables into the streamer. This is because this is heavily dependent on the design of the router. This is why I ground everything. The reason why John Swenson recommends Netgear GS105/108 is because he has noticed that if you ground GS105/108, the upstream leakage currents from say my NAS or cable modem or wifi router, would not actually get through via the Ethernet cables downstream. As a result, you no longer have to ground the other connected Ethernet devices. This is a result of how the GS105/108 is designed.

 

[flyte3333]

Just to clarify, perhaps we have different understanding of the issue and I may be wrong... Grounding the router would stop the leakage from the router's PSU to the downstream streamer. What it may or may not do is to stop the leakage from Ethernet devices upstream from the router, like my NAS's PSU's or my cable modem's PSU's leakage from going from the ethernet cables into the streamer. This is because this is heavily dependent on the design of the router. This is why I ground everything. The reason why John Swenson recommends Netgear GS105/108 is because he has noticed that if you ground GS105/108, the upstream leakage currents from say my NAS or cable modem or wifi router, would not actually get through via the Ethernet cables downstream. As a result, you no longer have to ground the other connected Ethernet devices. This is a result of how the GS105/108 is designed.

All noted, yes we have the same understanding. It appears we read the same posts and threads

 

[music_man]

I just got this. To use as a CD spinner duh. It is outstanding quality. It may not be physically as large as an Esoteric which was my entire reason for getting it but it is still great quality. No, doubt it will extract what anyone requires. I use a purpose built PC with meticulous construction and find it far superior to the W20. The BLU is connected to DAVE himself of course. The weird thing is Chord markets it as a CD player and not ripper. It is not even their flagship model. If I wanted a DAC only I feel DAVE is better even though many disagree. I personally would not be happy with just the BLU.

 

[raypin]

Having loaded all my CDs onto an Innuos Zenith SE I have noticed something which I didn't expect and that is that that just because I have all my music available at a touch of a button does not make life more enjoyable. In some ways the contrary is true and unlimited choice sometimes makes it more difficult to make a choice. I have therefore found myself returning to old habits and leaving half a dozen CDs out on the table and from which I often chose my evening's listening.

In short, I do think that playing CDs does have some of the retro advantages of LPs in terms of listener experience. I also enjoy the book style CDs of Fink and others. The CD is not dead!

Regarding the next MScaler, I am sure Chord have already made their commercial decisions about what MScaler to next bring to the market and to that extent we are only going to be allowed to watch what happens rather than influence it. If the next MScaler is just as good as Blu2 and is a fraction of the price then for sure the Blu2 second hand price will plummet and, yes, I will feel very sore about that. Hopefully Chord are aware of the need to look after the customers who buy their top end gear. They will not want to upset them and risk a migration to another brand. Also, I am sure that Chord will want to keep selling Blu2 as long as possible at a premium price so it would harm Chord itself if the market for Blu2 disappeared overnight.

On the other hand I doubt that the next product with MScaler technology will just be a simple USB in and dual BNC out. Also, just stripping out the CD mechanism will not by itself save a huge amount of the cost. If the stand alone MScaler is aimed more at H2 or Qutest then I suspect that it will have a plug in power supply similar to Qutest. That would save a fair amount of cost and would also keep a differential between Blu2 and new MScaler.

I rather suspect therefore that MScaler mk2 will not be £2500 and will instead be more like £5500 and Blu2 will still appeal as being worth spending the extra to get the CD mechanism and built in power supply.

But anyway, we will all be passengers just watching what Chord do when they eventually launch the next MScaler product (which may of course be Davina and therefore not a cheapie MScaler anyway!).

Anyway, back to work, I have to earn money for these toys!

Mm...same here. I ve reverted back to CDs to feed my BLU Mk 2, despite earlier misgivings. It is just more convenient (forces you to listen instead of just grazing as is common with Tidal/USB) and output is just superior to USB.

 

[marcmccalmont]

Completely understood. My only point is that grounding this router may still let leakage from the router’s SMPS through to the downstream streamer. Grounding it MAY shunt the high impedance leakage or it may not. It’s a wild guess when you use a non tested unit and difficult for the average Joe like me to test.

John’s recommendation is to add a Netgear GS105 or GS108 and ground it’s power supply just before the networked streamer - he’s tested that it does a very good job of blocking leakage, for quite cheap too.

Or wait for the better pricey one he’s designing, as you say.

How do you ensure the GS105’s wall wart power supply is properly grounded?

 

[flyte3333]

How do you ensure the GS105’s wall wart power supply is properly grounded?

DIY (Swenson shared how on CA Forum) but @ecwl also shared 1 page back, the iFi Groundhog can be used to ground the SMPS's DC plug. It's over-priced but a good option for those that don't want to DIY.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...official-thread.831343/page-223#post-14217734

 

[marcmccalmont]

DIY (Swenson shared how on CA Forum) but @ecwl also shared 1 page back, the iFi Groundhog can be used to ground the SMPS's DC plug. It's over-priced but a good option for those that don't want to DIY.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...official-thread.831343/page-223#post-14217734

Thanks, do you have a link to the dyi discussion?

 

[flyte3333]

Thanks, do you have a link to the dyi discussion?

I think I've shared it 3-4 times in the Dave thread (no one reads them lol) so what's another one time.

Here you go. The entire thread is interesting actually, not just the first page.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/37034-smps-and-grounding/?page=1

 

[marcmccalmont]

I think I've shared it 3-4 times in the Dave thread (no one reads them lol) so what's another one time.

Here you go. The entire thread is interesting actually, not just the first page.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/37034-smps-and-grounding/?page=1

Thanks!

 

[jonstatt]

Sorry to repeat my earlier question but is it only the BNC outputs that are galvanically isolated or is the USB input additionally isolated too?

 

[ecwl]

Sorry to repeat my earlier question but is it only the BNC outputs that are galvanically isolated or is the USB input additionally isolated too?

Only the dual BNC outputs are galvanically isolated. The USB input is not galvanically isolated on the Blu2.

 

[minibox]

Just an update. I purchased the ifi idefender. Made absolutely no difference at all. Only $50 but I could've spent it on more cds or vinyl. CD out of the blu2 is still far superior to usb from aurender n100. I believe the next logical step is a usb to bnc converter. I enjoy listening to cd's but it would also be nice to have access to my 800 gb music instantaneously and have it be the same quality as a CD. Going to try grounding my switch. Or should I ground the router before the switch? Thoughts on usb->bnc converters?