Uptone EtherRegen

Then again this is about an expensive switch that lowers noise better than an off the shelf switch which is fairly easy to measure. 

Besides what difference would it make if a switch lowered noise?  The place to measure noise is on the DAC output or even the amp since that's where audible noise would make a difference. If there is a measurable amount of noise there then the first place to look is the dac or amp they must not be filtering properly. 

The ultimate measuring device and the one that really matters is the human ear.

This could be a helpful read for anyone looking for some clarifications/explanations about the etherregen device.

My understanding is that this is the "white paper" that the engineer/designer has published.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0660/6121/files/UpTone-J.Swenson_EtherREGEN_white_paper.pdf?v=1583429386

Hey Lance, hope all is well.

At a glance, I read the product website and find it very confusing. Network switches normally have nothing to do with sound quality, they merely provide additional ports for data connections.

Seems its labeled an audiophile switch because it does some reclocking and jitter reduction prior to the DAC. There are other devices that do that as their sole function providing various digital audio (not computer) connection types and are not necessarily switches providing additional physical connections, , but a network switch that does that also.... sure why not.


If you hear a difference in detail/noise level, seems to be that would likely be because the device is reducing jitter prior to the DAC which I think is the main benefit claimed. That is always a good thing if so.

Some modern DACs like Benchmark have effective reclocking/jitter reduction processing built in. Many others not.

The price is not bad if the device in fact does a good job at jitter reduction.

If it were me, I would ideally want jitter reduction to occur within the DAC itself. The further upstream that occurs prior, the more chance of jitter getting introduced again prior to the DAC which is where it matters. NEtork connections usually go to streaming devices not DACs, however of course most streaming devices have a DAC built in which I think would be best in the case of this device. If an external DAC were used with the streamer, jitter could get reintroduced between streamer and DAC. COuld happen within a streamer with built in DAC as well. That’s why I think it best for jitter reduction to be handled immediate prior to the A/D conversion that is the prime function of a DAC.