Etheregen - doesn't seem right that it gets so hot, dangerous? Unpredictable?

@jumia

Yes, the ether regen works very well. The question is, do you have the kinds of problems that the ether regen addresses? So many of us look to certain products with the expectation that it will "make things better". What if you have a very clean ethernet signal? What "improvement" can be made to a signal that is already very good? All too often, we expect an incremental gain from everything but if you don’t have a problem, how could a given product solve a non-existent problem. Everything isn’t cumulative. For instance, if you have 3 "units" of noise on your incoming ethernet feed and the ether regen will lower "any" ethernet signal to 5 "units" of noise, then we could agree that the ether regen isn’t applicable to your system. It doesn’t make it ineffective, in fact, it is very effective you just might not need the help. I loaned mine to a friend who has a questionable ethernet signal and he is blown away by the positive impact; lower noise floor, soundstage, dynamics, etc all improved and he (like I) WAS kindof a non-believer.

Is Etherregen the best I can do?

Well, that depends on the problem you are trying to solve and your budget. There are better solution but they are more $$$. Again, what is it you are trying to solve?

As I previously stated,

"I'm using the After Dark power supply that also powers the After Dark clock, and though I can say my Ether Regen is warm I would not classify it as hot. I can keep my hand on top of it without any discomfort."

So perhaps the power supply that is used has something to do with the excess heat?

BTW, there are heat sinks that can be added easily and available on Amazon.

ozzy

An alternative to the etherregen is an Antipodes EX which you can find pre-owned for around £2,000.

The EX has more functionality than than the EtherRegen given that it can also work as a Roon End point and server, but i use it only as a renderer (which is the manufacturers recommendation) between the network switch and DAC and find it to be highly effective.

To be clear, I am using only ethernet connection throughout the digital path.

The EX runs very cool.

Thanks Ozzy for the easy and effective tip on heat sinks from Amazon.

I bought a four pack of 40mm x 40mm x 11mm Aluminum Heatsink Kit with 'Pre-applied Thermal Conducting Adhesive Tape'!  All for about $10.  My EtherRegen definitely runs quite warm, agree not hot.  I was more concerned about cables lying on top of it over time.  I placed three of the heatsinks on top (four would fit).  It has noticeably cooled the unit, and now if a cable rests on top it rests on the heatsink fins which are cooler.  The EtherRegen made an improvement in my system.  I have now added the Muon Filter, so need to try removing the EtherRegen and see if I miss it!  Network Acoustics recommends leaving the EtherRegen in front of the Muon filter.