CH Precision Ethernet_IN HD board Upgrade
Technical background information
I asked Raphael Pasche about a couple of aspects of the Ethernet_IN HD board. Below are my questions and his replies
HFA: I noticed that the new board retains the STREAMING input and adds Roon Ready. As there is only a single RJ45 connector, why are these independent inputs?
Raphael: We decided to separate the UPnP side from the Roon side, so it clarifies where the music is coming from. If you use only one of the two, you can always disable the unused one so it doesn’t appear in the input selection.
HFA: Since all other inputs are named according to the standard of their connector or the cable standard (AES/COAX/USB), the “STREAMING” and “Roon Ready” names deviate. Might I suggest changing the factory defaults to “RJ45 Roon Ready” or simply “RJ45 ROON” and “RJ45 UPnP”? Or, alternatively, “UTP ROON” and “UTP UPnP”.
Raphael: We could argue on the name STREAMING for the UPnP input. We decided to opt for this name as it is the name that made the most meaningful to everyone we talked to. However, Roon imposes the name Roon Ready for their input. This being said, all our inputs can be renamed so feel free to choose the name that is the most meaningful to you.
HFA: While the C1 shows artist/album info on its front panel display in UPnP Streaming mode it does not show anything in Roon Ready mode. Are there plans to add such functionality later? Roon does send a string of info that can be used for this. A couple of other brands put this to use, some even with album art. It would be wonderful if that could be done with the C1 as well.
We don’t display the metadata to unify all the inputs. With the introduction of the CH Control app a few years ago and now with the wonderful Roon interface available to CH users, you have much more information available on the tablet that we could ever be able to display on the front panel display.
Left: V.1 UPnP streaming board, Right: new HD UPnP and Roon compliant board.
Videos on the Hifi-Advice YouTube Channel
How Sooloos became Roon
HFA Front Page
Try out Roon for yourself
Read Also
CH Precision C1 and A1
CH Precision A1.5
CH Precision A1.5 compared to Soulution 711
CH Precision DIG_IN_HD board upgrade
CH Precision P1 Phono Preamp
An Interview with Raphael Pasche of CH Precision
External Links
Did you try better ethernet cables?
They might improve the sound even further.
Hi Rick, I experimented with Ethernet cables a lot and found that, in general, I prefer CAT6 over CAT5 but also found that even between same types of different no-name brands there can be differences in sound. Usually, these exhibit themselves in the perceived tightness and transient attack, or, if thinking of the reverse, some blur and softening of transients. While I have found that (very) expensive Ethernet cables definitely can make for a different perspective, so far, I have not found their deliveries to be structurally better than a regular good CAT 6 cable. One thing that is worth investigating, though, are filtered Ethernet switches and paying attention to their power supplies can also have an unexpectedly large impact.
Ah, ok interesting. I have tried a few ethernet cables, Supra, Ansuz, Wireworld, Chord and so forth. Haven’t found a clear winner yet, therefore I’ve stayed with the cheap Supra that sounds somewhat slow and quite warm but still better than a lot of alternatives.
Btw, thanks for the reviews you are doing. I’ve benefited a lot from your insights.
Hi Rick, especially when you are looking for a warmer sound then this can also be obtained using Ethernet cables. However, one has to wonder if the “rounding” effect in this case is not achieved at the expense of some precision. Personally, I have been moving away from any cable-induced warmth or smear and now I prefer clean and accurate sound. Ultimately, however, only you can decide, of course. Music’s beauty is in the, well, ear, of the beholder:-)
I’m a “tube-guy” that prefer warmth over resolution, to put it short.
Hello Rick,
What’s the ethernet plugs on your Supra?
The plug quality affects the sonic result significantly.
Currently the best is the new Telegartner cat8.1 plugs.
The old model Telegartner ethernet plugs are better than all other barnds in the market, but this new plug is even better. Easily audible!
Pls try.
Just standard supra.
Will look into it, thanks.
A suggestion for a review/article is a comparison of ethernet cables presented in a chart with keywords such as warmth, etc. Is that something you would consider?
Thanks again for your continued effort, it’s appreciated.
Hi Rick, that’s certainly an idea but for now it’s not on my agenda.
Hello Christiaan,
Thanks for the C1 Roon-compatible ethernet card review.
I consider your website one of the best among all audiophile webzines.
There are a lot of CH Precision users in Hong Kong.
Hope that you may test/review the CH Precision T1 Clock in future, and maybe compare it to other audiophile external clocks such as Mutec Ref10 or Cybershaft.
Thank you again!
Hi CK, good to hear you like my articles:-) I plan to review more CH products indeed. First on the list are the L1 preamp and the X1 external power supply. After that, no planning just yet.
Christiaan, the L1 is my next purchase. I’d be interested to hear your opinions on adding this to the C1. I have active speakers so perhaps your results might not be as I find but I plan to demo an L1 nonetheless.
For this, please read my L1 review in which all is revealed. I can add to that review that the longer I used it the more it became my jack of all trades. It simply does not impose any character and that is great for reviewing. The L1 is sadly gone again now.