m-i-c-k-e-y
Headphoneus Supremus
Yes, if the unit needs 0.5A it will only get what it needs.
The Ethernet cables, Switches and Network related sound thread. Share your listening experience only.
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cpurdy
100+ Head-Fier
Try switching to blue and it should take some of the brightness off.
Andrew LB
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audiobomber
500+ Head-Fier
>> I believe if there indeed is an ethernet audio device that "sounds different" because of different cables being used, then that device should be returned because it is obviously defective.
That's the theory. Unfortunately, not my experience. Ethernet cables sound different, when used with any of my four music players, into my any of my five DAC's. I like to look at Archimago's measurements, but I disagree strongly with most of his views regarding sonics.
That's the theory. Unfortunately, not my experience. Ethernet cables sound different, when used with any of my four music players, into my any of my five DAC's. I like to look at Archimago's measurements, but I disagree strongly with most of his views regarding sonics.
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Finally it’s here.
Setup was easy, will let it play for clock(OCXO) to settle
Setup was easy, will let it play for clock(OCXO) to settle
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Yup, OCXOs need about an hour or so to stabilize.
Some initial impressions of the English Electric 8Switch:
It definitely makes a difference. Whether this is a positive difference in subjective terms is something I'm still forming an opinion about. But the very fact that it makes a difference is already pretty interesting to me.
I'm using it between the router and my two DACs, both of which work best through their LAN inputs -- Bartok and Bricasti M3h.
The combo which is my priority at the moment is: Bartok to Benchmark AHB2 to Utopia 2022. The best way to characterize the change is that it sounds dryer and less rich. It's an overall less "excitable" kind of sound and also less glare with upper-midrange spikes in the music. There's less lingering sparkle in the treble. Possibly less bass, too? It's drinking your morning coffee with less cream and sugar. The soundstage sounds less filled-in. It may just need some getting used to, but even after "getting used to it", the jury's out whether I will enjoy it.
I also noticed the same characteristics when using the Bricasti M3h headphone-out to the Utopia 2022.
It's pretty analogous to the change I heard when introducing the Opto-DX between the MScaler and DAVE a while back, for anyone who's familiar with that whole territory of nervosa. The rationale for the change in the latter case (which I'll have to assume applies to 8Switch as well) is that by reducing the RF noise contaminating the DAC and thereby reducing intermodulation distortion and overall noise floor, it results in less spurious "stuff" going on especially in the upper frequencies which can otherwise be interpreted as a more "exciting" or even a more "dynamic" sound. It took some time getting used to dryer sound with the Opto-DX in the chain but eventually I convinced myself I liked it, though overall I felt like the net gain was fairly marginal.
Compared to that example though, I think the changes brought on by the 8Switch are even more noticeable.
Further complicating matters, I have no qualms about the 8Switch while listening to the Susvara. It sounds good, bringing slightly more separation and depth to the soundstage. It may have something to do with the fact that the Susvara is physically incapable of sounding "dry", like ever
.
Anyway that's just day 1 with this device (which is used, for what it's worth), but yea.
It definitely makes a difference. Whether this is a positive difference in subjective terms is something I'm still forming an opinion about. But the very fact that it makes a difference is already pretty interesting to me.
I'm using it between the router and my two DACs, both of which work best through their LAN inputs -- Bartok and Bricasti M3h.
The combo which is my priority at the moment is: Bartok to Benchmark AHB2 to Utopia 2022. The best way to characterize the change is that it sounds dryer and less rich. It's an overall less "excitable" kind of sound and also less glare with upper-midrange spikes in the music. There's less lingering sparkle in the treble. Possibly less bass, too? It's drinking your morning coffee with less cream and sugar. The soundstage sounds less filled-in. It may just need some getting used to, but even after "getting used to it", the jury's out whether I will enjoy it.
I also noticed the same characteristics when using the Bricasti M3h headphone-out to the Utopia 2022.
It's pretty analogous to the change I heard when introducing the Opto-DX between the MScaler and DAVE a while back, for anyone who's familiar with that whole territory of nervosa. The rationale for the change in the latter case (which I'll have to assume applies to 8Switch as well) is that by reducing the RF noise contaminating the DAC and thereby reducing intermodulation distortion and overall noise floor, it results in less spurious "stuff" going on especially in the upper frequencies which can otherwise be interpreted as a more "exciting" or even a more "dynamic" sound. It took some time getting used to dryer sound with the Opto-DX in the chain but eventually I convinced myself I liked it, though overall I felt like the net gain was fairly marginal.
Compared to that example though, I think the changes brought on by the 8Switch are even more noticeable.
Further complicating matters, I have no qualms about the 8Switch while listening to the Susvara. It sounds good, bringing slightly more separation and depth to the soundstage. It may have something to do with the fact that the Susvara is physically incapable of sounding "dry", like ever
.Anyway that's just day 1 with this device (which is used, for what it's worth), but yea.
I also had the EE8 switch, in my setup it was slightly darker sounding. Using Sbooster psu. Then in double blind testing I couldn’t tell the EE8 from direct cable from wall. I scored an 6/10 first round and 2/10 next round.
bpcans
Headphoneus Supremus
@llamaluv, what steered you toward putting an Opto.DX between your DAVE and your HMS? And what kind of Ethernet cables are you using from your router to the E8 switch, and from the E8 to your Bartok?
I chose the Opto-DX route mostly out of curiosity. Eventually, I went with a different upscaling solution altogether ("pre-upscaling" music files using PGGB rather than using the M-Scaler to upscale in "real-time").
Your question about cables is apt, since -- as I keep re-learning over and over -- all these details matter (as much as that really tweaks my uhh "rational" side).
What I was doing earlier was:
[router] -> [short Chord Electronics LAN cable] -> [8Switch] -> [long 15-foot BJC LAN cable] -> [Bartok]
I was being a little cautious in how I described things earlier. It sounded fairly awful.
After reading a certain post on another forum, I tried this subtle change:
[router] -> [long 15-foot BJC LAN cable] -> [8Switch] ->[short Chord Electronics LAN cable] -> [Bartok]
... which also meant connecting the stock 8Switch power supply to my Niagara 1200 power conditioner instead of a A/V Furman power strip.
It sounds better, and no longer so "dry". Keeping the device on and engaged for about three days at this point may have helped as well, who can say. It now reminds me of the change that a power conditioner can bring, or a beefy power cable: Clearer and more focused imaging, better separation, more "orderly"-sounding but also a little less loose, less liquid, less dynamic...So, not without its tradeoffs, but a potentially legitimate direction depending on preference, musical material, or system synergy. And a positive enough experience so far (regardless of whether I keep it in the chain long-term) that I now start to wonder what a real-deal LPS might do for this little box, or how some other switches out there might fare in comparison...
Have you tried the dual adot fibre converter? It’s supposed to remove all noise from Ethernet because fibre can’t transport noise. And then you go short Ethernet from last adot converter to dac/streamer
I have not, but the principal behind it sounds appealing. It'd be nice to avoid piling on more and more doo-dads, but oh well. I may have to look into it some more, thanks
m-i-c-k-e-y
Headphoneus Supremus
Finally it’s here.
Setup was easy, will let it play for clock(OCXO) to settle
So what was the difference from a plain FMC?
I will definitely report back my positive impression so far but unfortunately I can't compare it with plain FMC as I never had it.
However all I paid was $250 and I got this Teradek device with OCXO clock with a FMC and SC-SC optical cable. So if anyone who doesn't have LPS can buy this and cost won't be too far off from pair of FMC (~$50) + cost of LPS (~$150) + cable (~$10)
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