SOtM sNH-10G Network Switch Reviews

**joeinid** · February 24, 2021, 05:36 PM

I need to beef up my audio network. I came across this recently (I'm a little late to the game). Looks interesting and the reviews are really good. I definitely need some upgrades but unsure where to start.

SOtM sNH-10G Network Switch Review

SOtM sNH-10G Audiophile Ethernet Switch Review - Audio Bacon

Audio Ramblings And The SOtM sNH-10G Switch Worth the differences? For us, yes. Review By Dave Clark Of Positive Feedback

**Kuoppis** · February 25, 2021, 01:27 AM

Another option is the Aqvox, which is a modified D-Link box.

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**Vincent Kars** · February 25, 2021, 08:45 AM

You might wonder if there is any improvement at all when using a "audiophile" switch.
Silent Angel Bonn N8 Audio Grade Ethernet Switch | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

**joeinid** · February 25, 2021, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by Kuoppis

Another option is the Aqvox, which is a modified D-Link box.

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I had the Aqvox dac back in the day. I didn’t realize how awesome it was until I gave it away to a friend. He’s still using it and loves it. I miss it but don’t mind him having it because he’s a great friend and doesn’t have the money for this crazy obsession.

**joeinid** · February 25, 2021, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Vincent Kars

You might wonder if there is any improvement at all when using a "audiophile" switch.
Silent Angel Bonn N8 Audio Grade Ethernet Switch | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Thank you so much. Maybe I can hold off a little bit longer before spending crazy money.

**aKnyght** · February 25, 2021, 10:28 AM

one person's opinion on audiophile networking:

minimalist network configuration for a digital source

**aKnyght** · February 25, 2021, 01:08 PM

and, just in case you want to get deep into the weeds on said person's opinion on audiophile networking:

phase noise -- what is old is new again?

**RaChiK** · February 25, 2021, 01:24 PM

I have been using etheregen network switch with very good results. Sotm network switch have reported to be better than etheregen, but have not tried. Another switch which has gained my attention is Network Acoustics Eno. They are made in UK and offer 30 day free trial.

**Kuoppis** · February 25, 2021, 02:23 PM

This is very typical: hyperbole on both ends. The ones say any system is useless without it, the others say I’m an engineer and I can’t measure any difference.

Maybe we should go back to the stone age, and start arguing that all cables are equal, as you can’t measure the difference. Or then we might acknowledge that the engineer didn’t have the right tool to measure, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

My Aqvox at least makes a difference, compared to taking the ethernet signal out of the router.

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**thyname** · February 26, 2021, 11:28 AM

Speaking of switches, this is the brand new kid in the block: PhoenixNET – Innuos – High-Fidelity Digital Music Servers and Streamers

Price: $3,500 (MSRP in US).

**CPP** · February 26, 2021, 11:43 AM

Got to ask, why do the majority of these "Network switches " contain a minimum of 8 ports. Why ! , I mean my router a Netgear AX5700 has 6 connections and there is nothing else I can connect to it. Already I have my OLED TV, My AVR, MY Lumin, MY PC, and its fast and I don;t have any drops and my TV signal is steady and clean ( thank you cable company) why add a Network Switch to it.

**rbbert** · February 26, 2021, 12:12 PM

There is also the Chord (English Electric) switch. Didn't we have a long and ultimately inconclusive thread on this topic?

Uptone EtherREGEN released Oct 8th

Network Switches

English Electric 8Switch audiophile network switch added to the system

**Kuoppis** · February 26, 2021, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by thyname

Speaking of switches, this is the brand new kid in the block: PhoenixNET – Innuos – High-Fidelity Digital Music Servers and Streamers

Price: $3,500 (MSRP in US).

Interesting device.

But of course the related interesting question is whether you get your money’s worth buying this, instead a regular IT box.

But then again, some people happily pay 25K for a hard drive with streaming capability.

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**u-sound** · February 26, 2021, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by thyname

Speaking of switches, this is the brand new kid in the block: PhoenixNET – Innuos – High-Fidelity Digital Music Servers and Streamers

Price: $3,500 (MSRP in US).

wow cool, that is exactely what i was looking for.
going to buy it next week.

**thyname** · February 26, 2021, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by u-sound

wow cool, that is exactely what i was looking for.
going to buy it next week.

Cool! Please let everyone know what you think once you get it

**u-sound** · February 26, 2021, 04:06 PM

allright. i have no special switch at the moment and wonder whats all the talk about.

**FDPDK** · February 26, 2021, 04:14 PM

I think this will show a lot.
Live Stream Switch Test - Paul Pang - NuPrime - English Electric - Cisco - SOtM - YouTube
and in my view a great test done by Alpha Audio.

**u-sound** · February 26, 2021, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by FDPDK

I think this will show a lot.
Live Stream Switch Test - Paul Pang - NuPrime - English Electric - Cisco - SOtM - YouTube
and in my view a great test done by Alpha Audio.

2,5 hours...

i clicked through and it seems this two guys hear a lot of difference between everything related to switches.
"you f... your system with noise"

**nicoff** · February 26, 2021, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by CPP

Got to ask, why do the majority of these "Network switches " contain a minimum of 8 ports. Why ! , I mean my router a Netgear AX5700 has 6 connections and there is nothing else I can connect to it. Already I have my OLED TV, My AVR, MY Lumin, MY PC, and its fast and I don;t have any drops and my TV signal is steady and clean ( thank you cable company) why add a Network Switch to it.

In your case, you don’t need a switch. But others need the extra ports.
Let’s see... network printer, NAS, second router (for better wifi), 3 computers, AppleTV, Roku, AV Preamp, Disc/media player..., etc. That is over 10 ports already.

**FDPDK** · February 27, 2021, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by u-sound

2,5 hours...

i clicked through and it seems this two guys hear a lot of difference between everything related to switches.
"you f... your system with noise"

I found it really interesting and yes a long time , but i watched the live stream and found it interesting.

**exupgh12** · February 28, 2021, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by joeinid

I need to beef up my audio network. I came across this recently (I'm a little late to the game). Looks interesting and the reviews are really good. I definitely need some upgrades but unsure where to start.

SOtM sNH-10G Network Switch Review

SOtM sNH-10G Audiophile Ethernet Switch Review - Audio Bacon

Audio Ramblings And The SOtM sNH-10G Switch Worth the differences? For us, yes. Review By Dave Clark Of Positive Feedback

Hi,

Last year I was getting curious about "Audiophile switches", as changing my ethernet cables from Cat 5E to cat 7 improved sound performance and quality (something i was sceptic can happen as ethernet moves packet wich, in the end, is just electricity pulse the create 0 and 1 after translated on the other side).

Anyway, the whole improved ethernet cables or audiophile switches was something opposite to my knowledge of the subject (I have some networking experience under my belt). never the less I got intrigued after what I have heard when switching ethernet cable and ordered SOtM sNH-10G with clock and Sbooster power supply, to make things short - the switch make a change (comparing to cisco\dlink\linksys switches I tried). sure we are not talking a "dramatic change" but the sound after connecting the SOtM sNH-10G become more focused, high and mid's more airy and detailed while keeping the lower end puch.

The difference is there you can't deny it especially if you try to go back to a regular network switch.
if i have to say by how much the thing improved my streaming experience i would say it's one of those things that can bust you 3%-4% performance from your setup. is it worth it, for me definitely.
since then i also upgraded the audio-related network ethernet to DH LABS REUNION CAT8 ETHERNET which yields some more SQ performance.

In my opinion, if you invested money in your digital audio streaming, you ought it to yourself to test such a switch no matter what you think you know about TCP\IP, Ethernet, Packets or networking

**Kuoppis** · February 28, 2021, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by exupgh12

Last year I was getting curious about "Audiophile switches", as changing my ethernet cables from Cat 5E to cat 7 improved sound performance and quality (something i was sceptic can happen as ethernet moves packet wich, in the end, is just electricity pulse the create 0 and 1 after translated on the other side).

Being a telecoms guy, this is what I also thought. But investigating it, I discovered it’s unfortunately not the case. It’s correct, that data files move as packets. Audio streaming, however, is transmitted as an analog audio signal on top of the packet layer, also over Ethernet.

That’s the simple reason why cables, switches etc. make a difference for audio SQ. Similar to other audio applications.

However, if someone does not believe that cables make a difference in audio, then I would advise against buying the switch. In that case, for cables also, simple doorbell wire will do, as it has technically the lowest amplitude and should hence - based on engineering science - deliver the clearest signal

.

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**exupgh12** · February 28, 2021, 07:32 AM

Originally Posted by Kuoppis

Being a telecoms guy, this is what I also thought. But investigating it, I discovered it’s unfortunately not the case. It’s correct, that data files move as packets. Audio streaming, however, is transmitted as an analog audio signal on top of the packet layer, also over Ethernet.

That’s the simple reason why cables, switches etc. make a difference for SQ. Similar to other audio applications.

However, if someone does not believe that cables make a difference in audio, then I would advise against buying the switch. Simple doorbell wire will do, as it has the lowest amplitude and should hence - based on engineering science - deliver the clearest signal

.

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you definitely right on your description of ethernet\packes movement.
however, one thing to consider is the almost if not all streams play music from buffer\memory and not "live stream", try to disconnect your network streamer from the network, it should continue playing the music till the buffer ends.

Therefore I'm still not fully understand how the switch or ethernet cable make the change in sound, but they do so, I cant argue with that.

**Kuoppis** · February 28, 2021, 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by exupgh12

you definitely right on your description of ethernet\packes movement.
however, one thing to consider is the almost if not all streams play music from buffer\memory and not "live stream", try to disconnect your network streamer from the network, it should continue playing the music till the buffer ends.

Therefore I'm still not fully understand how the switch or ethernet cable make the change in sound, but they do so, I cant argue with that.

Your point on buffering for error correction is accurate. But even when buffered (what e.g. some CD players do as well), the signal remains an analog audio signal, and everything that applies to audio cables is the case for Ethernet cables as well.

As far as I understand the switches (I have the Audiovox, which is a modded D-Link box), it’s just that they are shielding the connections against each other, and improving galvanic isolation. Even closing off open ports has an effect. It’s all about reducing micro-level interferences.

Not much rocket science to it, it’s pretty basic. But as audio signals are quite sensitive to interference, every tiny bit helps. It’s similar to having your power and IC cables crossing behind your rack, and creating an interference. Can result in a nasty hum.

**Glareskin** · February 28, 2021, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by joeinid

I need to beef up my audio network. I came across this recently (I'm a little late to the game). Looks interesting and the reviews are really good. I definitely need some upgrades but unsure where to start.

Try this Joe:

This is not the typical audiophile brand that you might usually looking for. It is a big Netgear switch with a good, built-in power supply. I have installed it in my mancave audio set up in the back the garden. The signal passes three normal switches and roughly 70meter of network cable before it hits this switch.
The switch is next to the streamer and very important: only the streamer is connected!
You will not believe what you hear (at least I didn't). The whole sound improves, it is cleaner and the consistency is so much better.
I have advised some friends to install it and they had the same experience. One friend told:now everything is falling into place.

The switch is around 110 Euro on Amazon and the ViaBlue cable around 70. It is no wonder this is quickly taking over the Dutch audiophile community where Aquvox, SOtM, Melco and most of all Bonn are big brands for years already.

You can't go wrong with this.

**imprezap2** · February 28, 2021, 09:08 AM

I have a Melco S100 on trial, replacing a non SE AQVox, it works well in my system, the upgrade is worth the extra money in my opinion

**thyname** · February 28, 2021, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by Glareskin

Try this Joe:

This is not the typical audiophile brand that you might usually looking for. It is a big Netgear switch with a good, built-in power supply. I have installed it in my mancave audio set up in the back the garden. The signal passes three normal switches and roughly 70meter of network cable before it hits this switch.
The switch is next to the streamer and very important: only the streamer is connected!
You will not believe what you hear (at least I didn't). The whole sound improves, it is cleaner and the consistency is so much better.
I have advised some friends to install it and they had the same experience. One friend told:now everything is falling into place.

The switch is around 110 Euro on Amazon and the ViaBlue cable around 70. It is no wonder this is quickly taking over the Dutch audiophile community where Aquvox, SOtM, Melco and most of all Bonn are big brands for years already.

You can't go wrong with this.

Model number?

**mep** · February 28, 2021, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by thyname

Model number?

The model number is clearly printed on the Netgear switch in the picture. GC5 10P

**joeinid** · February 28, 2021, 09:48 AM

NETGEAR 10-Port PoE Gigabit Ethernet Smart Switch (GC510P) - Managed with 8 x PoE+ @ 134W, 2 x 1G SFP, Desktop/Rackmount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07535L5QB...7WEPEJTB16K0WY

**joeinid** · February 28, 2021, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by mep

The model number is clearly printed on the Netgear switch in the picture. GC5 10P

Not that clearly but but legible enough to figure it out.

**mep** · February 28, 2021, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by joeinid

Not that clearly but but legible enough to figure it out.

It's clear to me from looking at the picture. You don't need to be Inspector Clouseau to figure it out.

**joeinid** · February 28, 2021, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by mep

It's clear to me from looking at the picture. You don't need to be Inspector Clouseau to figure it out.

Good for you.

**Glareskin** · February 28, 2021, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by thyname

Model number?

It is the Netgear GC510p. And the cable is the ViaBlue EP-7 LAN. The effect is amazing. But again, don't connect other stuff. Just the switch close to your renderer.Connect the switch with any standard networkable. And use the ViaBlue (50cm) between the switch and the renderer. The effect is amazing!
Just try it.It won't break the bank.

Thread: SOtM sNH-10G Network Switch Reviews