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  1. #1
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    Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    OK Guys,

    Coming up in the next week we're going to have a video finishing up the results on our Affordable Switch Shootout.

    Following we're going to have reviews on the Paul Pang QUAD switch ($2,000), GigaFoil, a multitude of Ethernet cables/brands (currently burning in) and this photo tease of some Ethernet goodies currently burning in from price $1,000 - $7,000:

    IMG_2093.JPG
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  2. #2

    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    You are considering a $1k switch to be affordable?! 😮

  3. #3
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by nicoff View Post
    You are considering a $1k switch to be affordable?! 😮
    Don't you?


    j/k


    Per my other post/video I did a shootout of $30-$100 switches.
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  4. #4

    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by MichaelsMinute View Post
    Don't you?

    Per my other post/video I did a shootout of $30-$100 switches.
    In my book, $30-$100 for an Ethernet switch is affordable.

  5. #5
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by nicoff View Post
    In my book, $30-$100 for an Ethernet switch is affordable.
    still a lot if you were a denier not long ago?

  6. #6

    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by u-sound View Post
    still a lot if you were a denier not long ago?
    Not sure what you mean by “denier”. If “denier” means that you don’t need to spend a thousand dollars for an Ethernet switch to get “better” sound, then I am in!

    I once owned a “managed” switch. You could prioritize what ports had priority (audio, video, gaming, etc) when facing broadband limitations. Very low latency and flexibility and only $100 bucks!
    But… It got toasted during a lightning storm and decided to go back to a normal (i.e., not-managed) switch (($40 bucks maybe?).
    YMMV

  7. #7
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by nicoff View Post
    Not sure what you mean by “denier”. If “denier” means that you don’t need to spend a thousand dollars for an Ethernet switch to get “better” sound, then I am in!

    I once owned a “managed” switch. You could prioritize what ports had priority (audio, video, gaming, etc) when facing broadband limitations. Very low latency and flexibility and only $100 bucks!
    But… It got toasted during a lightning storm and decided to go back to a normal (i.e., not-managed) switch (($40 bucks maybe?).
    YMMV
    In my extensive testing I found 2 of the $30 D-Links back-to-back sound much better than some of the $500-800 "audiophile" switches. Of course there are expensive switches that sound amazing as well. But you don't need to spend a lot of money to get great sound. To be fair thought there is no amount of D-Link switches that sound as good as my PPA QUAD switch which is $2K. BUT, put the 2-3 D-Links I list in my video with an AudioQuest 3 power conditioner for them and you're all in for ~$400 and it will be KILLER sound that will require considerably more be spent to better.

    I'm also going to be testing a $50-$600 Ethernet cables along with some stupid-expensive ones. Again - some of the lower prices once do quite well and some don't. As is true with the expensive one.

    So regardless of what someones budget is, they can get very good sound.

    There is a LOT I don't know about in audio. And I don't pretend to be technical by any stretch of the imagination, but I have spent hundreds of hours experimenting with switches, cables, and everything in between and I've learned a LOT.

    To think 5 months ago I wasn't sure an Ethernet cable or switch would even make a difference till I decided to ignore all the forums and start testing on my own. LOL
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  8. #8
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    The reason that using 2-3 "good quality" consumer-grade switches back-to-back can sound better (i.e., in series) than a single "more expensive" switch is because "stacking" their clocks reduces phase noise.

    They still won't sound as good as an EtherREGEN, SOtM, or a Paul Peng, though.

  9. #9
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by Puma Cat View Post

    They still won't sound as good as an EtherREGEN, SOtM, or a Paul Peng, though.
    Yup - the ones you mentioned will all sound better than my triple switch mix. I have heard some people say the SOtM can sound rather thin though.
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  10. #10
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    So I did about 4 hours of listening and experimenting with some new Ethernet products today. VERY nice sound upgrades that simplify the number of boxes, power supplies and cables in the system while still moving the sound forwards.

    I believe I may the first to do a video review on these in North America.

    So if you haven't already, be sure you are subscribed to the YouTube channel to be notified when these videos get posted and go live!

    Here is the link to the previous Ethernet Audio video which will be have an updated video within a week: Audiophile Streaming Tweaks for Tidal and Qobuz! PT. 2 - YouTube
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  11. #11
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Mike-

    just watched you videos. Lots of straight forward information with no sense of any one brand "shilling."
    Thank you for taking the time to do these experiments and sharing the results.
    Can't wait for the next!

    John
    AKA J2Ordan
    McIntosh/Legacy/VPI/Bricasti/Bryston/DIYCabling.

  12. #12
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by JohnJ View Post
    Mike-

    just watched you videos. Lots of straight forward information with no sense of any one brand "shilling."
    Thank you for taking the time to do these experiments and sharing the results.
    Can't wait for the next!

    John
    Thanks so much, John. Really do appreciate the kind words. I spend so much time producing these.

    I pretty much call things as I see them and I have a short attention span. I don't have the patience to watch videos or read reviews with a lot of "fluff", so I make my videos pretty straight to the point.

    The advantage of me not trying to fill pages with advertisements, and the fact I make zero money off my channel allows me to be honest about what I think of the gear. Having said that, I do believe just because I don't care for how something sounds (the Pass Labs was a good example), does not mean it's a "bad" piece of gear. It just means it either didn't have synergy in my system or it is not a sound I like - but others may.
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  13. #13

    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Audiophile switches and network filters have come and gone and I still use a Gigafoil.

    I also noticed the more power supplies for network devices I add, the more these power supplies interact with sound quality of my streaming setup. And these are all linear power supplies.

    So I keep it simple and try to minimize the power supplies for network devices.

  14. #14
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by vert View Post
    Audiophile switches and network filters have come and gone and I still use a Gigafoil.

    I also noticed the more power supplies for network devices I add, the more these power supplies interact with sound quality of my streaming setup. And these are all linear power supplies.

    So I keep it simple and try to minimize the power supplies for network devices.

    Sounds like you are doing it the right way - experimenting and finding what works best in your system to your ear.
    "We are all billionaires because of the huge piles sweet dough rolling in from our participation in the ongoing campaign to suck your collective brains through a stirrer-straw." - PTA Editorial Staff

  15. #15

    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Every network device with a power supply adds complexity and its own noise.

    It may not be obvious at first, but when I take it out, it becomes obvious.

    I use a good power supply for the Gigafoil and I notice the power supply affects the music streaming sound.

    So we have to experiment and decide if the trade off is worth it to add another switch, etc.

  16. #16
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by vert View Post
    Every network device with a power supply adds complexity and its own noise.

    It may not be obvious at first, but when I take it out, it becomes obvious.

    I use a good power supply for the Gigafoil and I notice the power supply affects the music streaming sound.

    So we have to experiment and decide if the trade off is worth it to add another switch, etc.
    Vert, may I ask what power supply you are using with the Gigafoil? With the stock power supply, I'm not getting the world-beating performance that so many speak of since adding it to the chain.

    Maybe others can chime in as well. I've heard so many great things about the Gigafoil that I feel like I might be missing something. Again, I'm only asking about the power supply.

    Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

  17. #17

    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by JCS123 View Post
    Vert, may I ask what power supply you are using with the Gigafoil? With the stock power supply, I'm not getting the world-beating performance that so many speak of since adding it to the chain.

    Maybe others can chime in as well. I've heard so many great things about the Gigafoil that I feel like I might be missing something.
    I bet a lot of people use the stock Gigafoil power supply and dismiss it.

    The stock power supply is not very good.

    I used a Bakoon 5v battery supply before.

    I currently use an Uptone JS-2 with a good power conditioner and the Gigafoil is very good, transcendental in this setup.

    I wouldn’t stream music without it.

    Though I find the Uptone to be exuberant sounding and I will try it with a more mellow power supply.

  18. #18
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by Puma Cat View Post
    They still won't sound as good as an EtherREGEN...
    I had an ER clocked to my 10MHz Esoteric clock. My Pakedge 5 port SE series unmanaged switch was much better. No comparison. The ER went back to the dealer.
    Speakers: Magico M3, ACC, S-SUB | Electronics: Esoteric Grandioso stack | Amplification: Halcro |
    Analog cables: Crystal Cable | Digital cables: Shunyata Sigma | Rack: YG Acoustics Rack 1.8
    | Source: Kaleidescape Premiere (4 x 6TB) | Power: Shunyata Typhon-QR, Everest and Denali

  19. #19
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    After some power supply experiments, I have settled with an ifi elite powersupply for my Melco S100 switch, by far the best result in my system, I am amazed how much difference a power supply can bring for a switch. (Non of the lineair power supplies I tried had a good result !!)
    Moon 700i V2, YG Acoustics Hailey, Aurender N10, dCS Rossini, Oppo BDP103D (audiopraise board), Ansuz Mainz 8 D2

  20. #20
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    Re: Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

    Quote Originally Posted by imprezap2 View Post
    After some power supply experiments, I have settled with an ifi elite powersupply for my Melco S100 switch, by far the best result in my system, I am amazed how much difference a power supply can bring for a switch. (Non of the lineair power supplies I tried had a good result !!)
    I use the same power supplies on my switches and the positive result was such that I haven't bothered investigating linear power supplies.
    Christian

    south: Mark Levinson No. 52 pre, Bricasti M28 amps, Lumin A1, Oppo BDP-205, Pioneer CT-43, Sony SS-AR1 Speakers, Audioquest PCs, Audioquest speaker cables, Audioquest & Iconoclast interconnects, HB Power Design Powerslave Star Galaxy power distributor

    north: Vitus SIA-030, Luxman D-10X, Sony TC-KA3ES, Harbeth 40.2, Siltech cables

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