Esoteric announce Grandioso N1T network transport

brodricj said:
If you had a limited budget which gives you the best outcome. The Smarthub switch or the LAN isolator?
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I was not that impressed with the switch in my system. I know it's definitely system dependent but in my personal experience go with the LAN isolator.
 
Note that N1T has SFP port for fiber network based isolation. For relatively cheap SFP modules and a cheap SFP switch, see:

LUMIN - Fibre Networking

www.luminmusic.com www.luminmusic.com

Some users opt for the more expensive Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL (need a pair). Note that there are many fake Finisar modules - only buy from reputable dealers.
 
Yes, I have a choice between wired ethernet and SFP. I was going to focus my effort on the wired ethernet.
 
Last month Grandioso N1T was awarded the top honors at the Japan Audio Excellence Awards 2026 with the High-End Class Grand Prize. Grandioso N1 got the Gold prize. N1T is the best digital source I have yet heard.
 
The N1T supports both LAN ethernet and SFP, so of course my curiosity as to which interface might sound better requires exploration. I've just done that comparison, using a Shunyata Omega for the ethernet link and a bog standard 10Gtek SFP module with a cheap plastic fiber link back to the network switch. Short story, they sound the same. I would not be able to pick one from the other in a blind test. And the conclusion from that is SFP wins simply on economics because it's a tiny fraction of the price of a Shunyata Omega. I know also there has been commentary about different brands of SFP modules, some sounding better than others but for my purposes I just wanted to keep this initial assessment simple.
That leaves me with an expensive Shunyata Omega ethernet cable that needs to find a purpose. I'm a big fan of Kaleidescape (networked movie/music system). I've been using a Kaleidescape M300 player as a digital source for my CD collection. It's connected to the Grandioso D1XSE DAC with a Shunyata Alpha V2 SPDIF, and to the network switch with a custom Cat8 LAN cable I had built in Canada. This cable has pure silver wire with Telegartner RJ45 termination and is certified to meet the Cat8 standard. It's probably 1/10th of the cost of the Shunyata Omega. This comparison was easy. The Shunyata Omega wins. I've squeezed some more performance for my enjoyment of CD playback. Whether it's worth the price difference is another question....next step is to try the Waversa LAN-EXT Reference+ isolator with the Shunyata Omega back on the N1T. I would not be surprised if that brings a quantum leap in performance as I have direct experience of this in another system.
EDIT: Worthwhile also make the point about the choice of interface connections from different digital sources to the D1XSE. The N1T is connected by two HDMI cables (ES-LINK interface) and the data throughput of that is massive in comparison to single SPDIF. Dual-AES, Single-AES and USB are also supported by D1XSE. My findings are the D1XSE is agnostic which interface you use (they all sound the same), except for optical SPDIF. But with optical I'm using a $20 plastic TOSLINK and that might have something to do with it.
 
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@brodricj you answered the question I myself have been wondering since getting my N1: Is SFP the way to go? Really appreciate you taking the time to put in the effort to compare ethernet vs SFP.

I have a modest LHY switch that I hook up my N1 with the Network Acoustics Eno2 filter, using Eno2 ethernet cables throughout. Everywhere online I see people espousing the need for pricey network switches and how essential they are to digital playback. Meanwhile Esoteric push SFT being superior in their literature for the N1/N1T and it has made me wonder if spending $$$ on a better switch is wise. Reading your comments above I might simply stick with what I have or maybe get a simple ethernet-to-SFP converter (LHY make one) and call it a day.

Interestingly, Melco/Dela themselves make a high-quality SFP cable, the C1 which is reportedly an improvement over the basic ones you can buy. It's listed as SFP+ so I'm not sure if there would be compatibility issues with the N1/N1T.

Thanks again.
 
About audiophile switches. There was a popular model network switch with a 10MHz clock input (I forget the brand/model) that I was able to borrow from a dealer and try for myself at home. I swapped out my 5 port unmanaged Pakedge switch for the so called audiophile switch. Now this was a no brainer, the cheap Pakedge switch absolutely flogged the clocked audiophile switch. So it went back to the dealer. I have a Pakedge MS-2424 as my backbone switch, and connected to that is a Pakedge MS-1212 switch which I use for the music/HT system. These switches are enterprise class and yeah they are expensive and the management features are an overkill for what I need. But they do support SFP. I bought a pair of cheap modules and fiber to connect the N1T and now the results are in. SFP was as good as one of the best audiophile ethernet cables (Shunyata Omega) at a fraction of the price.
But I will qualify these findings as I had a revelatory experience with a Waversa switch and LAN isolator in a Magico M7 system and I was blown away how much of an improvement that brought to the party. I am going to explore that option but for the time being I'm satisfied with my networking infrastructure with the SFP/Pakedge.
 
Gazza13 said:
Melco/Dela themselves make a high-quality SFP cable, the C1 which is reportedly an improvement over the basic ones you can buy. It's listed as SFP+ so I'm not sure if there would be compatibility issues with the N1/N1T.
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Not compatible.
 
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