Latest Ethernet / Digital Goodies Burning in for Reviews

Michaels HiFi

Michaels HiFi

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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
 
u-sound said:
still a lot if you were a denier not long ago?
Click to expand...
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
 
nicoff said:
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
Click to expand...

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
 
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.
 
Puma Cat said:
They still won't sound as good as an EtherREGEN, SOtM, or a Paul Peng, though.
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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.
 
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
 
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
 
JohnJ said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
vert said:
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.
Click to expand...


Sounds like you are doing it the right way - experimenting and finding what works best in your system to your ear.
 
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 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
JCS123 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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 !!)
 
imprezap2 said:
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 !!)
Click to expand...

I use the same power supplies on my switches and the positive result was such that I haven't bothered investigating linear power supplies.
 
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