Why We Built the XACT N1 – A No-Compromise Network Switch for Audiophiles

[Marcin_gps]

Thanks for this cable recommendation.
Just received one today and so far I am very impressed.
Talk about bang for the buck. WOW

I'm pleased to hear it. Enjoy!

Hi Marcin， still the problem as what I said. When I set the stramer endpoint(Pinkfaun) in the isolated port，the roon core（Wadax） in the common Lan port, and I can see the IPs of them in router， but the stream often lost from the roon core. so, power sycle N1, the problem is not solved. So I read carefully the Compatibility，you suggest use the Main Lan ports, it's ok, but which is not perfect solution, I think. please give me some ideal. Thanks.

Please contact me via email.

----
HFA review is now in progress and Christiaan posted a teaser on his facebook page:

 

[surfing_dude]

I'm considering publishing a ready-to-use config file for the EdgeRouter X SFP along with a step-by-step guide or blog post. That could help more users experience these benefits without diving too deep into CLI and network theory.

More soon!

Best regards,
Marcin

Please do

 

[OrigTweaker]

I can prepare a step-by-step guide along with a pre-configured settings file, specifically tailored for customers who purchase the XACT N1. This way, one will be able to enjoy the full performance potential of the N1 switch without having to dive deep into network settings.

I wish you would; my Edgerouter X SFP was nearly bricked by unsuccessful experimentation. Now the fiber port is unreliable with any of my known-good Finisar 1318 or 1475 transceivers such that I may have to figure out how to rewrite the os with Ubiquiti’s v2.0.6 downloadable image.

 

[Di-fi]

XACT N1 Network Switch

Most “audiophile-grade” network switches available today are based on standard, off-the-shelf motherboards intended for office or general IT use. The XACT N1 is built around a 100% custom-designed motherboard, developed exclusively for one purpose: to deliver the purest, most natural sound over...

www.hifi-advice.com

Really enjoyed this review. Christiaan did what he does best – lots of comparisons across different setups, including multiple streamers (MU-1 & Oladra) and both audiophile and standard switches. The consistent takeaway was how much the XACT N1’s isolated port ( separate power supply and an independent ground connection) elevates the sound: more focus, energy, and neutrality without harshness delivering a natural and laid-back sonic character without losing precision or impact. (That’s just my reading – please check out the whole review to really understand the N1’s potential for your setup.)

Unfortunately he did not test the SFP port directly linked to the router, allowing you to bypass the noisy Ethernet switch section. Interesting feature : “The N1’s main processor powers off 15 seconds after startup to minimize electrical noise. After the processor shuts down, all configuration functions, including isolated port speed negotiation, are disabled to optimize audio performance.” Also a 100% custom-designed motherboard, clock and LPS with three separate, galvanically isolated voltage rails to power the main switch circuit, the system clock, and the isolated output.

Christiaan writes: “On balance, I consider the N1 to be more neutral and certainly more natural.(…) “The Silent Angel combo [ Silent Angel Bonn NX Switch and Genesis GX Clock are Christiaan’s favorite — difi] still sounds more impactful and propulsive, but, as mentioned, this is accompanied by a thicker-than-neutral bass and lower midrange.”

Also cool to see him test different footers under the N1 – one of Christiaan’s ongoing fetishes – and document how mechanical support subtly shifts the presentation. Overall, a thorough, well‑done review.

 

[jasond]

Thank you Marcin . I am extremely grateful. Finally worked out how to switch over to /28 and I feel it makes a profound improvement in my system.

How much of a difference did you achieve with that?

 

[Ampman]

How much of a difference did you achieve with that?

For me it was a big difference which surprised me...
More detail and information comes through but in a much calmer and quieter way.

 

[jasond]

For me it was a big difference which surprised me...
More detail and information comes through but in a much calmer and quieter way.

Wow very impressive! How did you do that?

 

[Ampman]

Wow very impressive! How did you do that?

It's going to depend on which router you use and how your network is set up...

I'm not a techie and needed to research a lot online and on YouTube first.
I decided to implement three separate VLANs (separated for Home, Video and Audio) and then changed over from the 256 addresses in a /24 subnet to 16 in /28 on my main router for each VLAN.
I also tried less addresses but strangely 16 seems to be optimal?
Also important to explain that I'm currently using a fairly basic network setup hardware wise compared to most:
Ubiiquiti ER-X as main router (as it has no WiFi)
One Asus router for Home
One old Asus as Access Point (WiFi only) for Audio
EtherREGEN with Plixir LPS
Original Muon Pro
I've not upgraded to a higher-end setup yet as first wanted to see how far tweaking the network setup could get me.
I hope to compare as many switches/routers as I can to settle on a long term solution.
I must admit I haven't needed to go further yet though as I'm pretty happy with status quo.

Those like yourself already using high-end switches may not see the same benefits.
But it costs very little to try...

 

[orange55]

Due to a number of circumstances I was only able to change my router to /26, could not go as low as /24. However, going to /26 made a big difference. like @Ampman I was very surprised by the audible change.

 

[Ampman]

This is all thanks to Marcin of course!
He is the expert here.
I greatly appreciate all of his advice and time.

 

[OrigTweaker]

Ubiiquiti ER-X as main router

I am very curious about how you configured this device, which has confounded me so far…
We were promised a script three months ago.

 

[agisthos]

I am very curious about how you configured this device, which has confounded me so far…
We were promised a script three months ago.

To be fair he said he might make a script for purchasers of the N1 switch.

 

[Ampman]

I am very curious about how you configured this device, which has confounded me so far…
We were promised a script three months ago.

I can refer you to a couple of YouTube links...if I'm allowed to? These were what I used for
the VLANs:

and firewall rules to segregate the VLANs:

When you set up your VLANs you can use /28 when defining each subnet to limit the addresses to 16.

Not sure I can help much more than that I'm afraid and not sure whether this is what Marcin would recommend in his tutorial...

Good Luck!

 

[surfing_dude]

Thanks!

Fiber from the EdgeRouter X SFP with Finisar FTLX1475D3BTL (hands down the best sounding SFP modules) goes to the SFP port in the XACT N1 — also fitted with the same Finisar module.

LAN 1 port connects to the M.O.C router (set to receive internet connection via DHCP), while LAN 2 goes to a Ubiquiti Wi-Fi access point.

The EdgeRouter X SFP creates a dedicated network with a /28 subnet (16 addresses), which significantly improves sound quality. All unnecessary features and ports are disabled, hardware offloading is enabled, and the router is powered by a JCAT ULTIMO linear PSU with a Siltech Triple Crown power cord.

Best regards,
Marcin

Hey @Marcin_gps, in this configuration, what was the motivation to use additional router behind the M.O.C router, and not setting up the Edgerouter router as a "switch" only "inline" device instead, and configure it with 1 network port as untagged VLAN to the audio devices, and get the subnet /28 from M.O.C dhcp? (Assuming the AP is connected directly to MOC router...)
Theoretically, will you get the same audio quality?

 

[Marcin_gps]

Hey @Marcin_gps, in this configuration, what was the motivation to use additional router behind the M.O.C router, and not setting up the Edgerouter router as a "switch" only "inline" device instead, and configure it with 1 network port as untagged VLAN to the audio devices, and get the subnet /28 from M.O.C dhcp? (Assuming the AP is connected directly to MOC router...)
Theoretically, will you get the same audio quality?

I didn't use MOCs wifi. The AP was connected to Edgerouter on a different subnet.

BTW - there is a New Review of XACT N1 in HighFidelity.pl


The full review is available (in Polish) here:
https://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-5026&lang=

Official English translation will be available next month, but if anyone is interested in reading it now, I prepared translation of the listening part.

SITTING DOWN IN FRONT OF A NEW DEVICE, we never really know what to expect. We may have some vague ideas and expectations, prejudices and preliminary impressions, with our thinking guided by stereotypes. That’s normal. Yet all of this is only a kind of preparation, which is often verified within the first few seconds of listening. That was also the case with me and the XACT N1 LAN switch.

As it turned out, subconsciously I was expecting some sort of “bringing the sound closer.” Not spatially, but rather in terms of emotional temperature. The device under test, however, played quite differently. And again – not in the opposite direction, because it did not weaken the emotional connection with the recordings, but showed something else, something I neither expected nor anticipated.

This is a switch that introduces calm and order into the sound. It also offers higher resolution than the Silent Angel it was compared against. And much higher at that. The subtle tapping of a thumb on a guitar body in track [1] Well Well Well by Seasick Steve was, with the N1, on the one hand gentler, on the other clearer. As if the device didn’t need to present a large form in order for it to be noticed. I’m anthropomorphizing, but that’s how I perceived it.

The tested switch seems to smooth out the attack of sound. Both Steve, and immediately afterwards Chet Baker in track [1] Let’s Get Lost, as well as Lester Young in the magnificent 1952 recording [1] Ad Lib Blues performed with Oscar Peterson’s trio – all these recordings were smoother, but not with the smoothness of giving anything up. It was a smoothness resulting from more information, not less.

At first it might have seemed that because of this, the sound was less energetic. But only until I compared again, going back to the reference switch. It then became clear that the greater “energy” of the Silent Angel wasn’t actually energy, but a stronger emphasis on attack – an attack that was more nervous, somewhat jittery. And it was this jitter that gave the impression of higher dynamics. Compared to it, the XACT sounded freer, yet more confident.

In reality, it was with the XACT that I obtained greater dynamics – and significantly so. This was the kind of dynamics that allowed me to turn up the volume by 1 or even 2 dB and still obtain, subjectively, a similar SPL level, but with far greater contrasts, with a stronger entry into the recording. And this wasn’t just an impression, but something I heard with all subsequent tracks, throughout the entire time I listened with the N1.

All three of the above-mentioned tracks are monophonic recordings, aimed at a kind of fluidity and possessing an internal cohesion, connections absent in contemporary multi-mono recordings. The XACT played the music along those same lines, also with this type of material. End Of Summer by Tame Impala, with its hypnotic rhythms, deep bass descent, distorted vocals and mechanical hi-hat in the center, all of this “flowed” better with the N1, glued together more naturally.

It was also interesting that the tested switch did not press down the lowest bass in the way Silent Angel does. I had already encountered something like this when comparing the Siltech Triple Crown AC power cable with its higher version, the Master Crown. The latter also played in a smoother and more balanced manner, but above all presented recordings from a slight distance. The Triple Crown, by contrast, brought them slightly closer to the listener. Here it was similar – the XACT in a way liberated the music from the “obligation” of playing “here and now,” allowing the recordings to resound with greater freedom.

I also have the impression that by calming the sound – not lulling it, but reducing its jitter – the tested LAN switch differentiated events on the virtual soundstage more effectively. Eric Clapton in track [1] Cocaine therefore sounded at once motoric, dreamy, strong, hallucinogenic – all at once. The version on Tidal has very little compression, so it must be played quite loud. Then the track’s excellent rhythm comes out, with its driving mid-bass and fine cymbals.

The N1 added to this a distinct Clapton vocal, somewhat hidden in the mix by the producers. It wasn’t about pulling it forward, but rather showing more information about how it sounds, how it relates to the guitars, drums and bass. The device under test did this with greater grace than Silent Angel, with flair and elegance. I remember perceiving something similar with the Silent Angel Bonn NX switch. Because that’s probably what you get when replacing a good switch with a very good one – smoothness, resolution, greater differentiation.

The N1 is not overly smooth, though – Bonn NX sometimes gives that impression. If the recording has a harsher element, like Sting’s vocal in [1] Murder by Numbers from The Police’s repertoire (in the excellent Christian McBride version I played), then that’s how it will be presented. As always, Sting’s vocal wasn’t very deep in tone, but here it had a lot of air around it, so it sounded professional. The N1 played this track with more panache, with vigor – but a noble, differentiating vigor, not one that flattens everything into a loud “GRRRR!”

▌ Summary

It repeats itself every time I listen to recordings with better digital chain components, particularly in the case of files: lower noise yields sound that is smoother, but also more resolving and differentiating. Smoothness here is the impression caused by the absence of nervousness, which earlier we mistook for excitement. As it turns out, that was nervous excitement. With the N1, music sounds as if all the energy remains in it, but is communicated better.

It’s also important that once accustomed to the sound of a system with a switch of this class, it will be hard to go back to the sound “from before.” When you play something like [1] You And The Night And The Music from a Bill Evans album – dense playing, warm yet expressive guitar, strong double bass – you hear it in its full form, as a unified event. And even if it’s Sting’s somewhat undernourished vocal, or a distinct distortion, added low-frequency rumble in Evans’ Re: Person I Knew from his other album Moon Beams, it is presented truthfully, in a way that distracts less.

Even a basic LAN switch designed for audio moves in this direction. But it’s only with devices of this class, like the XACT N1, that this promise is fulfilled in a way that lets us sit down and, after the first moment of disorientation, realize we are dealing with something exceptional.

 

[pedjen]

Hej Marcin_gps Jag undrar lite om inlägget 51High End 2025 i München på bilden där man ser routerkablar etc., kan det inte bli störningar när routern är ovanför eluttaget, jag tycker det känns konstigt med tanke på att allt annat är så väl genomtänkt? Sen undrar jag vilken optisk kabel du tycker är bäst eller påverkar de inte ljudet?

Peder

 

[sbo6]

Maybe you did hear it—you just weren’t aware.

Or maybe you didn't.

I find more often than not, when you make a change and you have to struggle to hear it, it's confirmation bias. That's why whenever reasonably possible you should A - B - A.

 

[sbo6]

Later models should be better.

Can you explain why you believe so?

 

[Marcin_gps]

Can you explain why you believe so?

Because of higher performance and higher network performance.

 

[sbo6]

Because of higher performance and higher network performance.

And how does chipset performance necessarily translate into sonic performance? If anything, the FLOPs are higher, more transactions and higher TDP = a potential increase in current leakage = more noise.

More is not always better.