Good mid-price audiophile switches

[_Alchemist_]

I've been happy with the switch. I added a QSA Yellow fuse and it was a small improvement.
IMO this switch would be ideal if it had 1 SFP port.

 

[skids929]

Got the HNE Switch hooked up today. First impressions are wow, it really added some nice overall punch to everything. Dynamics are alot more pronounced and things just seem overall calmer and the bass is tighter and heavier. It's not subtle either. Much better than the Gigafoil with a Keces power supply on it.

So far I am VERY happy with my decision to take a chance on a small maker and purchase this switch. And incredibly thankful I didn't spend 3X on the other options. There is just no possible way it can be that much better than what I am hearing here.

 

[audioblazer]

Got the HNE Switch hooked up today. First impressions are wow, it really added some nice overall punch to everything. Dynamics are alot more pronounced and things just seem overall calmer and the bass is tighter and heavier. It's not subtle either. Much better than the Gigafoil with a Keces power supply on it.

So far I am VERY happy with my decision to take a chance on a small maker and purchase this switch. And incredibly thankful I didn't spend 3X on the other options. There is just no possible way it can be that much better than what I am hearing here.

Agree with your assessment. Got mine couple of months ago. Dirt cheap for a 2 chassis switch with separate psu . Parts alone easily cost 60/70% of the selling price . Noticed some upgrade in your unit . Can follow the designer in his FB , Nyugen Ha Nam . He can converse in English fairly well

 

[skids929]

Agree with your assessment. Got mine couple of months ago. Dirt cheap for a 2 chassis switch with separate psu . Parts alone easily cost 60/70% of the selling price . Noticed some upgrade in your unit . Can follow the designer in his FB , Nyugen Ha Nam . He can converse in English fairly well

I did Toroidy PS and Furutech IEC, otherwise it's similar to yours. I think the keys to this switch are the PS, the clocks, and the Fiber implementation. The PS alone would be a high priced item here in the US. Very happy with this switch, I may get another simpler version and layer them in my set up. One at the router in a downstairs closet, and this one I am using at the location of my audio.

 

[audioblazer]

I did Toroidy PS and Furutech IEC, otherwise it's similar to yours. I think the keys to this switch are the PS, the clocks, and the Fiber implementation. The PS alone would be a high priced item here in the US. Very happy with this switch, I may get another simpler version and layer them in my set up. One at the router in a downstairs closet, and this one I am using at the location of my audio.

There are some differences as explained in his FB. Toroidy wasn’t available when I ordered mine - talema. Not much price difference. The photo 1 that I highlighted further reduced the noise level & it seems it sound better with all LED off .

 

[skids929]

There are some differences as explained in his FB. Toroidy wasn’t available when I ordered mine - talema. Not much price difference. The photo 1 that I highlighted further reduced the noise level & it seems it sound better with all LED off .

Yes, I think the design may have evolved a bit.

 

[Nirvana]

I got interested in the EdisonCreation Switch. However, for my needs this model is an overkill. I need max. 4-5 LAN ports and also i like an external LPSU input to eventually use better PSU than the one in the switch and to tweak the sound to my liking. Neither was possible.
Also paying around 1k€ for a switch with functionalities i don't need would be cash burning.

So I googled and found an 400€ OXCO Switch with exactly 5 ports on Ebay, as one member here reported. It did not have LPSU input, but it had 5 ports. I bought it and - mucho better than a D-Link with SBooster Mk2 LPSU. More natural sound, more dynamics, more groove, more quietness.
Now i ordered a 2nd one to complete the circle from Macbook to the Waversa WStreamer.

I also use 2 Emosafe isolators from Macbook to WStreamer, and another 2 Emosafes from modem to the OXCO switch. So when i stream from Internet, the "sound" goes thru 4 Emosafe isolators. From Macbook to Wstreamer only 2 Emosafe isolators. Gives more air - immediately noticeable with only one. Of course medical device galvanic isolation. One guy on this forum recommended them.

So this is the way to get a great sound withot paying k€ and k$. Needs a bit experimenting with LAN cables too.

I am currently using a mix of different lenghts of Supra CAT 8 and TNP CAT 7, where the latter I order extra from US Amazon (I am in EU - it is that good). Yeah the last 1 meter is a Sotm dcbl Cat 6. Still reasonably priced.

So that's my LAN back-end, suited to my NOS DAC and a cheap but great Class T amp. It is always the sum of the parts that makes the music.

 

[antigrunge]

@Nirvana,

while the Ocxo switch you mention does a great job in front of my Etherregen I found that the casing not being very high quality it majorly benefits from having a couple of Black Ravioli Isolation pads substituting for its feet. And btw it doesn‘t need an LPSU input because it has it built in.

 

[Nirvana]

@Nirvana,

while the Ocxo switch you mention does a great job in front of my Etherregen I found that the casing not being very high quality it majorly benefits from having a couple of Black Ravioli Isolation pads substituting for its feet. And btw it doesn‘t need an LPSU input because it has it built in.

Yeah i had some Finite Elemente Ceraballs lying around and put 3 of them under the OXCO switch.

I mentioned it does not have PSU input, which was not great for me but on the plus side it had 5 LAN ports so the price was acceptable. I am sure Sbooster MK2 is better PSU than the one built in with Talema transformer. I am feeding it with Cardas Golden Reference power cord.
Galvanic isolation i solved in the way described above.

 

[engadin]

Gentlemen, there hasn’t been much conversation about the Ediscreatio silent switch here, lately.
I do consider acquiring one, extreme version without bybees.

Are there any recent reviews, comparisons against other switches?
Should I rather get a SotM and pimp it?
Your recommendations?

Further upgrade path: new home in 3years with fibre-to-the-home in Germany, so a fritzbox 5530 (fibre modem included) might be the next router.
So much higher bitrates than a innuos phoenixnet I had considered could come in, maybe even streaming dsd files (ok, I am dreaming
: ) )

 

[engadin]

Ediscreation extreme has arrived and deserves imho an own thread …

 

[BlueFox]

Ediscreation extreme has arrived and deserves imho an own thread …

Then start a thread.

 

[engadin]

I did

 

[richard_crl032]

There is just no possible way it can be that much better than what I am hearing here.

Really ? Lol !

 

[jerrybj]

I'm looking for a second network switch at the modem/router/Roon core Nuc end of my system.
Not looking at a $1000+ version.

Looking perhaps at the Cisco SG-110-08.
Sending to Fidelity Audio in the UK to get a clock upgrade.
I'd end up with a reasonable switch for £150.

Any other suggestions?

 

[stray_cat]

No as the reports suggested it couldn't supply enough current to make the ER really shine. The Super3 can supply enough current - and it really does make the ER shine.

Hello all, I'm a long time lurker 1st time poster. While I know this is an older thread, I stumbled on it via a link from an ad for a Telegartner M12 switch.

How would one know the ER is not getting enough current? I've had my ER powered by an LPS 1.2 for the last year and a half or so at 12v I think, clocked by an Afterdark with it's own AD LPS. Also have a JS2 waiting to be put to work, tried to power my Silent Angel with it but while the SA powered up, it would not connect. Using the included SMPS made it work as desired. Thanks..

 

[kennyb123]

How would one know the ER is not getting enough current? I've had my ER powered by an LPS 1.2 for the last year and a half or so at 12v

The only way to know is to power it with a better supply that can provide more current. In the early days of the ER, there were a number of reports about the LPS-1.2 not providing the ER with that much of a lift. Then all the positive reports started flowing in about how much better the ER sounded when powered by supplies like the Farad Super3.

 

[jerrybj]

Have bought the Cisco SG110D-08 switch for £34.
Sent to Fidelity Audio.
Have a clock installed and replaced capacitor for £210.

A reasonable price all up, for a mid level switch.
Looking that I have a mid level system, it ties in quite nicely.

 

[MysteryMan]

I am very new to this idea of spending a wedge of money to replace my cheapo network switch, but, I am coming round to the idea that I must!

Has anybody got any views on the Fidelizer EtherStream and, in particular, compared to the Ediscreation Silent Switch OCXO? If i did go for the EtherStream then I would get a decent LPSU for it as, I believe, these make a considerable difference.

Thanks

 

[skids929]

I am very new to this idea of spending a wedge of money to replace my cheapo network switch, but, I am coming round to the idea that I must!

Has anybody got any views on the Fidelizer EtherStream and, in particular, compared to the Ediscreation Silent Switch OCXO? If i did go for the EtherStream then I would get a decent LPSU for it as, I believe, these make a considerable difference.

Thanks

selling my HNE Labs switches, I have two. I went all-in on Analog so they are up for grabs. PM me if interested. You can search here HNE labs to see some of the photos of the design and they are affordable. All I can say is it was literally the equivalent of adding a dedicated preamp in my system. Much bigger gains than I had ever anticpated.