SOtM sNH-10G Network Switches x2 : The NEW KING of USB/Network Gadget Setup

[Marcin_gps]

Interesting findings about the m12 gold switch. I disagree. In all systems I've tried it, it makes the digital frontend sound as it'd cost twice as much. And the sound improves a lot if you put in on a platform.

 

[Marcin_gps]

Regarding the link speed, in general - the higher, the more spacious the sound becomes with extra air around instruments. But 100Mbit is not necessairly worse depending on a system. 10Mbit however is not acceptable with grey and chunky presentation.

 

[CKKeung]

Hi CK,
Thank you for the wonderful review to you and the guys. Thanks for taking the time too.
(Using optical fiber to connect two switches could give good sound only for SOtMx2. )
May I know what you mean by this statement? Is that only SOtM x 2 can sound better. No point in using 2 ER optically connected?
I am thinking of getting another SOtM switch to connect them together but using ethernet cables (Tellurium Silver Diamond or SOtM ethernet).
Thank you CK once again.

Hello Abyss Man,
I mentioned in the very beginning of this thread that SOtMx2 connected by optical fiber was the king of audiophile switch configuration.

But this optical fiber connection seems to be NOT good for "SOtM to ER".
Even a rather cheap Supra cat8 ethernet cable did better than it sonically.

I guess connecting two SOtM with your TQ Diamond ethernet cable should be good, though with sonic character diff from our Vertere HB ethernet cable.

BTW for a "SOtMx2 with optical fiber connection" format, adding good ethernet cables such as the Vertere elsewhere along the network pathway is very beneficial.

 

[CKKeung]

Thanks so much for the review. Right now I am only using an ER and don't plan to get a SoTM due to the cost but this is great information.

Please place your coming SOtM upstream of the ER (i.e. connecting to side A of ER).

Placing ER upstream of SOtM is not good sonically.

 

[CKKeung]

@CKKeung: great review. Can you share which LPS you used with the ER?

Uptone LPS1.2 to both of the ERs.

 

[CKKeung]

Thanks for sharing @CKKeung ! One question; were the two ER’s running the latest firmware version released November 26th or the version they came with?

Hello Antoine,
Yes, the ERs had been upgraded with the new firmware.
This is the reason why we had postponed this comparison/gathering for so many weeks.
The new firmware makes the sound a bit better in term of resolution.

 

[caesar]

Great Work! Thank you so much for posting!

 

[caesar]

A quick question: what makes a bigger difference for a setup that already has 1 sotm switch with clock?
a) adding a second switch (with clock?) or (b) gigafoil gadget? And how does an optional power supply on the gigafoil change things?

Thanks

 

[SuperDave]

Caesar,
Good question. I have a single Sotm with clock and the Gigafoil. Upgrading the power supply on the Gigafoil lowered the noise floor a bit more. I use Uptone LPS1.2 on the switch and a Keces P3 on the Gigafoil. It all narrowed the gap between discs and streaming but I still prefer discs.

Dave

 

[CKKeung]

A quick question: what makes a bigger difference for a setup that already has 1 sotm switch with clock?
a) adding a second switch (with clock?) or (b) gigafoil gadget? And how does an optional power supply on the gigafoil change things?

Thanks

Hello Caesar,
There is no dealer of Gigafoil in HK yet so we don't have any experirnce on it.

Adding a 2nd SOtM switch doesn't only make the sound quieter but also more continuous and musical.

For upgrading from a single SOtM switch, all of us prefer adding a 2nd SOtM switch to adding a clock.
Of course adding both must be the best.

 

[asiufy]

CKKeung, since you have an MSB, have you tried the SoTM on it, with the Renderer module?
If you do get one with the clock, please find a BNC cable and hook it up to the MSB, and let me know how that goes...
Thanks
alex

 

[CKKeung]

CKKeung, since you have an MSB, have you tried the SoTM on it, with the Renderer module?
If you do get one with the clock, please find a BNC cable and hook it up to the MSB, and let me know how that goes...
Thanks
alex

Hello Alex,
I don't have any MSB Renderer at this moment.
I am revamping both my CAS desktop, my home desktop and music file storage currently. Not easy so I didn't buy a Renderer2 with my Select DAC.
Now listening to silver discs with Select Transport only.
That's why the SOtM/ER gathering was held at the music room of a frd of mine but not my home.
In fact the Extreme is very tempting too but I am lack of fund now.
Hope that I will have the CAS system ready again as my 2nd digital frontend by 2Q2020.

 

[Abyss Man]

Great review here, good work CK!

I am distributor for SOtM in Spain, so anyone wanting this amazing switch, let me know. I already knew it was outstanding, it should get more attention for it IMO.

Hello Abyss Man,
I mentioned in the very beginning of this thread that SOtMx2 connected by optical fiber was the king of audiophile switch configuration.

But this optical fiber connection seems to be NOT good for "SOtM to ER".
Even a rather cheap Supra cat8 ethernet cable did better than it sonically.

I guess connecting two SOtM with your TQ Diamond ethernet cable should be good, though with sonic character diff from our Vertere HB ethernet cable.

BTW for a "SOtMx2 with optical fiber connection" format, adding good ethernet cables such as the Vertere elsewhere along the network pathway is very beneficial.

Thank you CK.

 

[Abyss Man]

Hi Ck,
Sorry for the bother but may I ask if an entry level SOtM switch is on par, better or not as good a ER. A friend of mine is looking to get a switch and would like to know. Any other recommendations are always welcome as well. Thank you once again for taking the time to go through this. Its much appreciated.

 

[asiufy]

Hello Alex,
I don't have any MSB Renderer at this moment.
I am revamping both my CAS desktop, my home desktop and music file storage currently. Not easy so I didn't buy a Renderer2 with my Select DAC.
Now listening to silver discs with Select Transport only.
That's why the SOtM/ER gathering was held at the music room of a frd of mine but not my home.
In fact the Extreme is very tempting too but I am lack of fund now.
Hope that I will have the CAS system ready again as my 2nd digital frontend by 2Q2020.

Oh, I see... You don't actually need the Renderer, come to think of it, since you have the Transport. And it does have a network input that's Roon enabled
Try the SoTM switch + clock with any computer as Roon Core, streaming into your Transport. That's a good baseline, and it'll only get better as you improve the Roon Core machine!

 

[CKKeung]

Hi Ck,
Sorry for the bother but may I ask if an entry level SOtM switch is on par, better or not as good a ER. A friend of mine is looking to get a switch and would like to know. Any other recommendations are always welcome as well. Thank you once again for taking the time to go through this. Its much appreciated.

Hello Abyss Man,
The HK SOtM dealer imports only the top version of the SOtM switch.
IMHO your friend should buy the internal clock board option at least, even if he doesn't have an external 10M clock at this moment.

The internal silver wiring option and the better capacitor option can be installed later on, stepwisely.
In fact a frd of mine who doesn't like silver character sent his full-option SOtM switch back to Korea to replace the internal silver wires back with copper wires.

 

[Abyss Man]

Hello Abyss Man,
The HK SOtM dealer imports only the top version of the SOtM switch.
IMHO your friend should buy the internal clock board option at least, even if he doesn't have an external 10M clock at this moment.

The internal silver wiring option and the better capacitor option can be installed later on, stepwisely.
In fact a frd of mine who doesn't like silver character sent his full-option SOtM switch back to Korea to replace the internal silver wires back with copper wires.

I took that exact same steps CK, after upgrading with the Caps and Silver internal wiring, it was a OMG experience. The improvement was mind boggling and I told myself that I made the right decision in getting the SOtM instaed of waiting for the ER.

If it was me I would have changed the DC cable to copper instead on changing the internal wiring as your friend did. I am currently using Neotech 18awg Solid core Neo tech Silver DC cables for my PS. Anyway if he likes it that's all that matters.

 

[nonesup]

Hello Abyss Man,
The HK SOtM dealer imports only the top version of the SOtM switch.
IMHO your friend should buy the internal clock board option at least, even if he doesn't have an external 10M clock at this moment.

The internal silver wiring option and the better capacitor option can be installed later on, stepwisely.
In fact a frd of mine who doesn't like silver character sent his full-option SOtM switch back to Korea to replace the internal silver wires back with copper wires.

Hi CK I have a question for you. The sCLK-EX clock board already has a better clock than the one brought by the sNH-10G, or it only serves to connect an external 10M clock.

 

[nonesup]

I like tests, too.
I currently own a lot of network switching hubs.
This is my personal opinion of the switching hub that I recently tested.

1. SOTM sNH-10G (including sCLK-EX)
The sound is heavy.
The low-pitched expression is very good.
Complete reference of audio-level switchihg hub

View attachment 59643

2. Uptone otherREGEN
Good expression of weak sounds (music is sweet)
There is a pleasure to listen to music even in small volumes.
However, the quality of sound is poor when used for a long time due to the high heat.
(The problem seems to arise as the case follows the unique design of the uptone.
I think it would be much better if I tuned the case out loud.)



View attachment 59644

3. Telegartner M2 GOLD
Very disappointed to hear the sound of purchase.
Originally born for industrial use, it is not audio-level.
if you want to buy it, you should do it after the test.

View attachment 59645

4. GigaFOILv4 (but not a switching hub)
Connecting to the end of the SOTM sNH-10G and using it on my DIY PC.
The background is getting very dark. The noise disappears completely.
It's also industrial, but it's much more audio grade than Telegartner M2 GOLD.
I highly recommend.


And a different story.
Until the day before yesterday, I used Ch Precision t1.
I got OP21 from Cybershaft yesterday and am using it for my DAC, dCS Vivaldi Clock, SToM, and Uptone.
The purchase amount is less than one-third (including tax) of CH Precision t1, but is very good.

View attachment 59646

View attachment 59647

As you can see in my signature, I am a big fan of Entreq products.
However, have you tried to remove the Entreq Eartha cable from the EtherREGEn?

 

[justubes]

A big thanks to CK who has been able to report his findings and report for everyone to have a starting guideline for choosing networking equipment

The sclk ex board with a 10M connection would surely be better than any clock used in the switch.

Please bear in mind the cost of the 10M unit, clock cable and the Sclk ex itself costs many times more than either the SNH10g or ER unit alone.

Everyone would live to have a simple and best sounding setup for streaming, unfortunately paying attention to a complex setup with the right PSU, ethernet cables, digital cables and even the dc cable can make a good setup sound fantastic.

The differences eventually will be dramatic, though costs add up very quickly!

Every detail is important, using unsynergistictic sounding cables, whether ethernet or clock cables will cause these equipment setup to sound totally off and benefits adding these switches negated, not because they do not perform as they we designed for, but possibly incorrectly matched.

Look at the setup of switches, cables, power and isolation footer as a whole.

It may take months or years to fine tune the networking setup, but i have, imo found the benefits and sonic improvements even larger than say changing out cables or equipment such as at the transport, server or dac stages.

The posts now reveals how silver dc cables may not be a good fit.

Just to share, i have used instead of the evox upgrade, many bypass caps from Duelund copper foil bypass, Jupiter cu foil, Vcap tin and copper foils, Mundof silver oils etc and all change the overall sound rather significantly.