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

justubes

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Aug 10, 2015
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Maybe there may be some incompatability with the module amd is losing link with the sotm

It should not act as such.
 

Emorante

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Jul 8, 2017
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this in the picture is my sfp. can someone tell me a compatible model?
Grazie ciao
 

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justubes

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Once shorted, it could not be powered any longer, no lights whatsoever.

It could not light nor work as the all power was going to ground.
 

QuadDiffuser

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Thank you CKKeung, for alerting me to the merits of adding an audiophile-grade Ethernet switch to improve my streaming audio (TIDAL) experience; the SOtM pair has been one the biggest "Holy Cr*p!!" moments I have ever experienced in my audiophile life. So impactful, profound, and of such surprisingly high cost/performance, that I went out the very next day and bought a second pair. Very much looking forward to auditioning a variety of Cat7 Ethernet cables (which you have kindly recommended) to optimize their performance! Leaning towards cascading the pair electrically, and skipping the optical modules (for now).
IMG_9923.JPG
 
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Hieukm

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Thank you CKKeung, for alerting me to the merits of adding an audiophile-grade Ethernet switch to improve my streaming audio (TIDAL) experience; the SOtM pair has been one the biggest "Holy Cr*p!!" moments I have ever experienced in my audiophile life. So impactful, profound, and of such surprisingly high cost/performance, that I went out the very next day and bought a second pair. Very much looking forward to auditioning a variety of Cat7 Ethernet cables (which you have kindly recommended) to optimize their performance! Leaning towards cascading the pair electrically, and skipping the optical modules (for now).
View attachment 56649
So now you using 4 SOTM switches if i read it correctly??
 

justubes

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Aug 10, 2015
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So now you using 4 SOTM switches if i read it correctly??
I believe it is just 2 units, as ye mentioned cascading them by lan cables instead of from fibre between 2 units.

Possibly, a third unit , the first by optical and the 3rd by lan would be beneficial.

I had 2 units cascaded electrically earlier, and now by optical due to replacement of my FMCs used previously.

I do however feel that with 2 really good ethernet cables may have offered even better resolution after a clock FMC connected to the 1st sotm switch via fibre.

I am more than delighted by the fabulous musicality and resolution in the revised pair of switch that there are no areas sonically that i feel have any bottlenecks now.

I do have an extra 25mhz output from my sotms, so should i ever add a third sotm switch, it would be ready.
 

QuadDiffuser

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Greetings from Dubai, en route to Geneva from Hong Kong. Wow, it’s been ten days since I’ve logged onto WBF, my browsing destination of choice accompanying my morning coffee, due to being barred from accessing the server due from Hong Kong. Grateful that there are still ways (thanks, CKKeung) to circumvent the blockage to feed my audio OCD !

Since more a week ago, I’ve been a proud owner of two sNH-10Gs, two sPS-500s, and two Cat7 LAN cables, all from SOtM. Still early days in terms of breaking them in completely, but I really love what I have been hearing. No insecurities about connecting them electrically, as optical modules and connectors may potentially have issues, too.

Looking forward to adding the SOtM UltraUSB and 10M clocks sometime in the near future. I’ll be shopping for ultra-high quality 12V linear power supplies to power these boxes!
 

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CKKeung

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Greetings from Dubai, en route to Geneva from Hong Kong. Wow, it’s been ten days since I’ve logged onto WBF, my browsing destination of choice accompanying my morning coffee, due to being barred from accessing the server due from Hong Kong. Grateful that there are still ways (thanks, CKKeung) to circumvent the blockage to feed my audio OCD !

Since more a week ago, I’ve been a proud owner of two sNH-10Gs, two sPS-500s, and two Cat7 LAN cables, all from SOtM. Still early days in terms of breaking them in completely, but I really love what I have been hearing. No insecurities about connecting them electrically, as optical modules and connectors may potentially have issues, too.
Looking forward to adding the SOtM UltraUSB and 10M clocks sometime in the near future. I’ll be shopping for ultra-high quality 12V linear power supplies to power these boxes!
It seems that your OCD is worsening.
:p
 

yukster

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Sep 9, 2015
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View attachment 49979



The only difference was that TWO SOtM sNH-10G Network Switches were used.
These audiophile switches have got SFP sockets for optical transceivers.
So they were linked up in-series by a single-mode optical cable.
View attachment 49980

The Cybershaft Limited OP20 has three 10M clock outputs so the two SOtM switches and one SOtM tx-USBultra were clocked/syned by it.

The effect is phenomenal!
Once we have heard the dual-switches config, nobody are willing to go back to single-switch config!

The sonic improvement was in every aspects but most importantly the background quietness.
Suddenly much much more could be heard and the sound becomes so natural.

I am not a tech guy but I speculate that the optical connection has isolated most if not all of the noise coming from the CAS components & home network.

The two SOtM switches and the tx-USBultra clocked/syned by the extremely accurate Cybershaft 10M clock may be acting as reclockers.
An analogy may be the tweak of cascading/stacking multiple Mutec MC3+ together (https://www.mutec-net.com/artikel.php?id=1388254422).

My friends and I also did the following comparison : One SOtM switch+Cybershaft Clock vs Two SOtM switches (no Cybershaft Clock).
We found that the latter performed better! The sound was more natural.

If I can get hold of more SOtM sNH-10G Switches, I will try using three or four of them together for sure!
But of course I expect the Law of Diminishing Returns will kick in.

Anyway I am confident to say that this Dual-SOtM Switches is currently the best CAS network setup I have ever encountered.
I wrote a thread about 3 months ago : The Best USB/Network Gadget Setup I have auditioned in 2018 : SOtM+Cybershaft+Uptone.
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...itioned-in-2018-sotm-cybershaft-uptone.27025/

It has been surpassed in just 3 months' time!
I listened to the following setup last night :


View attachment 49979

Most of the components used are the same : Cybershaft Limited2 OP20 10M clock, SOtM tx-USBultra usb conditioner, Habst 5N Silver Cryo clock cables & coaxial digital cables; Lessloss C-Marc Supercord with Firewall 64X module, Chord Blu2 for upscaling before entering a Chord DAVE dac ...etc
Please refer to my previous post.

The only difference was that TWO SOtM sNH-10G Network Switches were used.
These audiophile switches have got SFP sockets for optical transceivers.
So they were linked up in-series by a single-mode optical cable.
View attachment 49980

The Cybershaft Limited OP20 has three 10M clock outputs so the two SOtM switches and one SOtM tx-USBultra were clocked/syned by it.

The effect is phenomenal!
Once we have heard the dual-switches config, nobody are willing to go back to single-switch config!

The sonic improvement was in every aspects but most importantly the background quietness.
Suddenly much much more could be heard and the sound becomes so natural.

I am not a tech guy but I speculate that the optical connection has isolated most if not all of the noise coming from the CAS components & home network.

The two SOtM switches and the tx-USBultra clocked/syned by the extremely accurate Cybershaft 10M clock may be acting as reclockers.
An analogy may be the tweak of cascading/stacking multiple Mutec MC3+ together (https://www.mutec-net.com/artikel.php?id=1388254422).

My friends and I also did the following comparison : One SOtM switch+Cybershaft Clock vs Two SOtM switches (no Cybershaft Clock).
We found that the latter performed better! The sound was more natural.

If I can get hold of more SOtM sNH-10G Switches, I will try using three or four of them together for sure!
But of course I expect the Law of Diminishing Returns will kick in.

Anyway I am confident to say that this Dual-SOtM Switches is currently the best CAS network setup I have ever encountered.
I'm planning to get the switch and an external clock. I am really keen to understand how two switches will produce a better results than one switch.
I wrote a thread about 3 months ago : The Best USB/Network Gadget Setup I have auditioned in 2018 : SOtM+Cybershaft+Uptone.
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...itioned-in-2018-sotm-cybershaft-uptone.27025/

It has been surpassed in just 3 months' time!
I listened to the following setup last night :


View attachment 49979

Most of the components used are the same : Cybershaft Limited2 OP20 10M clock, SOtM tx-USBultra usb conditioner, Habst 5N Silver Cryo clock cables & coaxial digital cables; Lessloss C-Marc Supercord with Firewall 64X module, Chord Blu2 for upscaling before entering a Chord DAVE dac ...etc
Please refer to my previous post.

The only difference was that TWO SOtM sNH-10G Network Switches were used.
These audiophile switches have got SFP sockets for optical transceivers.
So they were linked up in-series by a single-mode optical cable.
View attachment 49980

The Cybershaft Limited OP20 has three 10M clock outputs so the two SOtM switches and one SOtM tx-USBultra were clocked/syned by it.

The effect is phenomenal!
Once we have heard the dual-switches config, nobody are willing to go back to single-switch config!

The sonic improvement was in every aspects but most importantly the background quietness.
Suddenly much much more could be heard and the sound becomes so natural.

I am not a tech guy but I speculate that the optical connection has isolated most if not all of the noise coming from the CAS components & home network.

The two SOtM switches and the tx-USBultra clocked/syned by the extremely accurate Cybershaft 10M clock may be acting as reclockers.
An analogy may be the tweak of cascading/stacking multiple Mutec MC3+ together (https://www.mutec-net.com/artikel.php?id=1388254422).

My friends and I also did the following comparison : One SOtM switch+Cybershaft Clock vs Two SOtM switches (no Cybershaft Clock).
We found that the latter performed better! The sound was more natural.

If I can get hold of more SOtM sNH-10G Switches, I will try using three or four of them together for sure!
But of course I expect the Law of Diminishing Returns will kick in.

Anyway I am confident to say that this Dual-SOtM Switches is currently the best CAS network setup I have ever encountered.
I am planning to get the SOtM sNH-10G switch and an external clock. I am really keen to understand how two switches will produce a better result than one switch. I'd be grateful if you could explain.
 

CKKeung

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Jun 17, 2011
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I'm planning to get the switch and an external clock. I am really keen to understand how two switches will produce a better results than one switch.

I am planning to get the SOtM sNH-10G switch and an external clock. I am really keen to understand how two switches will produce a better result than one switch. I'd be grateful if you could explain.
Hello Yukster,
I am not a tech guy but only a consumer/user.
What I have discovered by audition is that two SOtM switches connected by optical fiber can bring about higher sonic improvement than one SOtM switch+external 10M clock.

The connection is easy :
Modem > ethernet cable > SOtM switch > optical transiever (in the SFP socket) > optical fiber > optical transiever (in SFP socket) > SOtM switch > ethernet cable > streamer/server
 

yukster

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Sep 9, 2015
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Thanks
Hello Yukster,
I am not a tech guy but only a consumer/user.
What I have discovered by audition is that two SOtM switches connected by optical fiber can bring about higher sonic improvement than one SOtM switch+external 10M clock.

The connection is easy :
Modem > ethernet cable > SOtM switch > optical transiever (in the SFP socket) > optical fiber > optical transiever (in SFP socket) > SOtM switch > ethernet cable > streamer/server
Thanks CKKeung. The interesting question is how two swiches with optical connections compare to two switches with an exrernal clock. Do you know of anyone tried this?
 

CKKeung

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Jun 17, 2011
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Thanks
Thanks CKKeung. The interesting question is how two swiches with optical connections compare to two switches with an exrernal clock. Do you know of anyone tried this?
Two swiches with optical connections with addition of an external clock to syn the 2 switches of course give the best result.
No doubt about this!
Haha
 
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QuadDiffuser

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Thanks
Thanks CKKeung. The interesting question is how two swiches with optical connections compare to two switches with an exrernal clock. Do you know of anyone tried this?
Perhaps you meant “two switches, synced to an external clock, connected with a LAN cable (instead of optically)” ?
I’m curious about that, too.
 

Three quid

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Sep 30, 2019
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Hello Yukster,
I am not a tech guy but only a consumer/user.
What I have discovered by audition is that two SOtM switches connected by optical fiber can bring about higher sonic improvement than one SOtM switch+external 10M clock.

The connection is easy :
Modem > ethernet cable > SOtM switch > optical transiever (in the SFP socket) > optical fiber > optical transiever (in SFP socket) > SOtM switch > ethernet cable > streamer/server

What kind of SFP’s are you using? Have you compared different SFP’s in these positions?
 

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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If my DAC doesn't have a clock output is it worth getting the switch with the clock option?
 

QuadDiffuser

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Technology marches on - a competitive product has been announced and released by Uptone Audio.

Quote: “The extreme care taken in the entire design of the EtherREGEN results in dual isolated clock/data/power domains, blockage of all external leakage currents, a vast reduction in upstream phase-noise fingerprint, and utmost signal integrity.”

The following link provides a lot of technical information which reference the science of what is audibly important in filtering and re-clocking.
https://uptoneaudio.com/products/etherregen

While I’m eager to hear comparisons and read reviews of this newer generation product, I’m not a fan of cramming all these parts onto a tiny board because it will likely lead to undesirable parasitic contamination of all sorts of noise. Why not use a larger board, shield parts internally, and house it all in a larger chassis?

Pretty sure SOtM will not be siting still, and will “upgrade” their product in coming years. Fingers crossed that older products can be factory-upgraded at a fair and modest price!
 
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dminches

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While I’m eager to hear comparisons and read reviews of this newer generation product, I’m not a fan of cramming all these parts onto a tiny board because it will likely lead to undesirable parasitic contamination of all sorts of noise. Why not use a larger board, shield parts internally, and house it all in a larger chassis?

You seem to be assuming that they didn't test all this. The unit has 1/2 the ports that the SoTM does so it should be smaller. The people at Uptone are not novices. That have built tons of things using this form factor.
 

QuadDiffuser

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You seem to be assuming that they didn't test all this. The unit has 1/2 the ports that the SoTM does so it should be smaller. The people at Uptone are not novices. That have built tons of things using this form factor.
Perhaps there are no merits in more physical separation to take advantage of the law of distance squared, as the components are truly not influenced by magnetic induction, etc. Just trying to be open minded.
 
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Kris

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Mar 4, 2019
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Did someone compre the Ether Regen with Sotm swich ?
also would be interesting to stack them
Sotm 2x v ER 2x
lastly Sotm + ER
and
Sotm +ER + 10 mhz clock feeding both
connected via opitical and via copper
What combination would sound best ?
 
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CKKeung

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Did someone compre the Ether Regen with Sotm swich ?
also would be interesting to stack them
Sotm 2x v ER 2x
lastly Sotm + ER
and
Sotm +ER + 10 mhz clock feeding both
connected via opitical and via copper
What combination would sound best ?
Just had an audiophile gathering last night and did what you wanted.
Will give all interested WBF brothers a report here.
Stay tuned!
;)
 

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