SOtM sNH-10G Switch : Mods & Tweaks!

[valicu2000]

Thank you for your feedback @orange55

I did find some other brands producing caps, but no RJ45 or USB:

Audio Connectors & Accessories

Banana Plugs, Noise Stoppers, Speaker Spades

www.egmaudio.com.au

Stecker & Adapter - Zuverlässige Verbindungen für Ihr Audio-Equipment | Oehlbach

Entdecken Sie die Stecker und Adapter von Oehlbach für eine zuverlässige Verbindung Ihres Audio-Equipments. Wir bieten hochwertige Produkte für eine optimale Klangqualität

oehlbach.com

Audio Accessories

Akiko Audio sells their own high end cables and accessories and also sells the following brands: Furutech, Wilbrand Acoustics, Aktyna, MeiCord, Fisch Audio Tech

www.akikoaudio.com

MWA-RC

MWA cover caps for RCA jacks prevent from vibration, noise and dust

www.oyaide.com

For RJ-45 I want to experiment with these FS plastic caps (12mm x 6mm) to which I want to glue a small copper plate/radiator on the side out of the switch

 

[orange55]

Yesterday I applied the Oyaide EMI tape to the inside of my SOtM switch and have show the changes below you can see them circled in red.



In the above picture I only did one of the Ethernet ports, as I only use that one and has a limited amount of tape. What I have done on the SPF is applied the tape to the outside of the SPF plug which then slots into the cage in the switch. I applied the tape at both ends of my SPF DAC cable and it did bring about a subtle improvement of lowering the noise floor.



The above picture shows a couple of places I added it under the clock board.


Again more under the clock board.




Finally I added some around the incoming end of the clock cable.

This was only completed on the first of my two SOtM switches. Overall the effect is subtle, knowing my system very well I am able to hear the changes, but again it is subtle. If I look at the cost, which is about $10 in total, and apply the 1% rule (which means making 1% change in multiple places adds up to a bigger percentage, rather than chasing a 10% change in one place, which can be much harder within component changes) At $10 it is well worth it and once I get more tape, I will make the changes to the second and final SOtM switch.

BTW: I have also applied the tape to the inside of my router, which again was subtle but worth it. Interestingly my router already had some metal shielding in side, which I was surprised about.

 

[valicu2000]

Hi @orange55

I saw that you applied EMI absorbing tape on Ethernet port 8, I presume that you use that one for connecting to other equipment.
Not all the ports on the switch perform the same, my rule of thumb is to pick the ports closest to the large chipset on the PCB and to the clock connectors close to that large chip (even the PCB traces between the chipset and the ports are the shortest) .... usually those are ports 4 or 5 (for the SOtM sNH-10G).

Of course you can plug the cable in each port and listen ...

Example of measurement for Topaz Switch (lower values are better - ports 3 and 4, closest to the chipset, and the shortest PCB trace):

 

[orange55]

@valicu2000 Good tip I will try. I had choosen port 8 as it was closet to the SPF connection.

 

[valicu2000]

... on a second thought ... port 5 and 6 seem closer to the chipset

 

[orange55]

I have just been trying port 5 and it is an improvement over port 8.