Can anyone share their personal experience with “Audiophile” Ethernet switches?

I use 2T Samsung T7 SSD drives for all my rip CD files as well as hi-res. download files feeding my streamer, and it sounded better than the same Qobuz streaming. From waymanchen11 experience I am all set; I do not need to get a NAS setup anymore :slightly_smiling_face:

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The Esoteric app is the same as the Lumin app, Esoteric just put their name on it and call it the Esoteric Sound Stream app. The Esoteric is also Roon ready, but I haven’t gone down that road yet. All I want is a easy to use and reliable app to play my music. I don’t need all the bells and whistles of Roon. I do miss the Conductor app for my former Aurender N-10 though. That was one hell of a good sounding and smooth operating app.

I have a Chord EE8 switch. It’s probably pointless, but can’t be bothered to sell it.

I have a English Electric switch and a EtherREGEN. The only way to tell what they do is to take them out and I’m just not curious about it. That review of the QNET has my attention though. Hmmmmm.

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Interesting enough our favorite youtube personality Jays audio lab did a quick review of the QNET, he was not in super impressed until he put on their $3200 LPS. He went gaga over it. Which does have multiple outputs. So someone planning a system that could be a decent choice.

Yesterday I installed an Innuous PhoenixNET switch in place of an Sbooster-powered Uptone Audio EtherREGEN into my Roon Nucleus+. As good as the Uptone switch is, the PhoenixNET is in another league, which it should be at 4x the cost.

Most folks say that there is a long break in period but I found it to be immediately beneficial and I’m now still listening listening raptly with almost 24 hours on it.

Backgrounds are dead quiet, with all that comes along with that in terms of texture, timbre and impossibly long decays. Ambient sounds are quite apparent and the soundstage is expanded in all directions. Music sounds pure, natural, detailed (but not distractingly so) and dynamically forceful.

While some have noted that this switch brings the sound of streamed files closer to that of local files (in my system I never found that to be all that noticeable) but what’s freaking me out right now is that even local files on the SSD in my Nucleus+ sound better as well.

All in all, I’d call it a component level improvement like a better DAC or amp. Expensive, but in my system very much worth it.

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But but but ones and zeros!
Congrats on your new piece!

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Glad to know you find it so good even out of the box. IME I had bigger improvements after 2 weeks and incredibly also after 2 months (2/3 hours a day listening and always on).
Try to switch it off 1 or 2 times after a long period, each month so to speak. And don’t worry if after this power cycle it seems to sound worst for a day, it’s normal, but you can find a really step up after that process.

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Thanks Luca! I can’t imagine it getting any better, but I will sure be happy if it does. I didn’t even leave the house yesterday because I just couldn’t stop listening to music…

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It would be so interesting if it still makes a difference in case of the new Airlens use. According to Paul, it shouldn’t, but I have doubts.

Does anyone have experience with the 8Switch by English Electric (available from the Cable Company and elsewhere)? The price ($700) is more reasonable than other audiophile switches I’ve seen. Furthermore, it has seven outlets (plus one input), which would enable me to replace the two four-port cheap switches in my listening room. This in itself would simplify my wiring and probably clean things up a little, augmented by whatever sonic improvement the construction of the 8Switch would provide.

I believe @aangen may be using one.

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I’ve got an EE8, but I don’t use it.

At some point I must have thought it did something.

Since I bought it, I’ve rewired and have two cables running from my modem, which is on the floor above: (a) fibre that goes into an Innuos server/streamer via a media converter and (b) CAT6a that goes into a wireless access point. That’s all I need.

I will be selling my EE8, but I’m in the UK. sorry.

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I have had the EE 8 switch in my system now for about a year (powered by an ifi elite power supply). It does clean the Ethernet feed to a noticeable degee!

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I have been using one for a couple of years now. I have no opinion about it. Can’t say it makes a difference one way or another. It will stay in my setup.

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I have one too that I bought second hand from someone on the site. I dont have any opinion other that it works perfectly and I have no reason to take it out of the system.

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If you haven’t might want to look into the LHY SW-8 from the folks at Jays Audio for $548. Tek Audio in Texas is the US distributor. There is a new review of the LHY on 6moons

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/lhy-audio-sw-8/

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I’ve had experience with both the Uptone EtherREGEN and now the Innuous PhoenixNET. The Uptone was quite an improvement, but the PhoenixNET was in another league altogether, which it should be for the money. It sounds good right away, but has continued to improve over four to five hundred hours. The big Nichicon caps take a good long while to settle in.

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Oh man, that really sucked to read. too cute times ten trillion.

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I couldn’t get past the second paragraph. Did they like it?

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