LHY SW-6: Snake Oil or A Substantial Upgrade?

Hmm, I am not sure about that since I never tried matrix either.

It is supposed to galvanically isolate the pc from the dac which is one of the main reasons I bought it.

It is pretty cheap for you to try. I have pitted TPLink units to Audiophile units and I can’t recall ever being happy or sad with either. It will give you galvanic isolation.
As someone who tries all sorts of expensive gear, I like your thinking.

Worst case, it should be a step up from Ethernet.

USB from PC to the Matrix…?

If so, and I understand your setup, I think a switch between your Router and PC is unlikely to add any benefit.

IMO, the PC and it’s USB output is the most significant potential source of “noise” that could infiltrate your signal path. I don’t think anything you insert upstream of the PC is likely to have much of an impact.

Is there any other point where a switch could be inserted into the signal path? If there is, I suggest you add a short run of optical cable between two TP-Link Media Converters to add some galvanic isolation in front of the Matrix.

Curious as to what others here might suggest.

Have fun and welcome to the forum.

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Right now I’m struggling with deciding on the right power cord for the SW-6 (unfortunately it does seem to make a difference :expressionless:). I tried the spares that I have lying around, and the best that I’ve found - but still not quite right - is my Front Row MP. I tried a Furutech DP4.1, a Synergistic, a Shunyata, an old Fusion Audio Enchanter (a nice cord that never got the recognition it deserved, IMO), one or two others. Currently burning in a Puritan to see how that does. High priced spares are one thing, but I’m not really in the mood to spend multiples of the cost of the switch on a new power cord for it. :roll_eyes: The FR gives me everything I want - enormous spatial presentation, gorgeous tone, the best sense of real music (to me, anyway) in my space, but in this implementation is just a touch less articulate in the low bass than I’d prefer (although the extension is awesome). Some power cords do better down there but give up too much else compared to the Audience.

The power cord is only half the battle. Maybe a suitable fuse can help. :wink::rofl:

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Funny. I was thinking maybe a Pink might provide just what is needed.

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Good lord. I am using the cable that came with my SW-6 to power it. Stock fuse as well. Cables don’t matter, fuses even less.

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This could be a good choice. I recently installed 4 Pinks in my mono power amplifiers. At the same time also an additional master. The system now sounds as expected. Dynamic range has definitely increased and tonally I like it. When it came to my power supply for the Melco switch s100, I then swapped the AM Ultimate premier I had left over for Purple. In the first week the sound was a bit bright. The Purple produces nice mids but a bit too rounded in the treble range. Today I put the Ultimate Premier back in the power supply and it sounds more balanced. I’m still wondering whether a pink can provide the right mix of timbre and resolution. Or an AM M2. Unfortunately, I cannot deduce exactly how they work from the differences between the individual fuses described here. Descriptions like the M2 sounds better than xy in my system are of little help. In my system, the Purple sounds with a full, sweet midrange but lacks some resolution and energy around the high frequencies. The power cable for the booster is an Audioquest hurricane source. For these mono power amplifiers I use Furutech dps-4.1. Then I noticed that there were probably the smallest differences for me. An Audioquest Dragon couldn’t work wonders with the AVM mono power amplifiers. When tested with other amplifiers, the Dragon showed that it can provide more dynamics and a larger soundstage. The large AVMs are not very impressed by the cable. Now I had the idea to maybe try a different cable for my Cambridge edge nq. The Grimm MU2 is still too expensive for me. Maybe I’ll start with a different cable than the Furutech dps-4.1. From now on Dragon source will be sold used. I also came across a Voodoo air Phoenix. Unfortunately I can’t find much information or sound descriptions there. Or maybe a PSR-14 Zenwave? Luckily, Donald struck before the price increase. Al and Luca rave about stealth cables. I’ve also discovered some on the used market. I think I couldn’t go wrong with a Dragon for half the price. It can have dynamics and a beautiful, accurate stage. Greetings Andreas

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I don’t believe you. You probably still have enough high-quality cables in your drawer. :rofl: If so, you should quickly connect another cable :wink: Greetings Andreas

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Unless it’s a Stealth, seemingly. :smile: If Stealth made a fuse I’m sure it would be something else. :joy:

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Fuses with helium filling or vacuum. And a tuning ring should not be missing so that it can be adjusted even more individually. The only and last backup you need to buy. Stealth fuses.:+1::wink::see_no_evil::rofl:

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I prefer the AM M2 fuse over the Pink, but I’ll admit the Pink might in this case provide a bit of the low end snap I heard when I tried them before. Apart from that - at least in the previous instances of trying - the M2 won out in all my other listenings.

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The M2 is a little more reserved in the bass than the Pink? Maybe this will fit better in my case with the Audioquest Hurricane. With the Purple I like the beautiful, full vocal colors. But there is a bit of a lack of resolution in the high frequency range. Pink is supposed to have a little more energy. Maybe a pink one after all. The value of my pink amplifier driver stages is too low for me to put them in the booster to try it out. I have the SR Purple, Master, AM Ultimate premier, Hifituning supreme Silver/Gold, Padis all as 4 A ore 5 A. This way I can compare these at different points in the system.

No, I wouldn’t say reserved. In my system the Pink was a little too “HiFi sounding” in comparison to the M2. The M2 in the current locations does everything better without calling attention to itself.

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Do not do what I did by adding a LHY SW-10 on top of SW-6. The good news after I put the 10 in front of 6 is that I heard less differences from PCs in SW-6, the sad news is that I heard MORE differences from PCs in SW-10 at the front. To not go crazy on the cord cost, I am using two knockoff Nordust AliExpress silver cords, but I replaced all connectors with Furutech 50 NCF (from The Cable Co. to ensure they are authentic because I am not even sure the ones from Amazon are real). The plug upgrades made an incredible improvement to the SQ from both switches.

One plus thing that will happen is with my soon-to-arrive Gryphon PowerZone, I will have a spare Dragon HC. I will try it on Grimm MU2 again to compare it to Dragon Source, and the loser will go serve SW-10, and I know already either one will sound a lot better than the one I have with 10 now.

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I’m also considering getting an Audioquest Dragon instead of the Furutech dps-4.1 for my preamp/streamer. I’m hoping for a clean, tangible and dynamic illustration.

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I was using a Stealth V18 UNI cable on my MU2 and I swapped it for a Stealth Cloude Grande AG. I don’t recall hearing a difference. I should swap again and see if I miss it.

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I have also seen the Steahlt V18 used at an acceptable price. Would that be better than a Dragon?:thinking: The Voodoo air Phoenix also reads well. It’s difficult to try things out when buying used.

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I have a half dozen V18s, I have no AQ cables. The V18 is an easy choice for me. I think thr Dragon would be a good choice as well. I just have not had any time with one yet.

I prefer to have a full loom from one manufacturer.

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