Highly doubtful. Members of the Syn Research Cult don’t step out with other brands.
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lol
Thanks! I ordered an SW-6. It should be here on Friday.
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I received the information today that my ordered LHY sw 6 is on its way to me.
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The SW6 works well with the LHY FMC also.
Funny enough I was looking at that yesterday. So I would connect this to my router via Ethernet cable and run a long fiber optic cable to the SW-6?
I also have a Jays Audio RB3-EVO clock that I will be plugging the SW-6 into.
Long or short cable. I think @aangen has 1m fiber. But test Ethernet to FMC fiber to SW6 isolated Ethernet port to streamer
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Sounds good. I’ll order an FMC and a fiber optic cable. Has anyone found differences in sound with fiber optic cables?
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@dchang05 can you answer this question please?
The FMC was recommended to me as a transmitter by the manufacturer. The LHY switches were compared in a forum.
In terms of sound, the FMC is not quite as good as the SW 6. The SW 6 is said to perform better than the SW 8 and the SW 10 is said to have the best performance. The SW 10 has better clock stabilization and uses a separate transformer for this. However, it does not have an isolated LAN input.
Since the SW 6 is close to the SW 10 line, it offers the best price-performance ratio.
Compared to other brands, the LHY offers above-average performance at a fair price.
Donald has a strong package with SW6 to SW 10 that will be hard to beat for the price.
As far as I know, Adopt has a complete package with two single modules and a cable.
The Finisar are supposed to be a bit better and the Optospan are currently the top recommendation. Your own taste can play a role in choosing the right modules and cables.
Single modules are probably the better choice for streaming in terms of sound.
I’m still thinking about whether to choose Adopt or to look for the Optospan with a suitable cable.
Greetings Andreas
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I do not have the exact setup. I use two switches, one is LHY SW-10 and one is SW-6 and the link between is a Optoscan fiber optic. Together they made an excellent improvement to the streaming chain. I found SW-10 sounds superior to SW-6, therefore I put SW-10 closer to the streamer.
Andreas gives valuable feedback already, and I tend to think any streaming chain will benefit from FO since it isolates noise better than ethernet cables regardless the price point.
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Above all, the fiber optic connection offers secure galvanic isolation.
So that no ground interference can be introduced from the modem into the system.
That was my idea Above all, the fiber optic connection offers secure galvanic isolation.
So that no ground interference can be introduced from the modem into the system.
That was my ideawhich prompted me to purchase a LHY sw 6 as a transmitter via fiber optic connection to the Melco switch.
Especially important if someone uses something like an isolation transformer or a generator that creates a separation from the house earth.
When using the power station, Progressive Audio recommends making sure that all components are connected to the generator and that no network cable, television, antenna cable or devices without galvanic isolation are connected to the components.
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I am in the don’t sweat the fiber cable and SFP camp. I switched from my choices to the Optospan gear. I hear zero improvement.
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Al, if you say so and I don’t make any further comparisons, the single set with 2 modules and 1.5 meter fiber optic cable from Adot could also be an easy choice. I buy a complete set for €250 and don’t have to search for the right Optospan and the right cable and then maybe wait a long time for it.
I had almost forgotten that I even ordered a switch.
If Audiophonics hadn’t written to me today that my LHY was now being shipped.
Just too many upgrades in my head at once.
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So, I finally got home and unpacked my SW6. It’s my first time mucking with networking. I have AT&T fiber, Ubiquiti UDM-Pro router, Pro Max 24 switch, CAT6 in the walls and generic CAT6 patch cables. System is Grimm MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Mola Mola Makua, Gryphon Essence, Audiovector SR6 Arreté, Furutech - pics below.
I stuck the SW6 on top of my (idle) Gryphon pre in my temporary cheapo rack, grabbed whatever spare power cable I had back there (Audience powerChord SE-i), plugged the SFP module of the SW6 into the network, then plugged the MU1 into the isolated port of the SW6, all with generic CAT6. I restarted the track (a recent DG release of some lesser-known Fauré orchestral works). I was not sure what to expect.
Hoh boy.
My immediate reaction was that it was at least as big a change as any big jitter-reducing upgrade to a traditional digital front-end - going from a $180 Onkyo CDP to a proper transport, upgrading PSU’s and cables for your DAC, or even getting an entirely new streamer. The reduction in grunge between the sounds, the sharper edges, the transformed sense of space, the greatly improved pitch and clarity of the bass… it’s less that any one aspect is massively improved, but a massive number of things are subtly and meaningfully improved.
Listening for just another 15-20 minutes, I kept noticing more and more of those things. Interestingly, it was most pronounced with pop music - all the different elements in the mix are startlingly clear and open and freed from the speakers, and there’s less harshness and fatigue. I can play tracks much louder now without things getting grating or confused - much easier on the ears.
The other thing I have to say is that there is definitely a “sound” to it - not a coloration, but a character. I was just reading Christian Punter’s review of the NA tempus on hifi-advice.com, and he mentioned how different switches had different amounts of warmth. I generally find his observations to be quite sharp and convergent with my own, but I was a little skeptical of the notion that these switches have such a discernable sound to them… but now hearing just the SW6, I get it now. Digital “character” is very different in nature from analog - I think it requires a more nuanced vocabulary than warm, cool, bright, dark, etc. - but it is a character nonetheless.
I guess I have no choice but to go down the networking rabbit hole now. Man I hate this hobby…
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Sounds like more of a love/hate relationship. I enjoyed your post. Streaming is a mixed bag for me as well but it has been an illuminating struggle. Keeps getting better, but I thought ones and zeros would be easier to conquer.
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That’s a very keen observation on what a switch can do, thanks!
Recently I replaced the power cord on SW-10 with a AQ Dragon Source, and I was surprised how much improvement in smoothness and quietness it made to the system. So, obviously a switch turns out to be an important item in the streaming chain too.
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Re: power cord, back when I was using my Intel NUC as a Roon core, I had it in another room with an upgraded LPS (HDPlex). I moved it to the same room/power line as my system and was surprised how much better it sounded. At first I thought, wow, maybe having the server far away from the system to isolate it isn’t that beneficial. But it turned out the real reason it sounded better was I had put the LPS on a Furutech DPS-4.1 power cord (purely incidentally). Going back to a stock cord regressed the sound pretty much back to how it had been, and in some ways the DPS-4.1 made more of a difference than the LPS itself! Baffling but also why I’m not surprised changing the switch cord also makes a difference.
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You need a SW6. 
Or a Tempus.
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How do you tell a “less is more”, guy, “more is more”? 
. Straight from router to streamer via a Muon Pro filter and Stealth Ethernet cable should do the trick.
It seems every step of the digital way needs to be scrubbed for noise and clocked again. I’m sure I’ll succumb to some “unnecessary” switch someday.
Al did. Could help to reduce my griping that streaming falls short of big and little disks.
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From what I can tell with CD’s and Vinyl less is more. Streaming seems more is more. Multiple levels of isolation from computers and storage devices. I’m very curious with the teaser @luca.pelliccioli hinted with a new Network Acoustics device.
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