English Electric 8Switch audiophile network switch
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
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Hans - thanks for you review, recommendation and solid technical insights, I somewhat reluctantly bought the Silent Angel and what a difference in both bass and high end extension and musical depth......I am now a convert!
👍🏼
hmm, how about if one uses bit-perfect streamer? i use lms and squeezebox touch. they are bit-perfect - apparently. i just got a netgear switch. does that mean my streaming quality is degraded? the lms and sb touch talk in bit-perfect mode after all. my pc also uses the switch and no bits are missing :) or am i missing something here? i value your reply.
Mr. Hans,... 🫡
In this recent world of shifting seas of fleeting rainbows 🦄...
My thanks and respect are to you for being steady, as a very strong and well designed large ships anchor... Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge 🙏
I wish to you positive energy, strength, happiness, and the deep clarity that I am beginning to further understand 😎👍
🙏🙏
Well done sir, great no-nonsense review, please keep up your great reviews.
🙏🏽
Salute 🫡
I upgraded my system with SOtM SMS-200 Ultra Neo, sNH-1G (w/ sCLK-EX and Evox cap, 7N UPOCC stranded silver) and sPS-500 after your review. The sound improvement is simply ... magical!
Thanks for sharing
Hi Hans, Thanks for again a very useful review. I have a Silent Angel Bonn switch myself and I'm very happy with it. I was somewhat surprised by your finding that linear power supplies degrade the signal as I use a Hdplex instead of standard power supply and it clearly sounds better. Also the dedicated Silent Angel forester power supply is a linear one. Thus, where is you experience based on? What would be a better switching power supply?
All the best with your reviews. I'm a big fan of yours
Marcel
I have compared it with na sBooster BOTW P&P.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Hi Hans, would you expect an Ifi ipower to improve over the standard power supply?
I suspect it may be the output impedance of DC power supply that's impacting the sound. My assumptions is SMPS in general tends to have lower output impedance.
I’ve got one of these on loan. I was highly skeptical, but it does impact the sound of my system noticeably compared to the 4 port switch I have been using, and interestingly, I do have an ifi power supply connected to that.
I have Cat6 run in-wall from my wifi router in another room. That connects to the EE switch, and then to an Oppo-203 as my Roon endpoint, which feeds my Yggdrasil A2 DAC.
I would describe the differences as “better timing” both in the special domain and tempo. For recordings with ambient queues, it’s easier to discern the primary instrument from the reflections. In other words, the soundstage improved as did the timing between instruments. Even on rock recordings, I found benefits.
I have a linear power supply en route for my Oppo 203. It will be interesting to see if that impacts my system also.
👍🏼
Hi I recently purchased the Lumin mini u2.
Is it beneficial to invest in the 8 switch and better Ethernet, usb cables?
Regards Chris
I have not reviewed the Lumia equipment but in general: yes.
Hello Hans. Thank you for the very informative video. Question- would this device work if it is connected to a node in a mesh wifi system or would it need to be connected to the main router?
It will work in a mesh network. It will filter out common mode interference.
You're the best Hans 👍
☺️
Is this an alternative to the EtherRegen or do you use this in conjunction with the EtherRegen? If this is an alternative then am i right that EtherRegen is better than 8Switch?
It's a cheaper alternative and indeed of lower quality than the EtherRegen (that costs considerable more)
Hans - would you recommend connecting this as close to the internet cable modem as possible (and have my WiFi router plugged into the EE switch ? ) or would you have this plugged into the WiFi router LAN port and then it only feeds to the hifi / streamer ?
Cable modem > EE switch > WiFi router >
Or
Cable modem > WiFi router > EE switch
I noted your comment about electrical noise coming in from a PC via Ethernet so assuming the WiFi router would be just as noisy, so better to place this nearer to the cable modem ?
Keep it as close as possible to the network player. So your second option.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel perfect - that will save me some back ache when I install it later 🥳
With regards to interference from physical switches, what is your take on Wi-Fi? At least it won’t have any galvanic and electrical interference right?
WiFi is hf noise. But it can be very good depending on local conditions and the gear used.
May I suggest the Ediscreation Silent Switch OCXO Extreme. Made by hand in Hong Kong it is a beautiful piece of engineering. It has an OCXO, uses audiophile quality parts, copper shielding, linear power supply. I have tried other switches, including the English Electric, and the Ediscreation sounds much better. And price is comparable. Try it with the Audioquest Diamonds and the difference is greater.
Hans, great video as always! I have a Mac mini as my music server, with an external ssd hard drive, using Qobuz and Roon for streaming from the Mac mini to my Holo Audio DAC. I plan to connect my Mac mini directly to the English Electric switch because it serves as my music streamer. Is this a reasonable option? Thanks!
You might consider investing in a network bridge first, like those by Magna and SOtM. You'll be surprised...
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Thanks so much for the quick reply! Enjoy your holidays!
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Last note I forgot to mention about my setup. I have an Intona USB isolator in between my Mac mini and Holo Audio DAC. Would you still recommend adding a network bridge in the chain with this setup? Thanks
@@DBTAudio I have these EE switches, they were running a MM Roon etc etc..I can tell you they make ZERO difference in my set up, other than looking nice, they are built great. The real issue with these is the inferior clock they come with (TXCO). If you really want to feel the impact of a audio grade switch you need to pay up and get one with an OXCO clock in it with a dedicated power supply.
As always, you communicate complicated concepts in a digestible way, thank you!
I'm using a midrange DAC/streamer with a PC connected via USB, and struggling to choose between ISORegen (USB) or network switch. Do you feel one is a noticeably superior interface?
Go for the IsoREGEN. The computer generate far more than a network connection will. So cleaning after the computer is the best option.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I’m using the ether REGEN downstairs in my mid range system (a very noticeable difference with the CA CXN v2) and the ISO REGEN between my USB streamer and my Pontus DAC as it still adds a bit more solidity to the sound and a touch more air. The ISO REGEN / LPS 1.2 made more of a difference when I had my MacBook Pro /Pure Music than with the streamer but since I already owned the ISO REGEN I decided to keep it in.
Innous Phoenix would rather help with issues with your USB. It’s a USB reclocker & linear power supply
With regards to the noise filters, this switch has noise filters, but if you are also using a power conditioner, that also has noise filters. Do you recommend connecting the switch power supply directly into the wall or to the power conditioner? And what about connecting the router's power supply to the power conditioner too? Thank you in advance.
I have never tried the difference. Sorry. But it will keep away the HF noise of the PSU from your stereo.
Thank you again for an informative review. Do you plan to review also the new Rans-1 Network Switch from Russ Andrew's?
I won't at short notice, but perhaps in the future.
Do low-noise battery packs like those supplied by Poweradd, Krisfonia etc have the potential to further improve the performance of switches like the EE 8-Switch, fully accepting that they would be less convenient to use because of the regular need to recharge?
I have no experience with those brands but in general I wouldn't use batteries to power an audio grade switch.
If you think Linear Power supplies degrade the sound. You must be using a poor quality LPS. I use Sean Jacobs DC3 with my switches. It’s an absolute must for any switch.
I only gave you my experience and the opinion of four manufacturers. Please feel free to use what you think is best.
What about just changing to a better power supply for your hub (modem/router) would this be better ?
I was looking to improve the supply for my virgin super hub & came across a linear power supply by mcru @£400 😱 but after reading the English electric website they say as you do that linear power supplies don’t work as well for switches, I’m confused 🤪
I always thought with hifi linear was better than a noisy smps wall wart.
Can you recommend a quality smps that would work?
It is my experience that all digital devices, like switches - sound less with linear power supplies.
Excellent video as usual, Hans! I am curious about the position of the computer in the setup. I would have assumed that directly connecting your NAS or Roon Core to the audio network switch would be the best option? If noise is a problem would an ether regen solve that or is it still better to have the storage/servers attached to the router? Thanks.
Connecting it to the switch might help but both are just computers (unless you use an audio grade server). If you want to connect your DAC directly to the NAS/Roon Core, an Iso REGEN between the server and the DAC will help. Alternatively you could use a network bridge. That most certainly is a better solution, provided you use a quality one.
Hi Hans, you compared the EMC standards of medical and consumer power-supplies. But these power-supplies differ in the so called touch-currents as well. These are the currents that could flow through the body of user when touching the device. But the touch-current can (will) flow into the audio equipment as well. The touch-currenct of linear power-supplies has 100Hz, the one of switched power-supplies has the switching frequency e.g. 40kHz to 100kHz. This frequencies are much closer to the audio range than the frquencies covered by the EMC standards. The touch current might have a higher impact to the sound than the EMC standard. And the maximal allowed touch current of medical power-supplies is 100uA, whereas the other power-supplies may have up to 5mA.
I can't find any reference to 'touch current' in the IEC standards. Can it be named differently?.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Might be quiesent current as well. Specified in the standards for electrical safety: 60601-1, 60950, 62368, 61010
My question is what would be the result of say, not just having one network switch in the system, but more. Let’s say you add one and yes, it's better, if you add another, is it better still, and another and another. At what point does it not get any better and start to sound worse? It indeed it does start to sound worse. I'm assuming these network switches work by removing noise, is that correct?
More audiophile switches will filter out nasties better. But it might be advisable to use a filter that does that perfectly in one go, like the Network Acoustics products I use.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I've been on their website and it looks like the don’t make the switches any more. They do however make some very expensive filters. £1500 for the most expensive. They also make something called a streaming system, the most expensive costing over £3000. I'm not sure what a streaming system is or what it does, but you could buy some really nice speakers for that money.
I've tried my system wired and wireless and I can't hear any difference. The logistics makes much easier for me to use wireless though.
So where does that leave me and everybody else who uses wireless?
It looks I was on the wrong website, Network Acoustics have a website with what looks like similar product but more up market.
I don't doubt the quality, but because I have my Bluesound attached to my Mutec MC3+USB via an expensive glass cable (Boa Acoustics), I wonder if it adds anything to the quality
I haven’t tried so I can’t say. Sorry.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel
Thanks Hans, also for the good reviews
You don't know me, but the first time i saw you was way back by multifoon Delft.
In the back every Friday they did a set up.
That moment with VD Hul monitors ( BIG) with moscode.
Hello Hans, thank you for the wonderful review. I really enjoyed the technical talk on medical vs multimedia grade power supplies. I purchased a Sonore opticalRendu bundle (media converter + LPS) after watching your review and couldn't be happier. I'm just wondering that given the conversion to fiber optics, is there still a need for upstream components like the 8switch? Or do you feel they are redundant with streamers like the opticalRendu?
I have not tried that combination. But if you want to go for an audio grade switch, go for the best (EtherREGEN) for the opticalRendu deserves that.
Hans, in your video you mention, the power supply delivered with the EE 8Switch is an AV-grade one. But when I look at EE's product description, they say it is a medical care grade power supply. Did I understand something wrong ? Thanks in advance.
I know. That's what made me check it out. They have admitted it's not and they promised to correct this.
Are you planning to review a switch of Paul Pang in the future ?
For as far as I can see there is no reason to review yet another switch that has a better oscillator and better capacitors. That doesn't mean it won't do what is promised.
I have the Aries G2 going to an Anthem STR preamp and top. Do you think the upton isoregen will improve my sound?
I have never tried that combo but the signal from the Aries G2 is already very pure. So my guess would be that you shouldn’t.
I don't use streaming services and the music files are on a hdd inside the pc music server. I have a wired connection to my router only to enable control via on a tablet. Recently I replaced this router connection with a Cisco AP54-1N wireless access point. I was surprised how good this change sounds. My question is, do you think an audiophile wap, or switch plus wap, would sound even better?
Nothing surprises me anymore but common reasoning would conclude it would make no difference.
Mere medical grade smps is now passé! A-v grade class b is de rigueur. Now what Google search term to use to shop for an av grade 5v smps for the silent angel bonn no 8 I already own...? I think HB just created a market for an upgrade product.
I'm trying to bring nuance into nomenclatures, not to point you from one craze to the other. The fact that one spec of a power supply is better doesn't mean it's a better power supply.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I actually really appreciate the finer understanding, and keeping up with subtle advances. But I have to resist urge to acquire the latest tweak. I did find myself after watching the review on Google looking at how to source a 5v multimedia class b grade power supply!
I love your weekly episodes, Hans. They seem very objective and you make the electronic aspects easy to understand.
I just bought the Innuos Zen Mk3, based on the TH-cam reviews posted by you and John Darko. It is fabulous, right out of the box.
My question, does the the Innuos already do a sufficient job of cleaning up the network signal or would I benefit significantly from a product like the English Electric 8Switch? By the way, my listening room is far from my router, so I use an Amped Wireless REA20 Range Extender to pick up the WiFi signal and use the supplied Innous network cable from the Amped Wireless to the Innuos Zen Mk3.
I'd appreciate your view since you've got experience with the Innuos.
Hard to say. Find a reseller that lets you return the switch is you’re not convinced
For $640, give the UpTone Audio EtherREGEN a try. It comes with a trial period. Made a very obvious improvement with my Lyngdorf TDAI-3400. I've never heard such an improvement for that price
Night and day difference. I also have a Zen MKIII and an eR. Use fiber (optical module) to connect you router to the eR.
Thanks!
Thank you too
Great video
Thanks!
Nice video again, as usual. I went with the same lisenced tech of Silent angel, Nuprime SW-8, with in their words upgraded power supply but just oem cable, since I already had better one's from Supra. Anyways, I can confirm your findings in my fairly expensive and well constructed setup, both stereo and home theater as well as picture. Subtle but easily noticeable changes and money well spent relatively. I also listen a lot with my headphone setup, so I like how it affects many sources.
They all say they have 'upgrades' power supplies. But it usually means they did not use the cheapest Chinese SPD but one (or two) steps better.
Also dear Hans, speaking of power supplies, try to get your hands on Silent Angel Forester F1 and review it. Thank you.
Noted!
if i use wifi, Do i need to use this product ？？？ thx
No
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel thx a lot
Hello Hans! Can you review a less expensive switch, please? I have about 3000 eur system, but I don't feel right spending 400-500$ just on the switch :O There has to be something below 200 :D
Not that I know of
Thank you for your reviews on various audio network switches. I bought this EE 8 Switch 2 weeks ago because it made a huge Improvement on PRaT with 2 different levels of music systems connected to it. However, I can not agree with you on Ether Regen switch because I also had it for 30 days then returned it. UpTone switch sounded a bit splash up top and music became less coherent. Do you think it might be because I powered it with Keces P3 LPS? Maybe I should have used the smps that came with it? I used Keces P3 with UpTone because LPS made a huge leap in sound quality on my Netgear switch. I end up going back to Netgear switch plus Keces as they made my toes tap. So was it wrong to use LPS on audio switches? But Silent Angel just came out with LPS for their Bonn N8! I’m confused now ;-(. Any scientific reason for you and EE to claim linear ps does not work well with audio switches?
You really should have used it with the PSU that came with it.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Damn! Too late now. Well, the first impression of UpTone was very good and music sounded engaging...... until it implemented a firmware update. PRaT went awol after that! Anyway, do you know the reason LPS would not be good for audio switch? Im puzzled and still trying to understand why
SMPSU's are far better able to supply current very fast. And that's what you want with binary devices like switches.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I see! But wouldnt smps inject noises and DC offset into the AC power circuits for your other components? Why would Silent Angel came out with LPS for their switch? Because their markets have asked for it?
@@GMG0479 sorry, I didn’t get you. I didn’t try 3 LPS.... where did that come from?
So there’s this myth claiming using two of these OCXO switch will lift the sound quality significantly. Honestly it sounds unconvincing! But out of curiosity I pulled the trigger and tested it out today. And my finding is WoW! It’ does it’s trick and it’s now significantly darker background verse using one! Darker background also means everything else sounded better. Anyway just sharing my findings if anyone here gets curious enough to try I’m sure you’ll be amazed! Merry Christmas!
I guess changing the power supply of the internet router itself is as important as the switcher when you're streaming from the internet.
It might. That depends on the quality of your router and its power supply.
Thank you for another quality review. Prompted by the sight of the inexpensive TP link TLS-g105 i bought it and replaced my plastic tp link switch, it was clearly better delivering flac files to my Naim Uniti, better soundstage and overall clarity.
I'm not sure what you're saying. You're using the TP-link TLS-g105 now???
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Hi Hans,
I was using 5 port gigabit TP link switch TL-SF1005D (plastic case) but i replaced it with the TP link TLS-G105 and experienced a clear improvement.
The switch connects my router to the Qnap Nas (flac files) , Pi/Boss (powered by Ifi and LPS) and Naim Uniti into B&W 684 s1. i am using cat 7 or 8 cables. i plan to connect a Ifi LN-LN0530 5v psu in place of the supplied TP link unit.
All this is on a budget using mostly secondhand equipment as i have limited funds. I have learnt a lot from your channel and respect your concise and honest approach.
Regards Paul Yates (yorkshire, UK)
The last serious good thing they made was the English Electric Lightning.
It’s just the name that is used. It has nothing to do with English Electric of old.
Very good 👌
Thank you! Cheers!
I will call my isp and ask them to replace the switches they use because it messes up my spotify stream.
I’m afraid that won’t help. Aud it grade switches only Paymans off just in front of the digital player..
What if my streamer is connected via Wi-Fi?
Then you exchange the typical ethernet problems for Wifi problems. Whether one or the other will sound better depends on how busy the local Wifi channels are at your place. Just try.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Thank you for the fast respond!
Thanks!
You bet!