A Very Useful New Discovery--EON Digital Filter from Network Acoustics


I've been on a year long quest to upgrade my stereo system, hopefully for the last time. As a senior "Luddite", I have been a late adopter of steaming capability. But now I'm converted. And just in time it apparently. In August 2020, DG released a new recording of all four Charles Ives Symphonies with the LA Phil and Dudemel conducting....with no CD format available!
Currently I'm listening to music through an Auralic G1 steamer/ Benchmark dac 3 DAC B into a newly built Audible Illusions Modulus 3B preamp and a Parasound A23+ power amp. CD's are played on an Audiolab 6000 transport into the Benchmark via Toslink. Speakers are Vanderstein Treo CT's. Oh there's still vinyl. I upgraded my trusty Well-Tempered TT with a Hana ML cartridge into a Sutherland Insight phono amp. Power supplies are a Furman PTS-8 with a Greenwave for devices switched on/off and an Audioquest 1200 for the devices left on, like the amp and the pre-amp. Everything is sounding really good (mostly acoustic jazz, Americana and Classical....lotsa acoustic piano).
I read on the 'Gon about a device from the U.K. called, EON from Network Acoustics. It is an EMI/RFI filtering device. We live on the Westside of LA. There's plenty of stray noise around. The one thing that worried me was the thirty foot run of contractor grade ethernet cable I was running from the office to the Auralic G1. I generally run mid-price cables, (Audioquest Carbon USB, Rocket 88 bi-wire speaker cables with DBS, Signal silver cables to the Sutherland, etc). Researching the EON, it seemed like this unit could be an asset, or at least save the money of 30 feet of Audioquest Cinnamon cable. And it was reasonably priced (under $500.00)!
I traded e-mails with Rich. He thought I would really like it but made two modest suggestions. He suggested that I add a D-Link DSG 1008G network switch (under $30.00)  and add a short link of good cable to the EON. (I ended up using the Audioquest Cinnamon ethernet). And he also suggested I pick up a IFI 5V power supply. ($50.00)
So.....what happened?
Suddenly the bass information, seemingly missing, was deep and powerful. I can actually feel the low bass strings on Christian McBride's acoustic bass pressing on my chest. And the percussive drive of Brian Blades drumming is being felt, not just implied. (Joshua Redman, Round Again, Nonesuch). The overall focus of everything is sharper. Like when you are tuning a guitar and the last little turn gets the top E string exactly right..... not just close. Brad Mehldau on, April 2020, sounds exactly like he is playing in my living room on a well cared for Steinway. Wow! Just Wow!!!!
I foolishly, but honestly, told my wife that I don't know to make this system sound any better.  I'm all done. Back to listening to music!
Important P.S The D-Link requires a male USB 2.0 Mini-B 5pin connector. Even though the IFI comes with many connector options, this isn't one of them. Nancy had one from an old I -Pad, keyboard connector.
mwgreene

Showing 17 responses by djones51

LOL, sure. What a joke. They are engineers who understand perfectly how something works. That's the real problem. 
Since they claim it doesn't interfere with the 1's and 0's I can pass on this as my router, switch and DAC are binary. 
Modem/ router > switch . The switch is in my rack I need three connections one for each speaker one for the streamer. I wouldn't know within 5 minutes as I would be doing the evaluation in a blind AB test. 
I don’t think so. There was never any mention of a device used for measurements. He mentioned every speaker, amp, dac , wire etc.. I saw nothing about IMD, SINAD, Jitter , or anything that could take proper measurements, the only " measurements " I saw in that article had to do with bit rates and how they were filtered. He is not comparing 2 DACs with a SINAD >-110 sounding different but files manipulation and analog filters which can sound different. One may prefer one over the other.
The article is comparing ripped LP's and upsampled CD's. I don't see any mention of measurement equipment like an AP analysizer and since it's mentioned within the context of using different filters I assume he means the rates are the same no matter which filter, they are all 32/192 or 32/384 etc.. he also mentions there is very little difference at times he's uncertain. Nothing like I read here of "night and day" and "vastly superior ". 
Yeah I know they have an address too and according to Google maps it's a little house in Torquay, England so I assumed they build em in the garage or basement. 
Have any measurements showing how effective the ENO is in filtering ethernet? If you want some free publicity send one to ASR for review. 
That doesn't tell us anything other than the device specs. Connect it to a DAC and measure the output of the analog, remove the ENO and measure the same DAC. Has the DACs SINAD improved? That's how you find out if it works. 
can absolutely everything you hear be measured on a piece of electronic test gear?
Most definitely not only for humans but dogs, bats, dolphins. How many blind listen with and without tests are there? ASR would be happy to measure this chalk and cheese device , free advertising... but we both know better don’t we.. Maybe I'll buy one, 30 days huh? 
Let me guess. Veils will be lifted, noise floors will lower, night and day difference, ad nauseam. All these doodads added to the digital chain that either does nothing or what it does is inaudible is reaching the point of absurdity but as long as chumps buy the junk go for it russ.
Even using different types of dither and noise shaping it's hard to hear a difference unless they are using a lot of it to create a sound and as already said ^^^it is measurable.
Good grief dismiss engineers on ASR and promote a whacko on YouTube. There's nothing magical about ethernet or USB and both can be measured for noise beyond human hearing. Get out of the dark ages and join the 21st century. 
No need to contact Marantz just read the manual.

Improves linearity and noise characteristics in the audible
range using digital feedback. The following degrees and
methods can be set. The measurements are the same but the
sound quality changes. Set as desired.
3rd-1
(Default):
This is the best compromise
between highest signal to noise
ratio and most open and detailed
sound stage.
3rd-0:
This gives high SNR for natural
instruments but may reduce some
resolution.
4th-1:
4th order improves the SNR but this
cost resolution in sound stage.
Highest possible dynamics for
wideband music content in this
setting.
4th-0:
Even higher SNR but only up to 5
kHz. This gives highest possible
dynamics for natural instruments
and voices.

I assumed Marantz means the bit rate/ Hertz [24/192 ] stays the same when they use the term measurements. If not then I have no idea what they are talking about since they say in their literature the SNR improves using certain settings and the last one up to 5khz. Perhaps you can contact Marantz and ask them how they know the SNR changes without measuring it? And since it changes how are the measurements the same?