I have got my Draytek 2860 router on a Zerozone LPS with an Add Powr Eau2 power conditioner, both on a separate power branch from the system off the main board. choice of power- and DC-cables matters equally. Ideally the router needs to be at least 2 feet away from any AC power. it is espeoially noticeable on spatial information and leading and trailing edge.
Tweaking the network, surprising results…
I’m a complete skeptic when it comes to Ethernet switches, “audiophile” CAT cables and so forth. I’ve played around with a few switches and found zero audible difference. As is, my net consists of a Arris modem (Optimum 500 mbps) to a Netgear Nighthawk router, cabling is Supra CAT8. So after dismissing the switch idea, I decided to tweak the power aspect of the network. I installed a Shunyata Venom C7 powercord on the Arris and a iFi LPS on the Nighthawk. Then plugged both the modem and router into a PS Audio UPC 200 with a fat Virtual Dynamics power 3 powercord. The results are REALLY interesting…there is without doubt an audible shift in the sound of my system. I can’t quite put it in words at the moment, and this could totally be my mind effin” with me but it seems as if the soundstage has been pushed back further. I need to sit down and try to understand what’s going on here. If anyone has gone down the path of playing with power upgrades I’d really like to know what you made of it.
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i was too... emphasis on ’was’... it matters a cleaned up digital feed helps produce correct spatial information, provides the music a sense of natural ease, improves bass slam depth and tone noticeably like anything in this hobby/pursuit, there are money-smart ways of achieving these objectives, and then there are empty-the-wallet methods |
Yep, your experience mirrors mine. I now have lps on every component, my best power cords, everything goes into my BPT transformer based PC. I gave up on switches some time ago, diminished sound quality vs my lps powered Netgear Nighthawk.
Makes sense these optimizations work, lowered noise floor results in better sound in both analog and digital equipment. |
Still pretty new with the whole "network" portion of audio but have been playing around with it for the last 6 weeks or so. Started out just running standard ethernet cable & moved from that to fiber with a pair of Ethernet to Fiber converters. Also added a switch just prior to the first converter. So in short... Went from a single 50' ethernet cable from the router to the streamer to:
After that I upgraded power supplies (of the 1 switch & 2 ethernet to fiber converters) with ifi iPower X units. Was so impressed with the improvement from the power supplies that I upgraded the streamer power supply with a Nuprime LPS-212. Very nice improvement with clarity, detail, & soundstage. Something else to consider that helped improve clarity was covering the short ethernet runs with expandable copper flex "tubing". |
Thanks for chiming in fellas, it’s 1230am right about now and I’ve been sitting here for the past couple hours playing track after track of recordings that I’m extremely familiar with and I keep trying to wrap my head around how things have changed. The soundstage on some really good recordings has deepened substantially. “Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis” / La&Oc Audio Society / Yarlung records / Qobuz, has gone from deep to WTF deep. There definitely are other things in the soundscape that have changed, need more listening to pick out what they are exactly….this is a pretty cool audiophile experiment. |
Welcome to the world of hi-fi. So glad that you were open minded enough to try a few things. As your resolution increases changes ate way easier to hear. On the power side of things if you feel like it buy a furutech receptacle for your wall plug. That is huge as well
A free thing people will laugh at you but use a Google quality level and make sure your speakers are perfect and they are exactly the same height. Put a straight edge over the top of them and have the straight edge lined up on the two inside corners see if the outside corners are the same distance from the straight edge. If not make sure they are. You are making sure the toe in is correct. Make sure the speakers are solid to the floor as well.
Get that all done and as you get that done have a listen each time. If interested you can pm me and I can keep you busy for a month or two of free upgrades and you will be amazed at the end result.
Regards |
More on all of this here from a recent Agon discussion. Like you I find better PSU’s made an audible difference. I also use an EtherRegen with signal in from optical from an enterprise switch plugged into a power conditioner. Just as cabeling is a component so should clean power and the Ethernet chain be. Like you @jl1ny after chasing all of it down there was an audible difference not subject to my bias but noted by my spouse who could care less. Go Sox! |
I incrementally added an Etherrgen, fiber feed, Farad LPS to the regen, Afterdark 10Mhz clock, Farad LPS to the Afterdark, Afterdark upgraded clock cable, all Farad has their upgraded DC and AC cables. The sound has become quite free of digital hash, a very beautiful sound. Three weeks ago I lent it all to an out of town friend. Now the kink...i was feeding my Grimm MU1 streamer directly with the house CAT cable and the entry point house switch. What I heard was bright and has some digital grunge, but it also had better decay and the leading edge was more defined. Some of the information is being disturbed in trying to remove the digital grunge. You will need to decide if it's worth it, but in my system there seems to be a trade off at this point in the technology. Good luck and please keep experimenting and sharing. |
My speakers are dialed in tight. I geeked out and pick up a Prexiso laser measurement gizmo off Amazon. Best toy ever! I was surprised to discover how off my speaker placement was.
Network Acoustics Muon Ethernet Filter really has my interest. I like that it’s a non-powered filter but it’s expensive. It’s placed between the switch/router and the streamer. Thing is, they recommend that a short line of ethernet is used between the Muon and switch/router. The distance from my streamer to router is a good 15 feet away so idk of the Muon would work in my application. |
LOL I have egg on my face! I was writing when I should have been reading. Lol. I looked up your system I thought by what I read that you were a non believer in anything hi-fi and that as soon as a person spends more than fifty dollars it is a waste of money. Sorry but thank you for the humbling! By they way I love your speaker choice I listened to a pair of those and really liked them. And the 300 series are wonderful amps.
Regards |
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