Stack Audio-SmoothLAN Network Filter- WOW!

The Muon Pro has great reviews but it’s 6x the price of the SmoothLAN. A different category and unfair comparison. I’m more interested in the sub $500 filter products and how they compare with each other. 

Does the SmoothLAN improve with break in? Because I only put 5 hours on it in my PC, now it’s in my main system and damm its looking good so far.

For video/TV it has increased visual detail slightly (already highly treated on the power side), and for the stereo (SmoothLAN located just before streamer) I notice a more in the room 3d effect of vocals, slightly less sibilance, and more clearer soundstage.

I did not bother with the included pigtail ethernet, just went straight to using my Melco C100 cables on either side of the filter.

So far there does not seem to be any negative effects, such as loss of fine detail or loss of transparency, which I often find with many noise reduction tweaks.

What you guys said about the ENO having reduced dynamics is exactly what I would expect having seen a picture if it’s internals - it just has each wire pair wrapped around a potted ferrite ring.

My experience with testing ferrite rings (for signal and power) is they clean up the high frequency noise but reduce transient speed and dynamic impact. They give but take away more. I don’t like them.

The back to back Ethernet filters containing ferrites and caps are well established, so filtering on Ethernet lines is effective.

Well established to work by who? This it not IT networking, but audio. The ferrites not only will choke the signal by creating a magnetism effect, effecting not only the insulator and shield in the cable, but start to magnetise the connecting components. This is why no serious high end equipment uses ferrite chokes, only cheap stuff and the products by EE types who design by theory alone.

With all due respect, what audible effect ferrites have in an analog cable (signal or power) would not necessarily be consistent with how they may work with digital cables.

In the days of SDIF cables (and later USB), I noticed ferrite had the exact same effect as signal/power. And they are considered a digital signal, although possibly not the same type of digital signal as ethernet.

@rms456 Sure, and I am not having a dig at the DXE-ISO filter, I am sure it does something positive. It probably is best to compare that one to the cheaper iFi iSilencer filter tho.

@ozzy if having 2 SmoothLAN's in series is only additive, with no negative effect, then I am sure Stack Audio will release a more powerful version of the SmoothLAN in the future. 

When waiting for a new audio toy I refresh the shipment tracking page like 50 times waiting for it to come.

The SmoothLAN was delayed from even shipping in the first place due to high demand. But it ended up being worth it, unlike many other tweaks that mostly are a let down.

@ozzy

I also have an ethernet cable out from the EtherRegen that is running to my Apple TV, so, I placed the 2nd SmoothLan before that Apple TV.

I think with this connection I am getting more additional "digititis" removed and it is improving the picture quality and... there also seems to an improvement further in my audio streaming sound.

But I’m not sure how this is possible yet. Any ideas?

The Apple TV device (or its SMPS) has noise, which rides back into the switch your streamer is connected to. The 2nd SmoothLAN isolates/removes this noise, improving the audio even though the streamer is not in the direct signal path.

I too found a nice picture improvement using SmoothLAN on my LG OLED. A slight reduction in grain and noise you never knew was there.

I am now going to check out the Stack Audio AUVA EQ footers. They could be giant killers like the SmoothLAN.

I tried taking out the SmoothLAN as a test to see if it still performs like I initially observed. This is the real test, as many tweaks fall down after the initial enthusiasm. Different is not always better.

Still all good, had to put it back in!!

I am using it straight after an LHY SW-6 switch, which itself is an overachieving priced product like the SmoothLAN is.