Streaming Sound Quality - Want the very best sound quality? Network Acoustics ENO...

Just got a response from Rich. What a nice and classy guy!

See below. So I will configure the switch to make the ENO work with Melco for the time being, and will definitely order a Muon in the near future.

"I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with the ENO filter working directly between your switch and the Melco. I’ve had a look at Melco’s website and it describes that particular device as a 1Gb/s Ethernet connection. If the Melco server won’t ‘auto negotiate’ down to 100Mb/s then the ENO won’t work as it is a 100Mb/s device.

The reason it works between your router and your switch is that those devices will work at 100Mb/s.

If their is a dedicated 100Mb/s port on your switch, try using that to the Melco, or if your switch is a ‘managed switch’ you could configure a port to be fixed at 100Mb/s.

If it makes a worthwhile sound improvement in between the router and switch, then that’s where to use it, but if you wish to return it, then of course you can do that.

We do have one product that works at 1Gb/s, which would work in your situation and it’s a much better sounding filter, the Muon Pro filter, it’s not yet on our website but we can supply it. It is a bit more expensive though at £1495

I hope that helps?

Best regards,

Rich Trussell"

Network Acoustics

Hi All,

Great thread, it's rare for me to read every post! There are very few "it's all just 1's and 0's" comments too.

Whilst I've never left music I have had a long hiatus from hi-fi but I'm now back and building up a pure digital system. I'm deliberately working at the budget end of the scale to see what's possible in terms of sound quality however I'm happy to add and remove components over time in pursuit of great sound (for me).

My setup is pretty simple and basic compared to all of you guys:

5G (Mobile) Router

certified cat 6a to TP-Link Switch

AudioQuest Cat6 Pearl to 10Gtek FMC

10Gtek Fibre to 10Gtek FMC

AudioQuest Cat6 Pearl to ifi Zen Stream (12v ifi iPower 2 SMPS)

WireWorld Chroma 8 USB to ifi Zen DAC v2 (5v ifi iPower X SMPS)

I also have a pair of ifi AC iPurifiers in the power strip.

Everything sounds pretty good, but I can tell there is more to be had here. I have over 30 years in a wide variety of IT roles but I'm not in the "it's just 1's and 0's" camp where audio is concerned.

With my "budget" hat on I have ordered a reasonably discounted EE 8Switch that I intend to place between the second FMC and the Streamer. I've also got a couple of other iPower X's on order one of which will grace the Router and my Zen Can.

My first (of many questions) for the experts here is: my Router has a spare switch port - should I plug the first FMC directly into this, or leave it in the TP-Link (along with the "rest of the house network")?

Secondly, what's the consensus on the FMC's - shall I leave them in the path or remove them? (I'm happy to experiment of course).

I've got my eye on various other upgrades but at some point, the dollars/pounds will be spent on the streamer or DAC rather than cables and digital magic boxes.

Other than this, thanks for a great post!

@jabbaman 

Welcome back to the pursuit of great audio. IMO, you have a decent streaming setup with iFI Zen combo. My question is what is your time line in terms of upgrading the streamer and DAC? If you planning to keep the Zen combo for a while, then i would replace the wall warts power supply (SMPS) on both to a LPS (linear power supply).  You can get a very nice LPS that can power both Zen’s. This is where you get the most bang for your buck and improvements in SQ. 

As far as upgrading the Ethernet signal path, It’s a hot mess. So many ways you can tweak the signal chain. My advise, keep on experimenting and find that sweet spot. I believe in ‘less is more’ in the Ethernet path. The EE8 on the way, experiment with and without the FMC. My experience with FMC’s is not great so I recommend trying ENO passive filter at some point in-between your EE8 and Zen stream. 

Have fun and share your findings! 

@lalitk, thank you for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.

I'm sure I'll keep the Zen stack for at least six months, probably longer. Do you have any particular LPS's in mind to recommend that can power the Stream and DAC?

I'm aware that power supplies are a whole different rabbit hole of potentially infinite tweaking!

As an experiment today I have taken Ethernet out of the equation entirely and enabled Wi-Fi on the Zen Stream. I do have a fairly good Wi-Fi setup in the house and it's usually performant and reliable. What I have noticed is that the sound quality is absolutely flawless, the bass is strong, the vocals are clear and well-defined, the sound stage is wide and the silent moments on acoustic tracks are completely silent. I'm now wondering whether this might be the way to go as Wi-Fi itself has no interference. I could potentially further upgrade the Wi-Fi mesh and feed it properly with good power and who knows?

“Do you have any particular LPS's in mind to recommend that can power the Stream and DAC?”

@jabbaman 

I have used iFi and JCAT LPS. The are so many other brands, I suggest that you start a new thread on LPS recommendations if you prefer not to weed through threads here :-) Please be sure to state your budget and voltage specs of Zen combo. I would pick a LPS manufacturer that doesn’t cheap out on DC cables. The quality of DC cables matters too!