In the vain of the EE1, Muon Pro and other ethernet filters, has anyone tried this new product? I don’t want to hijack the Muon Pro thread which is discussing that product. The reviews I’ve read are both very positive. Apparently it has some sort of grounding also built into the device.
I find their marketing blurb to be nonsense though. For example:
CAD has felt that locally stored digital music files offered a sound quality superior to internet streaming (Spotify, TIDAL, Qobuz, etc.). In our opinion, the Ethernet Control improves the sound quality of internet streaming services to a level that the difference is practically indiscernible.
There is no “noise” as such carried over the internet. Assuming your streamer is plugged into the same switch as your NAS, the noise will be largely the same… I’m not using that as an excuse to disregard it. Even Naim have been known to have a third party write marketing blurb that was rubbish and have trading standards force them to change it (early PowerLine text for example). But when I read technically incoherent things, I don’t feel like the onus is on me to give the maker the benefit of the doubt.
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It looks like a very similar product to the EE1 in terms of form, but of course it’s five times the price. Is it better? It would be interesting to compare them.
Unlike the EE1, the EC plugs directly into the streamer using its built in RJ45 plug. Very neat, and saves the cost of another ethernet cable.
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You have the AB isolator from Sweden, 1k.
The Acoustic revive
Jcat isolator
EE E1
Sotm Cat 7
Ifi audio lan silencer
CAD
Baske
……
Good luck to find the best one. And it can even do nothing, or decrease the Prat. Or be beneficial.
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Yep it’s trend for sure. Lots of companies basically trying to solve the same issue.
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Yeah I like this idea but I do wonder if it will fit in the back of my Nd5xs2. I have a powerline and that plug is rather pronounced.
I think we are going to find that these type of devices are very system dependent. I know when I had a Node/Ndac/555DR I noticed a difference (for the better) using one of the relatively cheap galvanic isolators. Moving over to an ND555 and I thought things sounded slightly worse with it in situ, so removed it. I’ve since borrowed the EE1 and couldn’t notice any real difference other than the change the additional patch lead seem to make.
I have two friends, one with an Atom who said it was bloody amazing and another with a 500 system who said it was okay’ish. It seems to me that the bigger systems have already dealt with a lot of spurious noise in their design hence why these devices seem to have less impact. However, these things are definitely worth trying out. I’m still a bit gobsmacked at what a Chord Ground Array has done to my BT router, so don’t underestimate what they can do when these type of devices work well!
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I am still struggling to know what the supposed issue is they are solving? I am think the issue of audiophiles keeping hold of their money.
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That’s a legit concern. How to extract more money from consumers!
That being said I have an EE1 and it works for me. Surprisingly so if I’m being honest. However as @Geko says above I also think it’s system/environment dependent.
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An observation about their design of the EE1 that I made to Chord at the Bristol show.
I think that is right. Having had positive experiences with Audioquest jitterbugs (which were very much at a no regrets price level when they first came out) a hifi show discount tempted me to take a punt on the CAD sister USB grounding dongle product.
Fortunately it has delivered a major uplift in the performance of my Vitus 101 even though I’m not using the streamer/DAC board (the USB port is for a wi-fi dongle where ethernet not available) but when I tried it in my Nova I thought it made it sound slightly worse if anything.
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Agreed. I luckily had an unused Shawline that I could use instead of the freebie 1m C-stream that came with my EE1. I tried the C-Stream but the Shawline sounds better IMHO.
If you add in the cost of a better quality cable, things can get expensive quickly.
Although many, including me, have equipment racks close to the rear wall. With a fairly inflexible Chord Sarum cable into the streamer, I’d have to move my rack(s) a couple of inches further from the wall to accommodate the CAD device. EE1 works better for me in that respect.
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There’s one head-to-head review:
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I’m with you @easeback1 I checked the back of my streamer(ND5XS2) unless this device is smaller than the photo(s) I just can’t visualize how it would fit with my Powerline already in place. I do wonder if it’s bi-directional. If that’s the case perhaps it could be placed on my Switch…
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Network hygiene, lol.
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Not just system dependent, but also environment dependent.
Even if it works with particular kit (including the switches!) in one environment, doesn’t mean the electrical noise in a different environment will be the same, so the effect could be completely different. Furthermore there’s really no way to predict which one will work best (or even if any of them will even give an improvement at all!) in any particular specific setup / location.
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In respect of Ethernet cables, what counts as “better”.
The last time we tested various Ethernet cables, on the basis of perceived sound quality from the system, a basic standard Cat6 UTP patch cord won our test!
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Meaningless:
- He didn’t actually test the performance of any of them to find what the differences actually are.
- Those results apply only to his system in his location.
- He gives rules on how to use them and finds it best not applying them: doing something completely different! (Monty Python? !!)
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Those are listening impressions, I guess it’s difficult to expect more, most tests are not even made on comparison basis.