English Electric 8Switch

Hi.
New here. First post:)
Just got the Enlish Electric 8Switch.
I am impressed with the results. Better rhythm, timing an more coherent sound.
Not that happe with the Chord C-line ethernet cable.
Upgraded to In-Akustik Reference ethernet cable. A new dimension to the sound, more holographic. Better spatial separation gives the music more realism.
This is an investment in sound quality. Everything downstream will benefit.
You might as well upgrade here before changing a more expensive component downstream. However, if the system is not particularly resolved in the first place, the English Electric 8Switch wont suddenly open up everything. Just gives a better foundation.

Cheers!

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Thereā€™s an inevitability about this piece of kitā€¦ I feel the fingers twitching towards the keyboard. A couple of questions Iā€™d appreciate guidance on:

I think Iā€™ve seen somewhere that people donā€™t recommend having their computer linked to the switch that their hifi setup is on. As someone who uses a Mac mini to rip CDs to my NAS. What thoughts are there on avoiding this link?

Would I also have a direct link off my Virgin business router to the Switch for Qobuz/Tidal etc?

Iā€™m thinking Iā€™d have the following connectionsā€¦
NAS
NDX2
Router
Mac mini?

Am I missing anything important here?

Excuse if Iā€™ve missed something obvious, Iā€™m just getting into understanding the networking aspects.
:slightly_smiling_face:

On the internet router I have the QNAP NAS directly, and the 8switch daisy-chained off it, with TV, Sky box, Playstation, Roon ROCK, NDX2 connected to 8switch. The only thing running when listening is the ROCK, the NDX2, and the QNAP, the other stuff is in standby.

The laptop and some mobiles via wifi to the router. If I had a computer cabled, I would connect it to the router instead of the 8switch like I do with the QNAP, but on the EE website they have a diagram with all kinds of AV equipment plugged into the 8switch, and their claim is that the 8switch has special electrical isolation between the ports.

What the 8switch does not do is filter multicast traffic away from the NDX2. Multicast traffic in the home is typically caused by IPTV, VoIP, home automation, and UPnP and is sent to all devices on the network. Those that donā€™t need it therefore have to throw it out, causing additional work for the network card which might induce additional electrical noise. I have neither of these things and I live alone, so this does not bother me. If you have these things and, e.g., other household members are watching IPTV while you listen, you can get a separate switch which does IGMP filtering, i.e. it sends the multicast only to the devices that subscribed to it. Then you can daisy-chain router > IGMP-filtering switch > the 8switch off one port of this additional switch, thereby avoiding that the NDX2 has to bother with the multicast traffic.

Some provider-supplied routers already do IGMP filtering, in particular if you get IPTV from this provider. The Cisco switch that is often recommended on the forum does this too. So do the slightly better consumer switches, they are called ā€œmanaged switchesā€, e.g. the Netgear GS105E or GS108E (while the GS105 and GS108 do not). The managed Netgear 8-port is like 35 euros while the unmanaged one is 25

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Hi Neil - Iā€™m a very basic user too. Virgin Hub to ā€˜Inā€™ on the EE8 and two further connections to NAS and NDX2 works well. My PC and TV are cabled straight from Virgin Hub.

Hope that helps.

G

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What we do is connect just the hifi to the EE, so the NDX, Qnap and two Qbs. Most of the other stuff connects to a separate switch, so the laptop, printer etc. The Virgin box connects directly to the router without a switch. The router handles IGMP snooping, effectively protecting the EE from gubbins it doesnā€™t want.

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Hi Graeme, thanks for that. Very clear and makes sense.

Thanks HHā€¦ good guidance as ever!

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I can only speak for myself, but I think youā€™ll be in for a pleasant surprise once you acquire one of these.

Agreed. Am amazed by mine. The difference is staggering. Not what I was expecting at all. I was very much a ā€˜itā€™s all 1ā€™s and 0ā€™sā€™ man up until a few days ago.

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Iā€™m right there with you @matfff

I can only speak for myself, but I think youā€™ll be in for a pleasant surprise once you acquire a 555PS for your nDAC. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Now stop it @anon77199223. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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@marcusman I hope you donā€™t mind me making this comment here. I was recently struggling to decide whether to get an ND5XS2 or NDX2, and was much keener on the former as I didnā€™t want a display. I then saw a dealer selling an nDac for a very reasonable Ā£750. I was on the point of going for the dac and the 5XS but thought Iā€™d check with the dealer which they felt was best - the ND5XS/nDAC or the NDX2. Rather surprisingly the dealer responded unequivocally - NDX2 by a country mile. Whether they are right or wrong Iā€™m not sure but it enabled me to decide.

Back on topic - Iā€™m pleased the EE is finding new happy owners. I really like mine; as others have said it just helps music to flow in a natural way. The fact that it avoids the power supply dilemmas of other switches can only be a good thing in my book - use the little supply that comes with it and off you go.

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Donā€™t worry, some found an improvement with the Ndac /Ndx2 over bare Ndx2. Of course, for a dealer, better sell the Ndx2.

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Marcus and @matfff

The deed is doneā€¦ Iā€™ll report back! :grin:

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Hi Graeme,

Well, itā€™s ordered. Just wondering whether the TV deserves to go on the EE8 as well? I shall experiment.

Iā€™m sure it probably makes no qualitative difference to the audio replay to have all 7 ports connected to ā€˜stuffā€™ā€¦I just like to have it as a dedicated ā€˜audio onlyā€™ switchā€¦just in case. It removes any niggling doubt!

G

Interesting.
I did not listen to my dealer and insisted on a demo between NDX2 + XPS DR and 5XS2 + NDAC + XPS2.
After a week of continuous listening, I decided to go for the second combination.
It is much more musical to my ears and less transparent and analytical, than the first combination.
I do not intend, at this stage, to ā€œadvance up the ladderā€ to 555PS or ND555, because there is a limit to expenses ā€¦

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Adding my 555DR to the bare nDAC is a jump of even greater magnitude in SQ than the effect it had on my 272.

This is because the entire psu is then devoted to only powering specific circuits in the DAC - and there is nothing else in the box with the dac (such as a streaming board or preamp) to interfere with the operation of the dac.

Apologies for thread drift.

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Recently you have reported having better uplift powering the 272, instead of Ndac. Something changed? You have still 272 and Nd5xs2/ Ndac ?