English Electric 8Switch

I use Nordost Heimdall 2’s. I’m not a cable agnostic so I don’t believe in skimping on cables. I tried BJC’s and some AQ’s and C-Streams but none of them sound as good as Heimdall’s.
My analog cables are Chord Musics and I assume the more expensive Chord streaming cables would be better than the Heimall’s but I’m not going that far.

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Can anyone at NAIM enlighten us and recommend a particular cable?

Come on Mike…you know you need at least two🤪

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Holding your breath is not advised.

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As a free diver, this is highly recommended. :wink:
It is clear to me that there is a trade relationship between the two companies, but giving direction from one manufacturer to another, can not hurt, by improving the synergy between the components. is it not so ?

The relationship between Naim and Chord is not as strong as it used to be. As far as Naim recommending cables is concerned, they (Naim) now supply a range of analogue cables, which they will naturally recommend. Naim have never recommended any particular Ethernet cables, possibly because the same Ethernet cable can perform differently in different systems/environments.

I have demonstrated to myself that using expensive Ethernet/streaming cables is no guarantee of improved SQ.

I think it would be risky, even for a free diver, to hold his or her breath while waiting for Naim to recommend an Ethernet cable, or a switch for that matter.

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Didn’t they once somewhere recommend the Netgear GS105, which is good quality but basic and comes without any special audiophile promises?

I don’t think they officially recommended a switch Suedkiez
If I remember right it was in forum posts from someone like Phil Harris giving advice on network & streaming questions with something like … “all you need is a GS105”

Yes, I seemed to remember something like this but “they recommended” was the wrong choice of words, thanks for correction.
That’s as close as it will get, though, I think.

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Having got home and not played the system for 36 hours. Plugged in the new AudioQuest Cinnamon cable (replacing the supplied chord cable) for router - switch and instant improvement! Bass tighter and fuller, and treble less tinny! Or is that the switch has now been running about 72 hours? We shan’t know but I’ve now got Cinnamon running on all the connections and it sounds bloody great. Happy listener. :sunglasses:

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switched from what?

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The supplied chord cable.

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Congratulations! Happy to hear you are enjoying it.

I doubt it was the Chord C-Stream. It’s really not too bad for a cheap, Asian made cable. Of course it’s not the equal of Chord’s purpose built cables from England but I gave away the BJC’s I tried and kept a C-Stream to connect my Mu-So to the router.

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Well, this issue regarding power supplies is very strange. English Electric and Uptone have advised the use of SMPS with their switches. Hans Beekhuyzen has also advocated an SMPS. The postulated advantage is a matter of speed. But why is speed so critical for a switch? I can understand a pre-amp needing clean power. And I can understand an amplifier needing very fast power delivery. But why does a switch need this? I can also understand that a SMPS may blow back pollution / noise to the rest of the system.

As a separate point, why is it necessary to partner a £400-600 switch with a £3,000.00 power supply? I am not criticising anyone for doing so, and am pleased that people have been getting such good results, but why are such “extreme” measures necessary?

Thanks

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They are not ‘necessary’. There are levels of obsession and disposable income that are perhaps not entirely healthy. This is the Naim Forum, where £100,000+ systems are not uncommon and where people want to wring the most from them. There is a herd mentality that generates a need for the latest must have accessory; a need that didn’t exist until someone else decided it makes a difference they cannot live without.

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The costs of developing and assembling an audiophile switch may still be much lower than those of an audiophile LPS.

Hi All. Took an interest in this thread for the first couple of hundred posts and the talk was moving to cables and power supplies…checked back just now and the talk is still of cables and power supplies. Did I miss something important in-between, lol ?

Well to be fair it is still about cables and powersupplies having an effect on the 8Switch

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Many thanks for your entertaining lecture on ethics. I am sorry you so fundamentally misunderstood my post: I am interested in how things work not why people buy stuff. I hope this clarifies matters for you.

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