Yes, a more expensive clock will - other things being equal - provide a better result.
Of course, this being hifi, other things never are equal.
How the clock works within the whole circuitry of the switch - and how the switch works with the streaming board and DAC and other parts of the system will determine whether it makes an audible difference.
Iāve given up on asking āwhy?ā and just asked āis it better, or am I being had?ā.
I think itās increasingly relevant as one charts a course through upgrades on the expensive end of things. And more than anything itās applicable only on a personal situation level
Absolutely, thereās not only a problem of reduction of noise. Some donāt like the effect of mixing, for instance, copper cables with optical.
Router >Ethernet cable> switch > fiber >optical converter> Ethernet cable again: not the most straightforward.
Another convert to the EE 8switch. I have no idea what itās doing but itās made a huge difference to what I thought was a basic simple system of 5m Blue Jeans CAT6a > Router > 10m Blue Jeans CAT6a > (EE8 > 0.75m Supplied Chord) > Node 2i > DC1 > Ndac > Lavender > 552. Both the Node and EE8switch are on my Fraim. The results, for me, are really good. In fact I hadnāt quite expected it to be just so good! The jump in performance from the basic wi-fi Node 2i to what I have now has been a bit staggering - although my dealer did say this would be the case.
I had a 1m length of a Belden Catsnake 6a arrive two days ago and have been switching between that and the .75m of Chord cable supplied with the EE8 switch. At the moment I feel the Chord is the clear winner. The Catsnake sounds a bit vague to me and lacks the cohesiveness of the Chord. The Catsnake seems to push the bass more but is less precise. Quite noticeable on DBLās. Itās as though thereās a bit more digital hash on the Belden than the Chord. Unless there is a significant burn-in with the Belden I will probably stick with the Chord.
I hated the Belden Cat5e when I first heard it. It was only when Iād been messing around with the Audioquests and was encouraged to give them a good burn-in (they did improve but I still didnāt like them after weeks), that I gave the Belden a good bit of time to burn in and for a while they were my favourite. When I subsequently tried the Belden Cat6a I expected this and, indeed, their detail, grip and resolution (to use the usual terms) did improve quite a bit over several days and more.
Thanks for that Michaelb, I will persevere with the Belden for a bit longer. My only worry is that the Chord seems to have hit the sweet spot in my system i.e. that point you reach where a single tiny change makes a big difference and can destroy the whole musical illusion. Iām too experienced now to ignore this sign. I know that if I do I might end up chasing the dragon (of dissatisfaction) again. Something Iām keen to avoid!
The Belden takes a long time to reach itās best, but then as Dave points out, maybe the Chord does too. And of course it could be that whatever happens you simply prefer the way the Chord sounds in your system
I had another long session with the Catsnake last night and still couldnāt get on with it. I agree, thereās something wrong with the bass and an overall vagueness to the presentation that I find a bit annoying. Thereās no clean start/stop or edge to notes and it all sounds a bit dynamically compromised. A real anti-climax Iām afraid. When I go back to the Chord everything snaps back into focus, becomes lovely and rhythmic and has a real delicacy that allows you to hear deep into the recording. If this is Chordās cheap ethernet cable then Iām a bit frightened to try the more expensive stuff!
I tried the Catsnake and didnāt like it. I described the effect as weird at the time but think your āvagueā is better. I gave it plenty of time to run in but it didnāt really change. I use all BJC 6A and it works really well. You may want to consider moving the switch elsewhere - I like the idea of the computery bits being away from the stereo. The NAS, router and switch live in the next room with a cable through the wall to the NDX2. It looks less messy and avoids flashing lights.
MeiCord Opal works the best here for me. They come with the same certification sheets as the BJs. Iāve gone off all STP Ethernet cables. UTP cables give me more music.
Interesting thing Iāve noticed with the EE8 is itās impact on bog standard CD rips, itās astounding. Iāve got an early copy of Beggars Banquet which was almost unlistenable on the CDS3, a lot better when ripped to the Core via the NDS, but is astounding with the EE8 in the mix. Wonder why that is?
Hey guys, just got an 8switch. USing it with a Node 2i streamer, Mytek DAC and supernait 2. Regarding the supplied Chord C-Stream ethernet cable - how weird that nowhere on Chordās website or with the documentation does it say this cable is directional, yet on various online retailer websites they say this cable is directional and that the end with a black dot should be plugged into the switch/source, so thatās what I have done. Interestingly though, while I have done this, some posters on this or another thread on this site have said that the writing on the cable runs from the end with the black dot yet on my cable the writing runs from the other end of the cable and so reads backwards from the end with the black dot ! Anyway, early impressions with the 8switch in my system - colour me impressed, wow. Hoping itās not placebo but I honestly hear a very noticeable lift in bass weight, detail and high frequency clarity. Itās not subtle. Even Bluesound themselves on their forum seem sceptical that a switch should make any difference, but it does to my ears !
I remarked in the past that the information on the Chord website and what dealers say (and users report) is contradictory regarding the use of linear power supplies with the EE. I was the only one finding this weird ā¦