One step forward: ER +lpsu

@MichaelF The bit that gets me is that the music is stored on the Melco, the Melco is connected directly to the ND555. The ER is before the Melco and as far as I am aware nothing is going into the Melco! The Melco has everything on it! I guess the Melco and in turn the ND555 need to have access to the network and its this network noise thats dealt with but the change I heard last night is greater than any cable change I have done! I guess the ND555 really is an incredible piece of kit and when its given fantastic conditions it really becomes the beast that maybe only a few get to experience. There is almost no way a demo would show the ND555 off to its actual true potential which in my experience now is far in excess of the CD555 but at first I thought they were possibly equals…

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Stop it getting really envious…waiting😉

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I’ve been pondering a related question: if I tidy up my apartment before the cleaning lady arrives, will the end result be cleaner than if I’d done nothing? The data remains inconclusive so far.

More conclusive is that the ER does get a useful performance boost from a decent LPS (Uptone JS-2 in my case).

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Hi @Steve,
Happy to hear that you have had so much success with your ER+LPS. I’m muddling through the audio grade switch issue and currently have the EE switch with the Chord ethernet patch it came with.
Would you mind telling me exactly what your system is starting from router to ND555 along with which ethernet wires and lengths?Sorry to impose but I cant seem to notice any change in SQ with the EE.
Thanks

Same here, I hear no improvement in SQ.
PS: Best case, kind of similar performance with or w/o ER, the other times, sounds kind of worse with the ER (if I listen carefully and in focus).


BrianBunker55

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If only Simon-in-Suffolk or Hungry Halibut or kuma or anon82117578 say these are good, then they are good. I know they are very fair and they know what they hear, judged from their highly respected and valuable posts over the years.

Perhaps believing blindly in other opinions is not always recommended?

@jsaudio hi, apologies for the delay in response, its been busy round here of late!

I use a BT router, stock power supply > Catsnake Cat6 Floating ethernet cable 1m to patch panel in wall > unknown ethernet cable in wall to patch panel in lounge > 3.5 m Catsnake Cat 6 Floating Ethernet cable to Ether Regen > ER powered by Sean Jacobs DC3 p/s > Catsnake Cat 6 Floating 1m to Melco N10 > Catsnake Cat 6 Floating or Audioquest Vodka 0.75 from Melco to ND555. Both final cables offer something different. I still prefer the Catsnake but am giving the Vodka more time based on other forum users views.

The Melco is on the bottom of the ‘Brain’ Fraim rack and the ER is between the 500 Head and the 552 Head all on Med shelves.

Hope that helps a bit!

Thanks for the detailed reply. Will need to re-evaluate.

You can put all the server switch stuff in a different room but I found the ER especially was not noisy and made zero difference to my system in place or not. I tested while I had the Cd555 as everything else was connected as I had the Melco set up for a month or so before the ND arrived. Adding the Melco made no difference in that set up either. If anything filling a blank shelf possibly made things slightly better! Others have different experiences but I like to somewhat test these things and trust my ears/brain. You know when what you hear is pleasurable to you. I don’t listen for HiFi stuff btw, I just go with what sounds most natural and enjoyable.

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Exactly what I found.

It’s ok not to hear any difference and, if any, not liking it.

This forum isn’t “real life” and what’s shared here is not to be taken as gospel truth, even if presented that way by some forum members.

Put it that way : if the EE doesn’t make any difference then you just saved a few hundred pounds, euros or whatever your currency is :innocent:

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No, it’s much more important than that.

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Thanks again @Thomas for your valuable and sage advice.

Yes, I could try that. I have 2 or 3 Cisco switches in the cellar and one them is a 2960 PD with SFP slots.

I even have the Sonore Optical Module I could play with (I didn’t send it back) .

Lots of options here, but not a lot of time to test them.
I’m writing this message while resting… at the climbing gym :person_climbing:

You could also try the Cisco PD between your wall socket and streamer - which could be via PoE if your main Cisco is PoE enabled.

That audibly cut the noise floor in my system vs one Cisco. And in ElMarko’s.

If you get the chance to compare the Sonore module into ER via Ethernet - vs Cisco - vs the direct ER Optical you use now then I’d be interested in what you think.

Time is always an issue - especially when you reach a ‘pleasure hiatus’ point with the HiFi and do not want to risk inadvertently creating problems, especially when there are other things to be juggled with your time…I know it well! :bear:

DB.

Not sure I understand how that could bring an improvement.

With my current setup, I’m already completely isolated from the network.

Apart from not having a lot time for tweaking, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.

When it sounds that good, the desire of upgrading or tweaking just isn’t there anymore.

The piano sounds so good! Attacks, decays… and this floating and airy sound which reveals the recording venue. So enjoyable!

And I guess I’m getting used to this slightly leaner sound I’ve describe previously.

After the gym I listened to 2 tracks from those albums. What a delight!


I might try the following setups :

[Cisco]—(fiber)—[ORendu]—(Ethernet)—[ER]----(Ethernet)—[ND555]

[Cisco]—(fiber)—[Cisco]—(Ethernet)—[ER]----(Ethernet)—[ND555]

What I have now is much simpler:

[Cisco]—(fiber)—[ER]—(Ethernet)—[ND555]

Well, you said above that the ER did not make a clear downward SQ difference when you removed it - in your system.

You explained this, iirc, by saying that it seemed to ‘take away’ as much as it ‘added’ - or something to that effect.

Using PoE Ciscos seems to be definitely better than using one Cisco.

So it may be possible in theory that PoE Ciscos might equal or beat an ER in your system, is it not?

Certainly worth the 5 minutes it would take to plug it in (if your main Cisco can send PoE).

Not sure I said that :thinking:

I guess you’re oversimplifying my description :
–> One step forward: ER +lpsu

And I’d add @Darkebear’s description which mirrors exactly what I percieved.
–> One step forward: ER +lpsu

One good thing about the ER is the fiber, it cuts all electrical noise.

Powering the second Cisco through PoE doesn’t solve the noise problem.

Adding a second Cisco to the rack would take more than 5 minutes, my network cabinet is relatively crowded :rofl:

I might do some experiments, but for now I’m enjoying my system and don’t feel the need to make changes. It sounds lovely ! :blush:

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