Phoenix net

Hi - yes, on reflection I’ve removed the ‘PS’.

Best

G

Yes there is some clutter…

2 Likes

Ooooh, this PN is an extraordinary machine. The soundstage is so wide and deep now. Musicians are pinpoint, with smearing across all frequencies totally eliminated.

Expectations totally exceeded.

G

10 Likes

Yes - so happy, that you are happy.
It is extraordinary… had the same impression…
Like all the dust is flown away and the music is airy and together at once … flowing and grooving.
Love the PN very much.
Can not thank the @frenchrooster enogh :grinning:

4 Likes

Don’t say I told you so :wink:

1 Like

@kmolds I tried one for a month and its good BUT when I switched back to my 2x ER switches with Sean Jacobs LPS I did not want to try the PN switch further. I was missing something that made the music just feel so right with the ER switches back in place. PN did loads of good stuff but I have not as engaged in the music.

2 Likes

I had the same result - I only tried it for ten days and I initially heard some good things done, but for me, in my system, the ER switch had more life and engagement. It is a good switch but I found the ER had tighter bass, was more detailed, dynamic and just more full of life.

It is good to hear the PN works so well in many systems and I had looked forward to a nice upgrade. Always worth trying these things yourself in your own system.

DB.

2 Likes

I think the big problem with the phoenixnet is the amount off time it takes to really bed in as even mine that was x demo should have been fully burnt in but still i found a difference once i had had it for a few months.
I certainly dont feel it lacks life, detail and engagement if anything it added more

3 Likes

It could be something as simple as cable choices, positioning, the power supplies we use for the ER’s or the fact we (@Darkebear and myself) had a dud unit… @Darkebear had the unit I demoed. I put a month on it and also had it with a PowerLine cable. Ok it had a few days cool down until DB took it home but it was not new when it came to me. The sound with the ER’s was not as crisp, PN was more detailed in the HF maybe but leant towards shrill in my system (rare times) overall compared to the 2x ER’s it sounded thinner and the ER’s more organic and just right. I am quite susceptible to HF that sounds off and Bass smudging and while the PN did do some things well when I switched back I smiled. I have not tried anything else since.

I asked Signals to get one in as they did not stock it at the time, so i had that unit first…….but liked it. Because of my room layout i need two switches so i use the PN after a ER with Plixir, instead of Cisco switch and ER/Plixir.

I think we are just tuning the systems to our own ears and room acoustics. What works for one person may not for all.

3 Likes

Interesting - that is not how my ER sounds (I only have the one), but I do know why.
The ER is very sensitive to the PS used - after I replaced the SMPS with my first LPS I got a big smooth sound that was everywhere better than the SMPS. Then a few months later I had to change the LPS for another smaller LPS one and the sound was unexpectedly (to me) far improved in terms of speed and dynamics, making the larger LPS sound rather reserved and lacking detail by comparison.

This is the ER switch version I compared against that PN switch - the PN was by comparison lacking in dynamics and over-warm and a bit bland and the ER had far more HF detail with fine-details on acoustics, instruments and female voice than I manged with the PN - which is why I stuck with the ER.

I had tried two ER in cascade (a friend loaned me his for a session) and it was improved in many ways enough that I would get another if one was available - but presently I will look at adding the new version when it appears. It is a lot of boxes and wiring mess and the PN does tidy things up for the systems it works well with.

The other thing I unexpectedly found recently - while fitting a CCTV system following a recent break-in (Bear countermeasures worked, but want to see them next time) - when CCTV is routed through a nearby switch to the ER = awul yuk sonic effect and turn it off and good SQ returned. So I purchased a small cheap £12, 5-way GB switch to segment the CATV signals away from the HiFi - and even without the CATV system plugged-in, when I added this little commercial switch segmenting some other network endpoints (a back-up NAS) further from my house BT Router had a notable sonic up-lift on the HiFi improving deep-bass tightness notably. The only up-side of the break-in. :bear:

But my point is that do not assume the ‘final’ good switch can do everything to fix other noise being injected elsewhere into the house system - I think my old WD NAS was a bit noisy and the cheap switch introduced regenerated that noise away and the Router then did not distribute that onward - it may be some other reason but I hear the result.

The big problem with network HiFi is the distributed system, which is why we are discussing and comparing these switches in the first place.
I know many friends that have given-up and thrown-up hands and just use CD or Vinyl to get rid of the ‘evil streaming sound’. WiFi did not fix that - it introduced worse effects, as I suspected it would, so a good solid wired Ethernet system with good components near the HiFi and the rest of the house network carefully segments (by trial and error) away from the HiFi part seems to work here.

…ramble-over.

DB.

5 Likes

They would had to have a removal van to nick your system. But shame it happened though, it is unsettling to say the least.

3 Likes

I was suitably unsettled - whole new window needed due to their damage.
…off-topic but presenly moving-on from that and discovered the improvement above.

DB.

2 Likes

I have also been toying with the idea of getting the ER-2 when it is available sometime in 2024 and add it to the whole clutter. I do love the looks and simplicity of the PN though…

1 Like

Is anyone using, or has tried a Phoenix net with a Naim NSC 222 ?

1 Like

How does “router connected to U/Serve + router also connected to NDS (via long run through loft)” fit into the switch hierarchy of things … worse than almost any switch you could name, or better than almost any switch you could name … or somewhere in between ? Thanks. Guessing the answer is going to be “better to connect them both to a switch” - but should I - ?

Yes - big improvement to the streaming quality of the Naim NSC222, as much, if not more than adding an NPX300 in my opinion.

3 Likes

It sounds like an extra (extra) power supply uplift to the DAC in the ND555.

Great machine.

G

3 Likes

If you don’t mind, what switch were you running prior to the PN? How long have you had the 222/300?

Agreed. When I first heard it through a 200 series I was gobsmacked tbh and wasn’t expecting such an uplift on a ND555 because surely for that money they’d have SQ sorted. Just shows that the power supply/noise suppression theory is well founded, whether it be the mains or through the ethernet.

3 Likes