The ZTE simply sits on a windowsill upstairs. Weāre tantalisingly close to 5G here, but for now itās 4G, which gives us a typical speed of 65Mbps. Thatās enough to enable simultaneous 4K streaming on two TVās and whatever else youāre up to. We have two TP Link RE550ās around the house which provide 5Ghz coverage to every room.
You dump your landline and conventional broadband. Three provide unlimited data for Ā£20 per month. If Three are no good where you live (borrow a sim and test first, upstairs windows !) then buy a SIM only deal for whichever signal is strongest where you live - unlimited wonāt be that cheap though - and your own 5G modem/router off a popular auction site (Three bundle one into the deal for free). Sell all your switches, Ethernet cables etc at the same place.
So (with Three) itās cheaper, fast enough for anyone not into extreme gaming, and you can get rid of loads of wiring and devices. Sound quality? I canāt notice a difference. I have asked that very question on here before, but I havenāt got a definitive answer tbh. Simonās comment above about āno noiseā suggests there should be no difference, but as ever Iāll defer to his expertise.
Finally - think of it as 4G/5G rather than āwirelessā to avoid confusion !
Thanks Mike. If thereās no sound quality improvement Iāll stick with what I have. To be honest thereās minimal ethernet wiring - just between the BT Hub and Melco and which incorporates the EE8 switch and EE1 isolator. The Melco sits around 3m or so from the BT Hub so itās no big deal. All other connected devices are wireless. Also we live in a bungalow. Itās a dormer but probably not quite so high as a typical house.
Your set up is intriguing though. Iāll investigate out of interest. Thanks again.
I use a the psu Ferrum Hypsos (1100 Euro) for my netswitch English Electric sw 8. and this is huge optimizing. Better Timing, cleaner, wider, more freshness and more lively. Especially since I use an iFi DC Purifier too.
A netswitch should also be equipped with a ground cable. I had one of these made by a specialist dealer, with an RJ45 Ethernet plug at the end and a banana plug with crocodile clip for the power distributor at the beginning.
All devices, where one is to minimise common mode currents, should be fitted with a safety earth cable.
Most commercial grade ethernet switches will be earthed for electrical safety reasons. Some consumer devices with separate DC powersupplies donāt do this so can raise the propensity for common mode/stray currents flowing though connecting cables. These should be avoided, or as in your case use a seperate earthing strap, but this does need any specialism to do at all. Just normal domestic EM hygiene. In fact if into hifi I suggest one leans how to do this basic procedureā¦ as it can come up regularly.
But beware an RJ45 socket might not be earth grounded by design, and I would focus on grounding the chassis and 0volt planeā¦ rather than the shield on the Ethernet lead. With the latter you must be careful to avoid Earth/ground loops in your setup ā¦ this wonāt necessarily be audible as a hum, but could add errors into your network.
Are we saying then that devices such as the Chord EE8 switch should be avoided as, powered by a SMPS with no earth connection, they are bad news? Most people, including myself, have experienced improvements with the EE8. Then thereās the BT SH2 - no earth on that! Hard to avoid that oneā¦!
I have never heard of fitting a separate earthing strap anywhere. Certainly Chord make no mention of this in the instructions that come with the EE8. Are they missing something of vital importance here?
Not questioning your advice or knowledge here Simon, which is far beyond mine, just a little bemused by it all! This seems to be a can of worms thatās been opened and which is reluctant to have the lid replaced! Itās enough to make one want to junk the Melco and just play CDās again - as indeed my wife does!
My own set up includes a Plixir LPS on the Melco. Now this is earthed, (fed by a Powerline). Since the Melco is connected via ethernet to the EE8 and BT Hub, and to the Pixir LPS via a DC cable, does this mean that the network components are actually earthed? Presumably if this is the case then adding an earthing strap would make things worse. Wouldnāt it?!!!
Avoided in terms of connecting directly to hifi products if you are worried about electrical noise.
An EE SH2 actually has a kind of Earth through the twisted copper feed, so possibly less acute than some devices.
But yes a device that has a ground floating from earth, and indeed may be double insulated if directly mains powered without an earth, will likely generate common mode currents.
I find a tell tale sign, on double insulted devices if you touch some metal work, you can sometimes feel a slight tremorā¦ this is a leakage ground current passing through youā¦ its totally safe, but aware that current will be looking for its lowest impedance path to ground, and that could be through to your earth grounded hifi.
But remember a lot of people find these subjective findings moving from one unknown state to another with only some notional concept of subjective assessment to go by. So it doesnāt even mean necessarily you have lowered common mode interference, you simply prefer the end results.
Remember Naim tune the noise from digital electronic system in systems like DACs and streamers to provide the most pleasing audioā¦. noise isnāt always bad, and the reduced serialisation clock phase noise of the English Electric switch might outweigh any possible added common mode noiseā¦ unless you measure you wonāt know what is going onā¦ but grounding the casework sounds sensible if not earthed through the mains connection (easy to verify with an ohm meter) . I do that on very noise sensitive installations that are separately DC powered.
However I prefer to remove noise where I can and focus on other things like room treatments to give me my preferred audio. For me that is more deterministic, it gets me away from tweaking hyper sensitivity. Thatās my choice. I used to suffer from system tweaking hyper sensitivity, and after a while became a drag.
Now the only thing I find I need to focus on is DIN plug / socket decoupling and ensuring interconnects are in as much free space as possible as I prefer the audio performance of non return shielded interconnects.
Yes, Iāve notuiced this on a few things. It is present on our two Muso QBās if touching the metal top plate or metal ring on the control dial. Not that Iām going to do it, but if this metalwork were connected to ground could this possibly then result in a subjective performance increase?
Likewise the same for my EE8 switch.
I know there are some manufacturers that now produce grounding devices - the idea being that one connects as many component caseworks to a grounding device as possible to lower the noise floor. I think Russ Andrews and Nordost do something along these lines.
Itās interesting that the Chord Company have taken a slightly different approach. Whilst acknowledging the vital importance of eliminating noise their solution, rather than connecting to ground, is their various Ground and Power Array devices. These apparently provide a low impedance path for noise to dissipate into - well, whateverās inside the things. Warnings of dire consequences if one attempts to open them mean weāll probably never know whatās inside. Cotton wool for all I know! But they do work - and extremely effectively - I can vouch for that. At least to my ears in my system.
I know what you mean about it all being totally subjective and perceived improvements not necessarily correlating well with measurements. The possibilty here is that, if thatās the case, then weāre measuring the wrong things.
I also used to suffer from tweaking hyper-sensitivity. And yes, that way lies madness. I now keep tweaking to a minimum. But my experience with the Chord S6 and M6 mains blocks (I have both) and their Power Array has been so positive that I do seriously believe that this is the way forward to markedly better performance. At least for me.
From hanging around these parts for the past few years Iāve seen some of this journey youāve gone on and must admit I find it fascinating. You seem to be able to analyse the science, the sound and your reaction to the sound and are not afraid to admit mis-steps.
Indeedā¦ this has been said many times before, but it doesnāt always align to simplified markitecture diagrams and explanations often targeted at non technical audiophiles.
If one is genuinely interested of real world measurements and development and understanding in the audio engineering industry, then the AES library is a great resource from engineers, scientists, educational establishments and industry from around the world.
Thanks, I guess it betrays my profession. True engineers look to challenge, understand and learn. If you never have mis steps you are unlikely to learn I guess.
One thing you can try is to avoid seeking instant gratification on tweakingā¦ you might increase the chances of long term success in doing this.
Try and be objectiveā¦ think about what you are trying to achieve. Do the changeā¦ leave it for at least an hour before you listenā¦ then listen over a day or so. If it helps use familiar pieces of music and write down what you are noticing.
This takes time, but you are more likely to long term optimise your system and avoid wrong turns or placebo effects. Audio replay is compromised, and so we focus on certain attributes that are important to usā¦ especially in higher end audio, and itās going to be different between groups of peopleā¦ there is no one size thatās fits all apart from reality ā¦ but as such it is an area that is prone to bias, expectation bias etcā¦ and you can spiral into a rabbit hole loosing a real sense of perspective. Remember the recordings/productions you are listening to are compromised from reality and typically quite processed as well.
Just think on how many super high end systems you have heard, and you donāt know where to look in emberassment in what is to you a really poor performance. But equally one canāt expect everyone to fall in love with your prized setupā¦ the only concession typically is that your family kind of need to enjoy it
Tweaking is time consuming and detracts from musical enjoyment.
However with a streamer I find it unfortunately mandatory. No way to consider a cheap Ethernet cable and a cheap network switch as Naim advises.
Even today, on most hifi shows, Naim comes with an EE8 switch and some c stream cables from Chord. Itās a departure from before.
I took a lot of time to find the best in order to upgrade the network and the sound of my Nds. When I bought it, I was a bit disappointed, as my ex CDX2 was clearly more involving.
Today I have no complaints anymore.
Yes indeed. And itās this very thing that happened to me in the past and it lasted for a long time before I finally surfaced again! In the meantime I tried endless tweaks in an attempt to get things to what I imagined would be ārightā. Itās this that finally convinced me to keep tweaking to an absolute minimum - I really donāt want to be in that dark place again. Iād sooner own just a Muso than go there again!
These days if I try something, like the Chord mains blocks or Power Array that Iāve bought, I try as far as possible not to have any particular pre-conceived expectations of what to expect. Of course Iāve read reviews on-line but Iāve been around long enough to be very wary of the claims that they often make of life-changing improvements.
In the case of the Chord devices - the blocks, EE8, EE1 and Power Array the improvements I noticed were unexpected. I always half hope that I wonāt notice any great improvements and then Iāll save the money! Also, as you say, I never jump to rapid conclusions. What can seem like an immediate improvement can sometimes pale into insignificance after a week or so.
Nonetheless Iāve been very impressed with the Chord Co. stuff. It makes listenimg more fun - which is what Iām after.
I have certainly found this with my Melco N100. Reducing the noise entering from the network seems to be of critical importance in achieving musical enjoyment. Noise simply destroys the music. It impacts on timing, speed and musical coherence.
Increasing isolation from noise using the various devices I have in my set-up has been rather like upgrading from a Dual 505 turntable to an LP12. It really is that musically significant.
Iām using an MCRU PSU with my EE8. I must admit I struggled to notice much difference to the stock PSU it came with; but I did notice an improvement when adding an EE1.
Ferrum Hypsos is a really good linear powersupply,.that can be implemented against many devices with success.
