Router and Ethernet Switch suggestions

[Al Jones]

 

http://www.myhifishop.de/Devices/AQ-SWIT...anguage=en

 

At first glance this looks like a similar concept to the Paul Pang, one obvious difference being that it is twice the price! Does anyone know anything about this item, or any idea if it might be worth the 400 Euro asking price?

 

Ordered one yesterday. Will report back once I have played with it a few days.

[Al Jones]

Yes, it is a modified D-Link. They make no secret of that. See review HIFISTATEMENT | netmagazine - AQVOX AQ-SWITCH-8

 

[Al Jones]

WHY would you spend $400 Euro when you could spend WAY less and go fiber, and even less and go Wireless.

 

This makes no sense.

 

I have experimented with these things continuously since I went from CD playback to a Slim Devices Transporter 10 years ago.

 

At no time since then have I ever found wireless anywhere near acceptable in terms of stability or SQ.

 

A few months ago, I invested in TP-Link fiberoptics, based on high praise here and elsewhere. It didn't take long to discover that the SQ was markedly inferior to wire.

 

I have had positive experiences with the Aqvox 5V wall wart and USB cables, so after the Hifi Statement review, I decided to take a chance. The switch appears to build on Paul Pang's work and I have had great results with several of his products.

[Al Jones]

I noticed their claim that "The enclosed power supply is optimally matched to the High-End Switch. Other, supposedly better power supplies, including The AQVOX Low-Noise power supply have a deteriorating effect on the sound."

 

It will be interesting to see whether putting an LPS-1 in earlier in the signal path will be beneficial.

[Al Jones]

For reasons unknown, the Danish postal service managed to overshoot Århus, Denmark, by over 800 km and send the parcel to a transit station in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

The Aqvox switch arrived today. I will set it up tomorrow, play with it a few days and report back.

[Al Jones]

Hearing things

Here are my first impressions of the Aqvox AQ-Switch-8 (modded D-Link DGS-108) with 100 hours on it. I strongly suspect that the switch hasn't yet reached its peak, but only time will tell.

 

I installed the Aqvox switch as close as possible to my modem/router in the basement with only the following connections:

 

1m Argento silver interconnect from grounding screw to Entreq Minimus grounding box

25cm Meicord LAN from input 1 to Sonic Transporter

25cm Meicord LAN from input 7 to modem/router for Tidal access

5m Meicord LAN from input 8 to LAN wall panel

 

From wall panel (upstairs) 3m Meicord LAN to Etalon Ethernet Isolator - 0.5m Meicord LAN to Microrendu (LPSU-1) - Sbooster Vbus2 - 15cm Elijah USB cable with 5V DC injector (LPSU-1) - Lyngdorf TDAI-2170 DAC/ room correction/pre/power/active crossover.

 

Haven't tried plugging in non-audio components, since I have other switches for that.

 

Experimented with/without grounding box. Definitely staying in. Tried various PS, including LPSU-1, Keces, Sbooster. Nothing improved on the Aqvox modified D-Link PS.

 

The effect of the switch is far from subtle, if not quite earth-shattering. Whether it is worth the money is strictly a personal choice, but I know I'm not parting with mine.

 

Sonically, things are tighter, more solid, with more space between voices and instruments and a clearer rendering of low-level detail. Fadeouts last longer. The slight intake of breath just before a singer bears down is more clearly discernible. Audience noise on live recordings is more distinct and separate.

 

High female voices (most of the ladies on Blue Coast DSD) bloom with greater ease and naturalness.

 

I can crank things up louder with no stress or strain.

 

In general, CD tracks are now closer to the purity and sweeter tonality of Hirez.

 

I won't pretend to have any kind of plausible explanation as to why this should be. I'm just going to kick back and spend the foreseeable future rediscovering my music, beginning with every live recording in my collection.

[Al Jones]

I just spent a couple of weeks conducting a head-to-head shootout between the Aqvox AQ-Switch-8 network switch (€398) and the more recent upgraded version Aqvox AQ-Switch SE (€798). Owners of the original can have it updated to SE by paying the difference. For clarity's sake, I will refer to them in the following as the original and the SE.

 

As always, the usual disclaimers apply. I have no affiliation with Aqvox except as a satisfied customer.

 

My initial impressions of the original can be found here:

 

On 11. marts 2017 at 4:04 PM, Al Jones said:

Hearing things

Here are my first impressions of the Aqvox AQ-Switch-8 (modded D-Link DGS-108) with 100 hours on it. I strongly suspect that the switch hasn't yet reached its peak, but only time will tell.

 

I installed the Aqvox switch as close as possible to my modem/router in the basement with only the following connections:

 

1m Argento silver interconnect from grounding screw to Entreq Minimus grounding box

25cm Meicord LAN from input 1 to Sonic Transporter

25cm Meicord LAN from input 7 to modem/router for Tidal access

5m Meicord LAN from input 8 to LAN wall panel

 

From wall panel (upstairs) 3m Meicord LAN to Etalon Ethernet Isolator - 0.5m Meicord LAN to Microrendu (LPSU-1) - Sbooster Vbus2 - 15cm Elijah USB cable with 5V DC injector (LPSU-1) - Lyngdorf TDAI-2170 DAC/ room correction/pre/power/active crossover.

 

Haven't tried plugging in non-audio components, since I have other switches for that.

 

Experimented with/without grounding box. Definitely staying in. Tried various PS, including LPSU-1, Keces, Sbooster. Nothing improved on the Aqvox modified D-Link PS.

 

The effect of the switch is far from subtle, if not quite earth-shattering. Whether it is worth the money is strictly a personal choice, but I know I'm not parting with mine.

 

Sonically, things are tighter, more solid, with more space between voices and instruments and a clearer rendering of low-level detail. Fadeouts last longer. The slight intake of breath just before a singer bears down is more clearly discernible. Audience noise on live recordings is more distinct and separate.

 

High female voices (most of the ladies on Blue Coast DSD) bloom with greater ease and naturalness.

 

I can crank things up louder with no stress or strain.

 

In general, CD tracks are now closer to the purity and sweeter tonality of Hirez.

 

I won't pretend to have any kind of plausible explanation as to why this should be. I'm just going to kick back and spend the foreseeable future rediscovering my music, beginning with every live recording in my collection.

 

Aqvox tries to describe the improvements introduced in the SE without creating a virtual DIY recipe: newly developed phase correction, new, optimized oscillator for a factor 10 more precise clock generator, additional interference suppression components, carefully optimized internal power with additional Ultra-Fast capacitors, metal housing lined with butyl rubber...

 

All my listening was done in the system described in my March 11 review of the original, with a silver connection from switch to Entreq grounding box and an Akiko RJ-45 Tuning Stick inserted in an unused port on the switch. With more than 8 months experience living with the original, I had no great expectations for what the SE could bring to the party at twice the price, but the short answer to that turned out to be simply "even more of the same."

 

Skeptics can scoff all they want, but these modified switches do bring out more music with substantially more room information and natural ambience, resulting in a sonic image with enhanced dimensionality and solidity.

 

The enhanced background clarity and intertransient silence of the SE provide worthwhile improvements that make music listening so much more effortless and relaxed for hours on end. Apparently, the SE reduces noise and eliminates background distortions and disturbances that the listener probably wasn't even consciously aware of.

 

The improvement is subtle, but consistent across the board, enhancing top-to-bottom coherence, instrumental timbre and the sheer musicality and "physicality" of the listening experience.

 

If you're still running your system on a standard switch, you owe it to yourself to audition an Aqvox. If you're a satisfied user of the original Aqvox and have the discretionary income, look into upgrading to the SE.

 

In my system, the SE is definitely a keeper.

[Al Jones]

Any details, spex, date, etc. for an Uptone switch?