A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming

[charlesphoto]

43 minutes ago, kennyb123 said:

 

Shunyata's V14 Digital might be better in this application.  The V14D includes a different filter that comes from their medical division.  It's intended for "digital only" components (no analog stage).  I was able to compare the V14D to an NR V12 on the Farad Super3 powering my M-Scaler.  There was a noticeable reduction in the noise floor.  I'm using a V14D on the Farad Super3 powering my EtherRegen as well.  The V14D is priced at $250 and in my system it punches above its weight.  

 

Good to know but I'm fine for now and it sounds great to me. Originally bought it (at discount price - $350) for my Naim DAC V1 but too much bass and darkness and it just wasn't right. But yeah, if I knew it was going on the Sonore LPS I would have probably gone for what you recommend in the first place. For the V1 ended up making a cable with the AV Options Cryo'd 12AWG 'Tibia' and a Furutech F-11M(CU) plug and that retained the lively Naim sound. 

[kennyb123]

1 hour ago, charlesphoto said:

Good to know but I'm fine for now and it sounds great to me. Originally bought it (at discount price - $350) for my Naim DAC V1 but too much bass and darkness and it just wasn't right. But yeah, if I knew it was going on the Sonore LPS I would have probably gone for what you recommend in the first place. For the V1 ended up making a cable with the AV Options Cryo'd 12AWG 'Tibia' and a Furutech F-11M(CU) plug and that retained the lively Naim sound. 

Interesting observations - thanks for sharing.  It’s my understanding that the new NR V2 have shifted the Shunyata house sounds more in the speed/PRAT direction with the change to a different conductor.  One has to stretch to at least their $1000 Delta to get that though.  I plan to get one or two next year.

 

The Venom V10 and V12 NR generally deliver a really good bang for the buck.  I’ve tried them both and ended up with a V12 NR on both my home theater receiver and the Farad powering my TT2.  

[charlesphoto]

23 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

Interesting observations - thanks for sharing.  It’s my understanding that the new NR V2 have shifted the Shunyata house sounds more in the speed/PRAT direction with the change to a different conductor.  One has to stretch to at least their $1000 Delta to get that though.  I plan to get one or two next year.

 

The Venom V10 and V12 NR generally deliver a really good bang for the buck.  I’ve tried them both and ended up with a V12 NR on both my home theater receiver and the Farad powering my TT2.  

 

Naim gear can be quite finicky with cables - they pretty much 'voice' their gear using their inexpensive though good 'Tibia' 14AWG Well Shin cable and/or their $$$ Powerline. The AV Options take the standard and notch it up a bit with Cryo and a new 12AWG version or better plugs , but at an almost $150 premium for a basic Wattgate plug (they leave the molded iec end as is). I figured I'd buy a better Furutech and DIY it myself. The Venom NR V10 on the DAC V1 didn't lose any PRAT, but the bass was so heavy it made the mid range recede and just wasn't that pleasant to listen to voices esp. otherwise beautiful and refined. Could partly be the room as well, but works great on the Sonore LPS. Couldn't try it on my Naim amp as that has a vintage bulgin connector that I had Sean Jacobs make up one of his Powerblack's for me. Nothing to complain about there. 

[kennyb123]

15 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

 

The Venom NR V10 on the DAC V1 didn't lose any PRAT, but the bass was so heavy it made the mid range recede and just wasn't that pleasant to listen to voices esp. otherwise beautiful and refined. Could partly be the room as well, but works great on the Sonore LPS. 

I went through a period where just about every upgrade moved me a few steps forward in most areas but a step backwards in the bass.  I think I finally moved past that last year after moving my speakers and also adding ASC isothermal tube traps.  For two many years I neglected my room. Quite astonishing the improvements once I did focus on the room though.

[charlesphoto]

2 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

I went through a period where just about every upgrade moved me a few steps forward in most areas but a step backwards in the bass.  I think I finally moved past that last year after moving my speakers and also adding ASC isothermal tube traps.  For two many years I neglected my room. Quite astonishing the improvements once I did focus on the room though.

 

You'll have to come and talk with my wife about that! I've done what I can, including the 'rack' having to remain an Ikea Besta which I've modded by screwing the whole thing together, double shelving the shelfs and a 3" thick butcher block on one for the amp and Herbie's grungebuster under all of the feet. There's always compromises to be made.... and moving speakers out into the room, esp with younger kids running about, is not one of them. 😅

[kennyb123]

2 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

 

There's always compromises to be made.... and moving speakers out into the room, esp with younger kids running about, is not one of them. 😅

Not uncommon to have such constraints.

 

[agladstone]

On 10/21/2020 at 2:51 PM, kennyb123 said:

 

Shunyata's V14 Digital might be better in this application.  The V14D includes a different filter that comes from their medical division.  It's intended for "digital only" components (no analog stage).  I was able to compare the V14D to an NR V12 on the Farad Super3 powering my M-Scaler.  There was a noticeable reduction in the noise floor.  I'm using a V14D on the Farad Super3 powering my EtherRegen as well.  The V14D is priced at $250 and in my system it punches above its weight.  

 

Any idea how the new Shunyata’s compare to the older ones? I have several V10’s (mostly for power conditioners and power supplies) and then a bunch of the Ztron Delta’s on the rest of my gear except a Venom Digital (I believe it’s 12AWG) on my Aurrender Streamer. I was going to upgrade to the Delta NR, but I missed out and seems they’re all sold out. I was contemplating one of the new V10NR’s as a replacement for my Aurender, but based on what I’m reading, seems like you wouldn’t recommend that? 

[kennyb123]

23 hours ago, agladstone said:

Any idea how the new Shunyata’s compare to the older ones? I have several V10’s (mostly for power conditioners and power supplies) and then a bunch of the Ztron Delta’s on the rest of my gear except a Venom Digital (I believe it’s 12AWG) on my Aurrender Streamer. I was going to upgrade to the Delta NR, but I missed out and seems they’re all sold out. I was contemplating one of the new V10NR’s as a replacement for my Aurender, but based on what I’m reading, seems like you wouldn’t recommend that? 

Your best bet would be to seek advice at the Shunyata forums at either AudioAficionado or AudioShark.  The Shunyata owners there really know their stuff.  Also Caelin from Shunyata is active on both those forums.

Here’s a great post from Caelin on the current state of things.  Below is what he had to say about power cords for “digital only” components.  It should be noted that it is most certainly true that more expensive cords may give you better results than their V14 Digital with some components.  The Taiko Extreme is a great example of a “digital only” product that benefits from a far better power cord.  I’m not sure though when it makes sense to go beyond the V14 Digital.  I’m still powering my Innuos Zenith with an Alpha HC.  

 

“Although you can spend more money on one of our more expensive NR power cords, I recommend the Venom V14 Digital (US$250) for these type of devices. There are several people that have done the comparisons and they usually agree with my perspective on this. The Venom V14 Digital has a different NR filter than the Venom NR V12/V10 which are suited to audio components. The V14 Digital filter has a greater ability to reduce "impulse noise" which is typical from SMPSs that are commonly used in computers, monitors and ethernet switches. If you have upgraded your component's power supply with a linear power supply then using one of our more expensive NR power cords "may" give you better performance. But in my opinion, the V14 Digital is more than capable of giving you a big leap in performance. Save your power cable budget for the pre-amplifier, amplifier or DAC.”

 

[agladstone]

1 hour ago, kennyb123 said:

Your best bet would be to seek advice at the Shunyata forums at either AudioAficionado or AudioShark.  The Shunyata owners there really know their stuff.  Also Caelin from Shunyata is active on both those forums.

Here’s a great post from Caelin on the current state of things.  Below is what he had to say about power cords for “digital only” components.  It should be noted that it is most certainly true that more expensive cords may give you better results than their V14 Digital with some components.  The Taiko Extreme is a great example of a “digital only” product that benefits from a far better power cord.  I’m not sure though when it makes sense to go beyond the V14 Digital.  I’m still powering my Innuos Zenith with an Alpha HC.  

 

“Although you can spend more money on one of our more expensive NR power cords, I recommend the Venom V14 Digital (US$250) for these type of devices. There are several people that have done the comparisons and they usually agree with my perspective on this. The Venom V14 Digital has a different NR filter than the Venom NR V12/V10 which are suited to audio components. The V14 Digital filter has a greater ability to reduce "impulse noise" which is typical from SMPSs that are commonly used in computers, monitors and ethernet switches. If you have upgraded your component's power supply with a linear power supply then using one of our more expensive NR power cords "may" give you better performance. But in my opinion, the V14 Digital is more than capable of giving you a big leap in performance. Save your power cable budget for the pre-amplifier, amplifier or DAC.”

 

Thanks for this information! My Aurender server has a built in Linear Power supply and my DAC has an external Vinni Rossi Supercapacitor based power supply, so based on what you provided, it seems I would benefit from a higher level Shunyata vs. the Venom Digital, which seems is designed more so towards SMPS. 

[kennyb123]

14 minutes ago, agladstone said:

Thanks for this information! My Aurender server has a built in Linear Power supply and my DAC has an external Vinni Rossi Supercapacitor based power supply, so based on what you provided, it seems I would benefit from a higher level Shunyata vs. the Venom Digital, which seems is designed more so towards SMPS. 

I think it depends on a number of factors.  The system’s noise floor and how much the component itself is impacting this matter a lot.  Even with the use of a Denali V1, there was a noticeable reduction of noise floor by swapping a V14D for a V10NR on the Farad Super3 (also a Supercapacitor based supply) powering my Chord HMS.  Their noise reduction power cords actually filter what’s coming out of the component, so it’s more of a case of every component benefitting - as if the power conditioner got a helping hand.  The HMS is known to generate noise so I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that this noise was being passed down through the Super3.

 

When it came to the Super3 powering my EtherRegen, the V14D didn’t bring about an obvious reduction in noise floor.  It was more of a case of greater naturalness emerging.  That could have been a result of it bringing me to a point where all the power cords connected to my Denali including some form of Shunyata noise reduction technology.  
 

Now might I improve things with far better power cords for the HMS and ER?  Maybe.  But I am taking Caelin’s advice to “save [my] power cable budget for the pre-amplifier, amplifier or DAC.”  The new NR V2 cords offer huge improvements to components that include analog stages.  My amp will get some of that power cord love next year.  Everything matters in this hobby but some things matter a lot more, so I think we have to figure out how best to balance this within our budget constraints.

[agladstone]

43 minutes ago, kennyb123 said:

I think it depends on a number of factors.  The system’s noise floor and how much the component itself is impacting this matter a lot.  Even with the use of a Denali V1, there was a noticeable reduction of noise floor by swapping a V14D for a V10NR on the Farad Super3 (also a Supercapacitor based supply) powering my Chord HMS.  Their noise reduction power cords actually filter what’s coming out of the component, so it’s more of a case of every component benefitting - as if the power conditioner got a helping hand.  The HMS is known to generate noise so I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that this noise was being passed down through the Super3.

 

When it came to the Super3 powering my EtherRegen, the V14D didn’t bring about an obvious reduction in noise floor.  It was more of a case of greater naturalness emerging.  That could have been a result of it bringing me to a point where all the power cords connected to my Denali including some form of Shunyata noise reduction technology.  
 

Now might I improve things with far better power cords for the HMS and ER?  Maybe.  But I am taking Caelin’s advice to “save [my] power cable budget for the pre-amplifier, amplifier or DAC.”  The new NR V2 cords offer huge improvements to components that include analog stages.  My amp will get some of that power cord love next year.  Everything matters in this hobby but some things matter a lot more, so I think we have to figure out how best to balance this within our budget constraints.

Agreed! 
I do have the original 12AWG version of the Venom Digital NR cable currently connected to my Aurender, so I suspect it’s providing me with a similar experience as to what I would have with the V14 NR? 
I think I’ll experiment and try and swap it with the Ztron Alpha Shunyata cable I have in the Rossi Supercapacitor PS powering my Mytek DAC to see where the Digital NR may be more beneficial. 
When I bought these cables a few years ago from Music Direct, they told me the Digital NR would be most beneficial for my Aurender since it’s a digital source, whereas the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ was more so analog since it was converting digital and outputting analog, but that logic has never fully made complete sense to me:) 

[kennyb123]

20 hours ago, agladstone said:

Agreed! 
I do have the original 12AWG version of the Venom Digital NR cable currently connected to my Aurender, so I suspect it’s providing me with a similar experience as to what I would have with the V14 NR? 
I think I’ll experiment and try and swap it with the Ztron Alpha Shunyata cable I have in the Rossi Supercapacitor PS powering my Mytek DAC to see where the Digital NR may be more beneficial. 
When I bought these cables a few years ago from Music Direct, they told me the Digital NR would be most beneficial for my Aurender since it’s a digital source, whereas the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ was more so analog since it was converting digital and outputting analog, but that logic has never fully made complete sense to me:) 

I think you are in a good place with the original Venom Digital on your Aurender.  The Ztron Alpha is likewise a good choice with the Mytek/Rossi.  When there is an analog stage DTCD matters more than noise reduction.  The Alpha is better than the Venom in that area.  Which flavor of the Alpha is it?  There were 3:  HC, Digital, Analog.  
 

Music Direct gave you good advice.  DTCD is dynamic transient current delivery.  This is essentially the ability of the power cord to deliver current to meet transient demands.  This quality improves as you move up their lineup.  Their current series now feature XC and NR versions at each level.  The XC has no noise reduction.  It gives the best DTCD at its price point but it is intended for powering conditioners.  NR is for components.  That V14 Digital is the odd duck of the lineup.  I believe it is roughly equivalent to the CIS NR cord shown here.  This is Shunyata’s medical division.

 

 

[agladstone]

On 10/25/2020 at 2:31 PM, kennyb123 said:

I think you are in a good place with the original Venom Digital on your Aurender.  The Ztron Alpha is likewise a good choice with the Mytek/Rossi.  When there is an analog stage DTCD matters more than noise reduction.  The Alpha is better than the Venom in that area.  Which flavor of the Alpha is it?  There were 3:  HC, Digital, Analog.  
 

Music Direct gave you good advice.  DTCD is dynamic transient current delivery.  This is essentially the ability of the power cord to deliver current to meet transient demands.  This quality improves as you move up their lineup.  Their current series now feature XC and NR versions at each level.  The XC has no noise reduction.  It gives the best DTCD at its price point but it is intended for powering conditioners.  NR is for components.  That V14 Digital is the odd duck of the lineup.  I believe it is roughly equivalent to the CIS NR cord shown here.  This is Shunyata’s medical division.

 

 

Thanks for the confirmation and the information! I have all Analog versions of Shunyata cables except for the 12AWG Venom Digital on my Aurrender and the HC versions going into my two power conditioners from wall. 
I’ll try one of the new NR versions for something at some point, although it doesn’t seem like I need to rush into an upgrade for the moment. 
I suspect the V14 NR would be good for the Linear power supply I use to power my Amazon Fire TV box, I just have an original Venom that I’m using for that. 
 

[John769]

Quick question regarding adding multiple switches for better SQ:  If you set up the ubiquiti er-x as a switch (via that wizard), does it count as an actual switch?  So the er-x plus, say, a cisco catalyst would equal 2 switches? 🙃

[auricgoldfinger]

13 minutes ago, John769 said:

Quick question regarding adding multiple switches for better SQ:  If you set up the ubiquiti er-x as a switch (via that wizard), does it count as an actual switch?  So the er-x plus, say, a cisco catalyst would equal 2 switches? 🙃

 

Does not count

[Bricki]

5 hours ago, John769 said:

Quick question regarding adding multiple switches for better SQ:  If you set up the ubiquiti er-x as a switch (via that wizard), does it count as an actual switch?  So the er-x plus, say, a cisco catalyst would equal 2 switches? 🙃

In my experience, the edgerouter X set up as a switch sounds like rubbish... However, when used as a router and replacing the DHCP duties of my ISP provided modem/router - it provided a very nice uptick in sound quality. Partly due to being able to turn off WiFi and run the ISP modem/router in bridge mode. I now have a separate WiFi access point attached to the edgerouter X.

 

The non SFP edgerouter X can be powered by an lps1 at 7v and the PSU has a significant impact on sound quality as well 👍

[Heckyman]

8 hours ago, Bricki said:

In my experience, the edgerouter X set up as a switch sounds like rubbish... However, when used as a router and replacing the DHCP duties of my ISP provided modem/router - it provided a very nice uptick in sound quality. Partly due to being able to turn off WiFi and run the ISP modem/router in bridge mode. I now have a separate WiFi access point attached to the edgerouter X.

 

The non SFP edgerouter X can be powered by an lps1 at 7v and the PSU has a significant impact on sound quality as well 👍

Agree with almost all you wrote, but if you attached a WiFi AP AND another network device to your ER-X, I believe it would be in fact running as a router + switch? 

 

Presumably your experience of the ER-X "sounding rubbish as a switch" was when attached after the combined ISP router?

 

On the subject of multiple switches, I haven't tried because I don't have enough good PSU's after separating modem + router + switch + AP ;-) 

[John769]

14 hours ago, Bricki said:

In my experience, the edgerouter X set up as a switch sounds like rubbish... However, when used as a router and replacing the DHCP duties of my ISP provided modem/router - it provided a very nice uptick in sound quality. Partly due to being able to turn off WiFi and run the ISP modem/router in bridge mode. I now have a separate WiFi access point attached to the edgerouter X.

 

The non SFP edgerouter X can be powered by an lps1 at 7v and the PSU has a significant impact on sound quality as well 👍

thanks for the advice. Only issue is that I only have mobile broadband, meaning it has to be set it up via the switch wizard (unless I'm mistaken but I was advised to do that). Otherwise, I'd be happy to try out the above -)  Using mine with a virgin router in modem mode and good quality 12V LPS.  You recommend the LPS-1 but not LPS1.2? Can the er-x SFP not be used with those PSU's?  Seems most folks prefer it over the non SFP model.

[Bricki]

11 hours ago, Heckyman said:

Agree with almost all you wrote, but if you attached a WiFi AP AND another network device to your ER-X, I believe it would be in fact running as a router + switch? 

 

Presumably your experience of the ER-X "sounding rubbish as a switch" was when attached after the combined ISP router?

 

On the subject of multiple switches, I haven't tried because I don't have enough good PSU's after separating modem + router + switch + AP ;-) 

Yes that's correct. I originally bought an edgerouter X a few years ago to try as a router. I got a bit scared about bricking my ISP router in bridge mode when installing it, so I thought I would configure it as a switch in the setup wizard first and see if I liked it. At the time all the talk was about switches and we were all eagerly awaiting the release of the Etheregen and the sotm switch had been released so it made sense to me at the time to try it as a switch first. After a few days with it setup as a switch, with my ISP router unchanged I thought it sounded terrible and I put it on the shelf and forgot about it.. Then the Etheregen was released and it made a big difference in my setup and I read about @Nenon with his experience with the edgerouter X... I had recently got some apacer ram from him which sounded excellent, so I was very confident in his assessment of the edgerouter X.

 

I dusted off the edgerouter X and got to setting it up properly with my ISP router in bridge mode. Once setup with HWNAT turned on, I noticed immediately that music sounded more dynamic and real - kick drums kick harder and sound more like they have a real impact in the room and more slam... my engagement with the music took another step up.

 

If it wasn't for @Nenon sharing his discoveries with us on AS then my edgerouter X would still be sitting unused on the shelf. Something else I had sitting unused on the shelf was an uptone lps1, so I was happy to discover that it could easily power the edgerouter X. 

 

 

[Bricki]

6 hours ago, John769 said:

thanks for the advice. Only issue is that I only have mobile broadband, meaning it has to be set it up via the switch wizard (unless I'm mistaken but I was advised to do that). Otherwise, I'd be happy to try out the above -)  Using mine with a virgin router in modem mode and good quality 12V LPS.  You recommend the LPS-1 but not LPS1.2? Can the er-x SFP not be used with those PSU's?  Seems most folks prefer it over the non SFP model.

I'm sure the lps1.2 would indeed sound better but I don't have one...I was only sharing what I have experience with using... other PSU's would of course work as well. The edgerouter X comes with a 12v smps so I thought I'd share that I managed to power it with the lps1 at 7v so that others knew that it was possible.

 

The SFP model is preferred in order to isolate your WiFi access point using fiber...I already had the non SFP version... If I was buying again then I'd opt for the SFP version and isolate my WAP.

[elan120]

Another PFB convert…

 

I first got interested in the Pink Faun clock modified switch was reading the nice write up from @auricgoldfinger’s Melco switch, and later got more interested after reading many more successful posts on Pink Faun ultraOCXO clock conversion on Buffalo switch, which got me itching to give it a try, but having only one Buffalo switch and a very busy schedule lately, I have to put this project on hold until now.

 

Thanks to @Nenon, he made another switch available along with a bit of an open schedule, I finally was able to get this modification going.

 

In this first phase of modification, I have the Pink Faun ultraOCXO clock and DC input filter module installed, once the remaining parts are here, I will continue with chassis vibration damping and bypass capacitors installation done, but for now, I am VERY happy with the result compare with my current Buffalo switch with just the DC input conversion.  After just a few days of burn-in, it is already very evident on the SQ improvement.  My music is stored in a NAS and I also stream from Qobuz, the improvement applies to both areas, and it is not just one area of the music that is improved, it is the overall sound presentation that is making the music so much more enjoyable.

 

The modification in general is quite straightforward if you are experienced with SMD work, with this success, I am now planning on modifying my other Buffalo switch as well to add one more PFB in series and see how much more improvement it will bring in my setup.

 

Below are a few pictures of my PFB modification to share.  As a side note, the power consumption on Pink Faun clock is around 660mA at start, and around 280mA after half an hour of running.
 

Unmodified PCB with PF Clock Board installed:

 

 

Heatsink removed showing the stock clock:

 

 

Stock clock removed:

 

 

Stock clock:

 

 

 

PF clock soldered to the stock clock soldering pads:

 

 

 

Overall view of the first phase modification:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nenon]

55 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Another PFB convert…

 

I first got interested in the Pink Faun clock modified switch was reading the nice write up from @auricgoldfinger’s Melco switch, and later got more interested after reading many more successful posts on Pink Faun ultraOCXO clock conversion on Buffalo switch, which got me itching to give it a try, but having only one Buffalo switch and a very busy schedule lately, I have to put this project on hold until now.

 

Thanks to @Nenon, he made another switch available along with a bit of an open schedule, I finally was able to get this modification going.

 

In this first phase of modification, I have the Pink Faun ultraOCXO clock and DC input filter module installed, once the remaining parts are here, I will continue with chassis vibration damping and bypass capacitors installation done, but for now, I am VERY happy with the result compare with my current Buffalo switch with just the DC input conversion.  After just a few days of burn-in, it is already very evident on the SQ improvement.  My music is stored in a NAS and I also stream from Qobuz, the improvement applies to both areas, and it is not just one area of the music that is improved, it is the overall sound presentation that is making the music so much more enjoyable.

 

The modification in general is quite straightforward if you are experienced with SMD work, with this success, I am now planning on modifying my other Buffalo switch as well to add one more PFB in series and see how much more improvement it will bring in my setup.

 

Below are a few pictures of my PFB modification to share.  As a side note, the power consumption on Pink Faun clock is around 660mA at start, and around 280mA after half an hour of running.
 

Unmodified PCB with PF Clock Board installed:

 

 

Heatsink removed showing the stock clock:

 

 

Stock clock removed:

 

 

Stock clock:

 

 

 

PF clock soldered to the stock clock soldering pads:

 

 

 

Overall view of the first phase modification:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning job as always, @elan120. It is addictive what those expensive mods do. I suppose you are using both switches and the PF Buffalo connects to your server/streamer? Try fiber between the two switches if you haven't.

 

[elan120]

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

Stunning job as always, @elan120. It is addictive what those expensive mods do. I suppose you are using both switches and the PF Buffalo connects to your server/streamer? Try fiber between the two switches if you haven't.

 

Thanks @Nenon, 

 

I do have both switches connected in series, but currently have the PF Buffalo connected to eR with copper and fiber from eR to DC converted Buffalo, and then connected to my server with copper.

 

[internethandle]

On 10/29/2020 at 3:34 PM, Bricki said:

I'm sure the lps1.2 would indeed sound better but I don't have one...I was only sharing what I have experience with using... other PSU's would of course work as well. The edgerouter X comes with a 12v smps so I thought I'd share that I managed to power it with the lps1 at 7v so that others knew that it was possible.

 

The SFP model is preferred in order to isolate your WiFi access point using fiber...I already had the non SFP version... If I was buying again then I'd opt for the SFP version and isolate my WAP.

 

Thanks to this post, I realized I somehow (no idea how, really) had misinformed myself on the Edgerouter X's voltage requirements, and had the lab LPS I'm using with it at the moment set to 5V. Apparently the officially supported voltage range it will accept is between 9 and 30V, but, as you said, it obviously is fine with lower voltages, because I've run it at 5V without issue for some time! I just changed to 10V, which does seem to provide a tiny bit of a SQ change -- maybe a bit meatier/less slight, which makes me wonder, @Nenon, do you power your's with 12V? 

[Nenon]

12 minutes ago, internethandle said:

 

Thanks to this post, I realized I somehow (no idea how, really) had misinformed myself on the Edgerouter X's voltage requirements, and had the lab LPS I'm using with it at the moment set to 5V. Apparently the voltage range it will accept is between 9 and 24V, but, as you said, it obviously is fine with lower voltages, because I've run it at 5V without issue for some time! I just changed to 10V, which does seem to provide a tiny bit of a SQ change -- maybe a bit meatier/less slight, which makes me wonder, @Nenon, do you power your's with 12V? 

I've always powered mine with 12V, but that is worth revising as this is what a friend of mine reported to me this morning after testing various voltages between 5V and 12V:

Quote

 

- 5v is very loose and slow, but with great micro details.

- 12v is very tight and dynamic but this little nuances are lost.

- 10v - best SQ.

 

 

I haven't tried that yet, as I need to modify my power supply. My friend also reported that all his network devices are sensitive on different voltages, but the EdgeRouter made the biggest difference. 

 

I was going to test this before reporting but since you asked, I am passing the feedback on. Maybe more people can try this, so we can collect more data points on what works in different systems with different power supplies.