"Audiophile Grade" Ethernet Switches - The new generation

[David A]

                  
I will try and explain briefly the differences between :

DIRECT hookup  vs.  Gigabit SWITCHED hookup  vs.  EtherREGEN hookup


Direct :  There is an increase in immediacy of the sound, you start to see the performers more distinctly, the harmonic separation is quite distinct, the soundstage is wide and expansive but not proportionally deep. Also, the texture of the sound is so clean and it sounds "a bit lean". The sound is still very engaging and you tend to feel you are seated just a few rows from the stage of the performance. 

Gigabit Switched :  All that discussed above stays the same EXCEPT 
( 1 ) that leaness is now gone and the sound texture becomes more wholesome, slightly rounded
( 2 ) you feel you are now seated mid hall and more depth of the soundstage re-appears

EtherREGEN Switched :  The texture of the sound is much more wholesome, instruments are more blended well with each other that makes the overall presentation extremely cohesive yet beautifully defined. The soundstage width, depth & height is very true to real life, never over exaggerated yet not shrunk either. There is warmth in the playback in a very nice way. You still continue to feel seated mid hall and the hall ambience is now into you. The soundstage is quite 3-dimensional. The overall playback is extremely relaxed with no sharp edges of any sort even at higher listening levels thus enjoyment grows on you. You can listen for hours without hints of any strain. 

P.S. : I've just had the ER for 2 days now, continuously running and yet to cross the 100 hours mark. I am also using the stock supplied power supply and not a LPS. The ER is connected to my PS Audio regenerator though. It is warm to touch but the chassis temperature is stable. Nothing alarming - its just like a Class-A power amp's heatsink temperature. 

I think that's a pretty good description of the differences between those connection methods. I'd say it differently and talk about clarity/transparency instead of immediacy, and natural instead of wholesome but in the end I think if I were to write my take on the 3 methods I wouldn't really be saying anything significantly different, just saying the same things differently. The big difference for me in the period just after I got my ER in January was noticing that I was paying less attention to aspects of the sound and more attention to aspects of the music. It's now 6 months since I got my ER and that hasn't changed.