Miscellaneous

Silent Angel Bonn NX network switch Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: 8-port, 100/1000Mbps Ethernet switch with gold-plated GbE RJ45 connections, 25MHz Word Clock input, grounding port, and TCXO clock module.
Dimensions: 17.3" (439mm) W × 2.5" (63mm) H × 10" (250mm) D. Weight: 14.3lb (6.4kg).
Finish: black, silver.
Serial number of unit reviewed: K230100001. Designed and manufactured in China.
Price: $3995. Approximate number of US dealers: 12. Warranty: 2 years, parts and labor.
Manufacturer: Silent Angel. Web: https://silentangel.com.

COMMENTS

"sonics aside"!!!!

Submitted by georgehifi on April 24, 2024 - 10:48am

"What I'm getting at is, sonics aside, maybe a $30 network switch from Linksys or Netgear is a poor fit for a perfectionist audio system."

Is that because the "poor fit" is the monitory/glitz/glamour look difference? ("sonics aside")

Cheers George

An ethernet switch making a difference...

Submitted by Indydan on April 24, 2024 - 5:38pm

An ethernet switch making a difference...
That poor old Amir from ASR will feel a punch to his nuts reading this review :-)

Listening to find flaws or listening for pleasure?

Submitted by barfle on April 25, 2024 - 7:02am

I am probably the most critical listener I know. That doesn’t put me in the stratosphere of audiophiles by a long shot.

I know reviewers’ jobs include finding minute differences among the products they evaluate, but when I listen to music, I listen to the music, and very rarely to the gear. No doubt, some MP3s sound like crap, and are not enjoyable because of that, but man, if you’re critical enough to think that a network switch makes an audible difference, you’re NOT having fun with the music.

I can do both.

Submitted by Jim Austin on April 25, 2024 - 1:59pm

Perhaps this is one of the things that sets reviewers apart from other audiophiles: We must have an analytical mode that we can turn on and off. It's our responsibility, first, to listen for differences and then to assess whether they are likely to matter to most readers--to put what we experienced in perspective. Which is what I tried to do here, and what I think I did: Put it out there so that people can decide for themselves. This has little to do with my ability to listen for pleasure.

Jim Austin, Editor
Stereophile

Why not measure?

Submitted by mrstuffy on April 26, 2024 - 12:55pm

Hand waving off those that are rightfully critical of devices such as these with "And if you think it's overpriced snake oil? Don't buy one." seems to get away from the point of reading a review. Providing theoretical reasons that this device could make a difference, and wavering about if it makes a difference or not, reads like it's written for people that want to buy it to be able to buy it and giving them justification but not coming out and saying "This improves your sound" when it's likely data could easily show it does nothing.

It's very easy to pick up test equipment from Keysight and others that would provide all the data you want for Ethernet. When you say "Sometimes it's extra noise due to increased computation, as in error-correction." it would be very easy to measure the difference in error correction needed between this switch and a generic switch from Best Buy and determine if this is a reason for changes or just a placebo, but then it might show that this switch doesn't actually do anything special. And doing a blind AB test between switches would be easy with the help of someone to change the inputs, but that wasn't done either.

The reason people think devices like these are snake oil is because no one does these things that might show that they aren't snake oil, likely because they'd show there isn't a difference between this switch and a generic consumer switch as every review with measurements has shown. I admit I mostly just read the JA sections of reviews because they often show measurements that don't align with that the reviewers say they heard, and a device like this should get the same scrutiny.

Agree Mr. Stuffy...

Submitted by Archimago on April 28, 2024 - 3:00pm

There's no magic with ethernet switches.

I still think that managed switches with option for changing port priority like the Netgear Nighthawk S8000 is the way to go if one wants to spend money and at least have some extra control over the device.

This thing looks like just a simple unmanaged switch. Obviously $4000 is a lot to ask and there's no plausible reason offered that this makes a difference other than stuff like "I heard a clear change in the musical presentation, which I never would have expected"... Sure.