Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Network Acoustics ENO filter

Thanks for your appraisal of the ENO. Do you have the silver or the copper version? I certainly agree with you about the need for a lengthy burn-in before serious listening pleasure can begin.

I also have a PhoenixNET so I look forward to reading about your findings.

Glad you found the ENO worth having. Given how good your setup already is I’m quite surprised, however your description of the benefits echoes what I hear (or heard … another story). Are you using their cable, which I think is also excellent?

Sorry, I should have said I have the silver (Ag) version.

I got the PhoenixNet working by using its input ethernet socket as the connection to the ENO connected to the music player and an output socket for the downstream switch.

I'm having issues copying files to the Antipodes, though, but streaming from a Mac mini the other side of the PhoenixNet works fine. Need to investigate this, but am loving the setup regardless.

I was pleasantly surprised too! I'm not using their cable (yet), but an SOtM ethernet cable instead. I'm sure I'll try their cable at some point soon :-)

Please will you explain this arrangement. I may have misunderstood you but it seems an odd way of connecting your equipment. Perhaps you could state it a>b>c etc in the direction of flow. Thanks.

The Innuos PhoenixNet has one ethernet port labelled 'IN' and three ports labelled 'OUT''. You would normally connect the switch to the main network using the 'IN' port and the other ports would be used for your HiFi devices (music players, streamers etc).

I instead have the music player connected to the port labelled 'IN' on the switch (with the ENO filter inline). The (VLAN) network is connected to 'OUT 1'.

Network uplink -> PhoenixNet OUT1 port
Antipodes CX -> ENO -> PhoenixNet IN port

Of course, from the perspective of ethernet, the sockets will look identical (except for the different MAC addresses), the only real difference between the IN and OUT ports is likely to be in the filtering.

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PS Editing this post to include a further observation (so as not to derail the purpose of the thread) - when the Antipodes is powered up, it seems to need to be plugged into the network without the ENO involved. At this point you can put the ENO back. I should emphasise I've only experienced this with the Innuos PhoenixNet, not other switches I own.

Update: I've now tried one of the ENO Ag ethernet cables from the ENO filter to the music player and the connection issue I was seeing has completely vanished. As a bonus, the cable itself sounds pretty darn good!

Yes the Eno AG ethernet cable is quite good.

What I am hearing with ENO Ag installed between a Cisco Catalyst 2960 switch (using optical SFP) and M218 into DSP5200SE is a larger 3D soundstage with more aggressive dynamics, and more forward presentation. Depending on the mix, vocals and bottom end can be in your face without seeming unnatural. Tighter bass. It also seems louder when set to the same level. Live performances, such as the Paul Berner Band's Road To Memphis, sound balanced and realistic.

ENO replaced Cable Matters CAT8 > Uptone EtherREGEN > Shunyata Venom (into the 218), which combination had clearly outperformed the variety of different ethernet cables I tried since going to 218 instead of Allo DigiOne in 2019.

Hi Jeremy,

I know you are quite the trailblazer in this area😁.

Would you say the the ENO filter + ENO cable betters any switch and other cable combination you have tried sofar into your 818? If not, what combination is the best?

I have tried quite a few Ethernet cables into the 818 from a basic Netgear switch (Audioquest/Shunyata/Vertere.....to name only a few) and not heard any ‘Positive’ differences sofar.

This is the only part of my system that remains ‘untouched’/not upgraded in any way.

Appreciate your feedback

Darren

Thanks, Darren. I wish I could take that accolade, but others here definitely discovered (and, thankfully, pointed me to) the ENO before I did!

For various reasons, I haven't been able to try the ENO with my 818 (it needs to go back for a service), however I would expect it to respond even better on the 818 than on the music player that precedes it (which also drives my Stax setup). That caveat aside, the SOtM switch with their master clock, cap upgrades etc and the Innuos PhoenixNet are the best switches I've heard in production so far. The Innuos makes a better case for itself as it has twin independent power supplies and, what is meant to be, a better clock included in the price (you have to add £500 to the cost of the SOtM to get their single rail SMPS).

The ENO improves on these two switches dramatically, but the combination with a decent switch delivers so much more than it can on its own. If you don't have a high-end switch, I think you'll hear a terrific difference with the ENO. If you do have a high-end switch, it sounds fantastic!


PS Ethernet cables is another kettle of fish, for the run into the ENO, I would recommend their own silver cable. For other runs, the best I've tried so far is the AudioQuest Diamond (which I use for the SpeakerLink connections), but pricing is not for the faint of heart! You can find them on eBay, but make sure they are coming from someone reputable as there are lots of clones out there. I'm in the process of making up my mind on some other Vertere cables, but I don't feel I'm in a position to comment just yet.

Unfortunately, I've never tried Shunyata's ethernet cables, the relationship with my dealer broke down after waiting months (now well over a year) to trial a cable I knew they had in stock (after buying quite a few cables, I might add). I'm likely to rebuild my relationship with Shunyata with another dealer as Shunyata's own support is literally second to none (I sincerely mean this, I have never come across a company that bends over backwards to help in the way they do).