Hi Hans, I have followed your videos and appreciate your higher level tech presentation. I have implemented many of your suggestions in my systems. I was surprised to learn that your are using Cat 6 Ethernet cables. To my mind they are the equivalent of the cheap RCA patch cables the come in the box with many audio components!!! In my #1 system I run a Silent Angel Bonn N8 Network Switch, with iFi iPower SMPS and Audio Sensibility Supra CAT 8+ Ethernet Cables, with Gold-plated Telegärtner connectors. This setup give a huge sonic improvement over the basic Netgear switch and Cat 6 cables! In my #2 system I use modest Cat 8 cables purchased from Amazon and again they are way better than Cat 6 cables.
I use a higher quality switch by Uptone that is connected over fibre in setup /12, and fibre to the Zyxel switch downstairs followed by the Muon Pro system in setup 1. I don't hear any difference if the patch cables I use are replaced by very high ethernet cable. Perhaps of the quality of the switch/filter. The Bonn N8 isn't bad but not as good as the EtherREGEN. Let alone the Muon Pro.
Thanks for another great video. What puzzles me is one of your first remarks: a quality SMPS (any alternatives to iFi iPower and iPowerX?), Is better than a LPS. How do we know how fast a power supply supplies current? And when placed in a unfiltered mains block connecting other audio equipment would you still prefer a quality SMPS? The SMPS noise is gonna get back into the mains right? Thanks in advance
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel thanks. Can you elaborate what you mean by ''faster current''? I heard Jaap Veenstra from Alpha Audio making the same remark, but I don't understand what makes SMPS's faster and why that would better for switches and is less important for other gear. Thanks in advance
very informative video! I'm now convinced that I should do something on my ethernet, but I do have a streamer with an optical network entrance, this should theoretically remove all the noise. But that is the theory, have you ever tested optical network for a streamer and/or have you compared it to a good passive ethernet filter. Is one or the other preferred?
One thing is not clear to me. One of the characteristics represented by the Eno filter (which I own) was that of having a bandwidth of 100Mb/s, deliberately not too fast to limit the noise, for music files whose size, even in high resolution, made higher speeds useless. Now for this new generation (Muon) the speed of 1Gb/s is described as an added value. Did I miss something? Thanks
Thanks for the excellent review. Nowdays audiophiles are showing more and more interest in these kind of gadgets. Is there any chance to get in hand and make review of Puron AC Line Conditioner ?
Hmm did I misunderstand? I thought the MU1 was a dramatic improvement on streaming/SQ for you? It was for me. Either way, this addition of the filter is interesting too.
II had the chance to listen to the Muon Pro at a specialty store on an expensive system and sure enough, the Muon Pro made an audible improvement. It was particularly noticeable on classical ensembles where the sharpness of the violin strings was softened and the space between the instruments enlarged. I did not buy it (…because it's expensive) but I stand corrected despite desperately wanting to prove Hans wrong 😊. I’m currently trying the Intona passive USB filter since it’s the only way to connect my main source (Innuous Zenith Mk III) to my DAC (Aqua LaScala). I thought initially that I could hear a similar improvement on the highs but after more attentive listening and A/B comparison, not as much. I have a good quality USB cable (Audience) which could explain the lack of positive impact. BTW, Following the comment below from @crusaderjake, I ordered the iFi LAN iSilencer. I'm hopeful that it works as advertised because for the price, it would be a steal.
I have the same DAC (amazing!) and now also auditioning an Innous. It seems that the quality of the network interface implementation is what has the biggest impact on whether network filters makes a difference or not.
Hello Hans, I’m considering purchasing a ZyXel GS1900-10HP and I see it requires 54V. You mentioned you use ifi power 2 on it. Did you mean the ifi is on your ZyXel modem? I don’t require PoE or managing but thought maybe the 10HP might have the edge in sound quality over the non-hp 8 version when I had a look under it’s hood. Can’t go with 8HP as it’s a four pin din DC input. If I can’t find a suitable power supply for 10HP the MG-108 could be an option too, although it’s use of substantial heatsinking compared to the GS series screams this thing runs HOT. Any help you could provide would be very much appreciated (:
As result of the review, I just ordered Muon Pro. I currently have an audio switch and an Etherregan. I was going to place the Muon Pro between the Etherregan and the streamer. Do you recommend removing the Etherregan?
Is this product good to improve streaming quality and/or network presumed noise? While I greatly respect your reviews, I remain skeptical about audio internet switches (reviewed previously) or LAN noise isolators since digital playback is fully buffered in a streamer (which effectively eliminate timing errors due to transfer). I also conducted the following experiment: I have an Innuos Zenith Mk 3 with a 2 TB SSD drive where all my CDs and HiRes music files are stored and one good quality ethernet cable (CAT 8, 10%+ Silver coating (not Plated), over Solid Core audio grade OFHCC Copper cable with Telegartner connectors CAN$200) between the Innuos and switch. I also have a back-up of the same files on a Western Digital Network attached Storage (WD 4TB My Cloud Pro Series PR2100 NAS) that is located about 16 meters away and going through 2 Ubiquity switches to get to my Innuos). I can therefore play the same file from the internal storage or from the NAS and even when I unplug the Innuos ethernet connection, I would not be able to pass a blind audio test between the 2. (Audience Front Row USB cable to Aqua La Scala DAC, XLR to Hegel H590 amplifier, Dynaudio Focus 380 (the older passive big towers)). Have you tried a similar experiment with the same file completely disconnected from the network? I noticed that a good ethernet cable makes a difference and may be sufficient to remove LAN noise?
Dear Hans. Thank you for this review. I have a question though. Although I use Qobuz via Roon as my main source I still download music that I really like and it is stored on and played from my Mu1 to my Tambaqui. Do I understand correctly that I will only benefit from the Muon Pro while streaming from Qobuz but not when playing from the files stored on the Grimm? I still buy and download because for some reason I prefer the sound over streaming directly. Before the Grimm/Mola I used a streaming dac connected to a nas which contained the music as well as the player software. This system was NOT connected to a network at all because that gave the best result. Probably for the same reason mentioned by you and for which one apparently needs a Muon Pro. Do I make sense in thinking that I will have no benefit from a Muon system if I only play files from the Mu1. Thank you and keep up the good work!
I’m wondering whether it’s better to spend the same funds upgrading from my Stack Audio Link 2 with LPS to a higher end streamer or to buy the Muon Pro . Any thoughts?
Thanks for this video! How do you feel about optical ethernet? I am using my Lumin P1 with a fiber connection and am happy with it. Could the Muon Pro bring a benefit if placed in front of my fiber switch?
Fiber prevents problems that galvanic connections have. But the quality of the SFP modules might introduce other problems. As might the switch the SFP is connected in. The MUON cleans up the signal. In my video 'About my reference setups January 2023' (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vmRj7zx9s_o.html) you can see that I use fiber and yet have a MUON in front of my Grimm player. That MUON is now replaced by the MUON Pro.
@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel But what about when the fibre is placed AFTER the switch and before the bridge and DAC (not as in your set-up - fibre only between the server and switch).
The EtherREGEN is a switch, the Muon Pro a filter. In my case the Zyxel switch followed by the Muon Pro sounds better than the EtherREGEN. Having said that, the EtherREGEN and the SOtM sNH-10G are the next best thing I know after the Muon System.
Hans I’m a great fan but telling us to burn in the Muon Pro for 120 hours, without laughing, is for me the same telling us that everybody becomes a pope tomorrow.
I bought the Muon Pro and it did indeed improve with time. Most of the improvement happened in the first 100 hours. I was amazed at the difference it made.
So you say "Rendering the individual samples will not take place at the correct time smearing out the signal".... you realize that exact time of packet arrival to Grimm MU1 is of no importance? Packets have to be decoded, payload has to be extracted, and after that they just wait in the buffer to be read out by DAC itself. "Noise in analog signal that carries the digital information" - this is irrelevant for Ehternet. Ethernet packets are not directly fed to DAC. Ethernet is not direct bitstream that is fed to DAC.
