https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/synergistic-research-ethernet-switch-uef/
As mentioned in some of my recent reviews, I have really settled in on the basic building blocks in my current system. Click on my name above in red for a complete list and description. Even during the lockdown, I never thought twice about making any major changes. This despite plenty of time reading about and reviewing other components that might have peaked my interest and opened my pocketbook (the ever lurking nemesis of all audiophiles). VAC, Pass Labs, VPI, DCS, Aurender, REL and Sonus Faber have all served me well and continue to do so. What I have focused on lately are the additional "nuances." It turns out that these nuances are extremely important if not critical.
I am a strong admirer of Synergistic Research and their extensive portfolio of products. When it comes to cable and power cords, they remain one of our key industry leaders at all price points. Like Pass Labs, I always seem to come back to Synergistic Research after experimenting with other options. Again, my focus is now taking that next step beyond the traditional upgrades and substitutions. Synergistic Research has wowed me with several new products that were never high on my priority list, but in retrospect, they should have been right there near the top all along.
Power and ground conditioning are two areas that many audiophiles are slowly but surely investing in with fantastic results. This includes me. Please see my reviews of the Synergistic Research PowerCell SX Power Conditioner and Galileo SX Ground Block HERE and HERE. New to the party is the Synergistic Research Ethernet Switch UEF. In a nutshell, this device can basically condition or clean up the Ethernet connection from your home router to your listening room for streaming both music and video. This important trilogy of power, ground and Internet connectivity are clearly variables that can now be managed much better and with very impressive results.
Caveat Emptor
System synergy and personal taste are critical when evaluating high-end audio products. This review is based on my subjective requirements, my subjective ears, my specific system configuration, and my specific listening room. This combination is only one data point of many that exist out there for these components. Please consider my comments and analysis appropriately.
Design
Ethernet switches are not new. Many can provide additional functionality beyond basic Ethernet connectivity and input/output switching. Like me, many audiophiles probably run an Ethernet cable at a great distance, or at a least a significant distance, from their home router to their music server or other similar components for streaming. This hardwire connection can help tame the buffering issues that wireless connections can sometimes generate. In my home, the router is located two floors away from my listening room at almost 40 feet. It makes sense that this long run of cable is going to pick up various elements of RF and other electrical noise that could impact a digital signal.
Enter the Synergistic Research Ethernet Switch UEF, which is very much up to the challenge. With remarkable results, Synergistic Research has taken the technology and experience that has been utilized in their Powercell and Ground Block products and have now implemented them within the design of the Ethernet Switch UEF. This basically includes the UEF and EM Cell technology along with certain features in their Tranquility Base design. The crowning stroke is a very attractive chassis milled from a solid billet of aluminum combined with carbon fiber to eliminate vibration and for resonance control. Lastly, the Ethernet Switch UEF can be connected directly to the Ground Block for additional ground management. Please see the Synergistic Research site for more detailed information on these design elements and the technologies utilized.
Sound
My listening habits break down roughly in the following way: 60% vinyl, 30% digital via local files, and 10% digital via streaming. I use both Tidal and Qobuz for streaming. Each of these services have their own positives and negatives, but I greatly enjoy what they both can offer. When I want to listen to digital for long term serious listening sessions, and for the best sound quality, I rely mostly on the local files stored on my Aurender N-10 Music Server. Don't get me wrong, I often stream music for extended sessions, but I primarily use streaming for investigating new music that is not currently in my analog or digital collections. The sound quality when streaming is still excellent, but to my ears and via my system, there is just something missing when it comes to proper harmonic structure and tone when compared to vinyl and local files.
The Ethernet Switch UEF has dramatically changed my listening behavior. With it in place, I can now experience streamed music with something very close if not the equal of my very best local files. In some cases, I even prefer it over vinyl. There is now a more fundamentally correct amount of coherent attack, sustain and decay in the playback. There is a purity and lucidity that avoids fatigue and rewards timbral purity. All of this without the edge and grain that seemed to be the norm for most streamed music in the past. Bottom line. When streaming, I am now more emotionally connected than ever to the music!
Music
For this review, I am going to work through a playlist of independent tracks that I found very telling about the overall sound quality of my system when I added the Ethernet Switch UEF. Of course, Qobuz and Tidal made this very easy. Both allow you to build your own playlists. Both can provide many more CD quality and high resolution titles than what I own and store locally on my music server.
One personal objective of all of this was to find a way to really dig into and finally realize the potential of streaming high resolution files. This includes PCM formats utilizing 24-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/96kHz, 24-bit/192kHz, and also DSD formats utilizing DSD128 and DSD256. For me, access to these vast libraries of high resolution titles can be one of the true values when considering these streaming services.
If you do stream music and if the following tracks are new for you, I highly recommend that you check them out. It might just stimulate something new for your collection or your own playlists. One of my greatest joys is sharing my music with friends and family and via versa. Send me your recommendations!
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