Tag Archive for review

AirStream Wireless Router review on Positive Feedback by Marshall Nack

September 17, 2021 in Review

AirStream - Wireless Router

The first review of AirStream Wireless Router is now published by Mr. Marshall Nack who also reviewed EtherStream with ultra highend system before. This time AirStream is reviewed with daily devices bringing audiophile’s spice in daily life.

Last time I couldn’t send EtherStream with Nikola Classic as it was still being developed. This time I was going to send AirStream with Nikola Classic but I decided to send AirStream with Nikola Signature with 2 outputs instead for upcoming project.

It’s really assuring to start this review with Qigong class as I also had a lot on my plate recently. I’m glad to hear that AirStream also resolved his issues with Zoom software during online class on top of audio/video improvements in daily life.

As consumers of electronics, we are damn lucky to be the beneficiaries of trickle down. There are a few specialist companies that ensure we eventually get the advances. All you need is patience and meanwhile, the wallet stays healthy. Besides, it is always best to avoid being a Beta tester.

The improvements an audiophile ethernet switch brings to hard-wired music streaming are by now well established. That leaves all those internet apps that you access via Wi-fi, like Netflix, YouTube, or Zoom—what about them, they have the same issues. The root cause in both cases is the consumer-grade router at the head of the chain.

The idea is so obvious in hindsight. Why not port the fixes developed for the EtherStream switch over to a Wi-fi dedicated router? What the EtherStream switch did for the audiophile market, the AirStream does for household apps accessed via Wi-fi. However, the quality of results depends a lot on your local setup and devices. Video streaming with my MacBook Pro showed variable results: some apps were marginally better; others, no difference. With my iPhone, it was consistently better.

What was never in doubt, though, was AirStream’s effect on streaming audio from a high-quality source, like Qobuz. The improvement here was pretty remarkable, nearly equaling that of the EtherStream switch for hardwired connections. I expect the video side will evidence similar improvements for consumers who watch movies on high quality screens.

Thank you for this wonderful daily life experience review with AirStream product. You can read his full review and see how AirStream can improve WiFi audio and video streaming quality in details.

EtherStream Network Switch review on HiFi Knights by Dawid Grzyb

August 16, 2020 in Review

Actually, this review was published for a while but I’ve been so busy with delivering EtherStream Network Switch and many other products so I forgot to publish this until now. I’m so sorry and also very thankful for you guys’ continuous support.

This review is written by Dawid Grzyb and is the first Fidelizer product review in HiFi Knights. It’s thoroughly investigated review with every nook inside examined and shown. Not that I mind since I also showed and explained what I did for personal use.

I like how he compare EtherStream to his reference USB reclocker and galvanic isolation components and see that he can find similar improvements on network at more affordable approach as below.

The micro iUSB3.0 reclocker and EtherStream were quite alike voiced to my ears. The former’s action was more audible, but as previously not by a lot. Once again I thought that better LAN cables could even things out a fair bit, but today’s skirmishes with my USB boxes weren’t important per se as one doesn’t replace the other. Their action stacks. These investigations were conducted mainly to ease my own curiosity, but also to find out whether Keetakawee’s box could keep up with two fine examples of iFi audio’s USB engineering and remain just as relevant elsewhere. If today’s put up against USB sorters strikes you as odd, all fundamentally shave excess noise and make music more liquid, that’s their common ground. That’s why the main disparity was in their different junctures of my setup, not audible job. Even handicapped by stock LAN cables and away from streaming services, Fidelizer’s deck held its ground very well all things considered. What this switch was able to accomplish in my room, was already not too shabby for its coin and sub-optimal conditions. Something tells me that supported by better LAN cables, PSU, and used with streaming services, it would go faster, bigger and bolder, but that’s a story for another time. What’s important now is EtherStream’s audibly potent and beneficial input, with no strings attached. Yes, please.

I didn’t send switch with Nikola linear power supply so reviewer can review network switch on its own merits but you can upgrade linear power supply for better sound quality too. You can read his full review and see his journey about network improvements for more details.

Fidelizer Pro is featured in the audio analyst as his reference system component

May 26, 2020 in Review

Today I received great news from Mr. Greg Weaver who reviewed Fidelizer Pro 7 software in enjoythemusic.com before. He opened his new YouTube channel “the audio analyst” 2 weeks ago sharing his experience about audiophile journey.

Today he uploaded a new video talking about his own reference system. I’m honored to see that he still uses Fidelizer Pro software until now and mentioned Fidelizer as the first component in his reference system. 🙂

The best way to improve your own system is to find the best reference system you can listen to and learn how you can build your own reference system to enjoy the music better. Feel free to subscribe to the audio analyst channel and watch more content in future. 🙂

EtherStream Network Switch review on Positive Feedback by Marshall Nack (Featuring CH Precision C1 with Quboz)

April 19, 2020 in Review

Although EtherStream Network Switch was reviewed before in Positive-Feedback by Tom Gibbs. However, EtherStream works very well with CH Precision C1 DAC so it gets another review with highend networked audio setup.

This is probably the first review of EtherStream with ultra highend networked audio setup. We have some reviews with great systems but I wouldn’t expect $395 modded switch to be paired up with over $30k DAC in review for sure.

I’m really happy to see fellow highend audiophiles appreciating EtherStream too. Here’s his listening impressions and I’m glad he noticed that EtherStream doesn’t produce the stereotype of bleached, hyper-detailed, fast, and edgy audiophile sound.

After hitting PLAY, it only took seconds before my eyes opened wide. The piano was crisp and sparkling, with good edge definition and texture. WOW! Just like that, the culprit was nailed—and this was only my first sip! For confirmation, I swapped back to the TP-Link switch and, sure enough, the excessively soft presentation was there again. The TP-Link did not produce what we call a soundstage. It only had width and height, no depth, it was 2-D flat like a paint gun splatter. The images were swimming together as notes emanated from an ill-defined place, indistinct, hollow sounding, and lacking a tonal center. This is what happens when the music doesn’t have a good foundation. Without support, the soundstage gets spongy.

A firm foundation underpinning the stage is very important. When you build a house, the foundation is laid first and everything that sits on it, depends on it. If it’s unstable, the whole structure becomes insecure and wobbly. Same with instruments on a soundstage. The EtherStream firmed up the structure and presented a 3-D stage layered side to side and front to back, populated with decently sized images.

Well, this was quite a flip from the last time I streamed with Ethernet. My brain struggled to process what just happened. Unawares, I had slipped into the mindset of the audio objectivists, the deniers of differences. I put together these streaming front-ends on the cheap without giving them much thought, thinking parts is parts. It never crossed my mind to give the switch a second thought. Damn! It’s the same old lesson I have to relearn (let alone the undesirable association with the deniers). Remember: rule number one in the High-End is everything counts. When you’ve been doing this long enough, time and again, it’s the things from out in left field, the stuff you think can’t possibly matter, that blindside you.

The foundation of the soundstage was not the only thing that changed. After burn-in (yes, a new EtherStream needs about 200 hours for optimal performance), the music had a decidedly acoustic bent with nice flow and satisfactory timbre. Tonal balance was evenly disbursed from the decent low-end up to a natural treble, plus there was some flesh on the bones. The EtherStream is positioned to appeal to the audiophile market, but it didn’t produce the stereotype of bleached, hyper-detailed, fast, and edgy audiophile sound.

One other thing: according to the Fidelizer website, a primary design goal for the EtherStream product was to address many consumers’ poor opinion of streaming vs. music files on local storage. Based on my own explicit comparison, the EtherStream gives you the same playback quality from Qobuz as music files on local storage. There was no audible difference.

He also asked me for linear power supply upgrade too but the suitable product was yet ready at that time. I’ll launch new products to use with EtherStream soon and I highly recommend to read his full review and see how EtherStream can perform in highend networked audio setup.

EtherStream Network Switch review on AudioGallery by Giulio Salvioni

February 8, 2020 in Review

AudioGallery - February 2020

Here’s a new review of EtherStream Network Switch published in local audiophile magazine in Italy called AudioGallery by Giulio Salvioni. He’s using Fidelizer Pro and interested to review EtherStream when it was launched in November 2019.

AudioGallery is local Italian magazine which is the sister publication of monthly magazine in AudioReview.it. As review is published in local audiophile magazine, language used in review is Italian. I’ll include paragraph about sound quality translated to English in this post below.

I will not waste precious space in the description of the setup which is the same used for the test of the JCat Femto network card. Let’s get to the point: are there distinct perceptible improvements?

Absolutely yes and if you notice it even in an already optimized system, which I think is mine, I imagine that it is even more evident in a less cared installation. For this purpose, I set up a slightly more basic system with a Windows laptop to which the Aqua La Scala MKII DAC was connected via USB; then there was a NAS and the usual modem / router for connecting to the Internet, all connected via Ethernet to the switch.

In this “simplified” configuration, I was able to make comparative tests between an inexpensive eight-port Netgear switch and the EtherStream.

The result was clear: the modified switch is quieter. It is clear that I am not referring to noises or hums, but to that background carpet that prevents the clear perception of the signals at a lower level, which the economic switch tends to return in a confused way and to the micro dynamics that cannot unfold as it should.

The other aspect that you notice, wanting to use an analogy, is the disappearance of a sort of halo or fog that flattens the scene, confuses the contours of the instruments and removes air between one and the other. Inserting the EtherStream after listening to the same track with the generic switch, it seems to look through a clean window with the Vetril, where before it was dirty and full of fingers.

Finally I have to report on the ratings via Streaming – essentially Qobuz – which presented itself with a completely new polish.

I would say that the elimination of the fog effect to which I referred here is even more macroscopic, with the addition of a higher articulation in low range – an aspect that had appeared less evident when listening to the files stored on the NAS – as well as a higher yield in terms of timing.

If so far I had considered listening to streaming as an excellent solution to discover new music but with limited appeal in a strictly audiophile sense, the inclusion of the switch “on steroids” certainly changed my perspective.

It is a fact: since the EtherStream was installed in my system I spent more time listening to Qobuz than from my NAS, this is because that unpleasant sensation that made me think has disappeared: “… nice record, sure if I could to have it on the NAS I’d listen better ….

For Italian audiophiles who’s interested in learning more about audio network switch and how EtherStream can work with your system, I highly recommend you to read full review article published in magazine or you can read public article for EtherStream here too. 🙂

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