Best audiophile switch

[Elliot G.]

Great to hear. To reiterate what Di-fi asked which I'd like to know also, "Also, could you try some A-B-A testing by swapping the JundoStream cable with your previous best Ethernet cable, while keeping the Reiki switch in place? What do you compare it to?"

I posted what I had and what was in before
I don’t need to switch back and forth I know my system and the change is something that one can hear easily

 

[Di-fi]

I posted what I had and what was in before
I don’t need to switch back and forth I know my system and the change is something that one can hear easily

Thanks for your input! It's great to see your experience and the confidence you have in your system. We really appreciate you sharing what you've tried so far.

The A-B-A testing, though, is something we're curious about since many of us are interested in how networks and cables, especially ’the last meter before’ the streamer or DAC, affect the sound. With the Reiki switch in place, it could offer us some valuable insights into those subtle changes, especially given your positive experience.

I understand if it’s not something you feel is necessary for your own system, but having that data point would be really helpful for all of us here exploring this topic. Thanks again for contributing, and we’d love to hear more from you!

 

[Elliot G.]

Thanks for your input! It's great to see your experience and the confidence you have in your system. We really appreciate you sharing what you've tried so far.

The A-B-A testing, though, is something we're curious about since many of us are interested in how networks and cables, especially ’the last meter before’ the streamer or DAC, affect the sound. With the Reiki switch in place, it could offer us some valuable insights into those subtle changes, especially given your positive experience.

I understand if it’s not something you feel is necessary for your own system, but having that data point would be really helpful for all of us here exploring this topic. Thanks again for contributing, and we’d love to hear more from you!

The Jundo Stream does everything better than Nigels previous cable which I thought was very good. There is a sense of purity and lack of noise and distortion that is palpable. Hyperbole here runs rampant and I don't care to go there. I am not saying that anything is universal. I am not saying that this is the silver bullet for every application simply because I don't know and many hear are looking for something different than what I do. I don't understand a lot of that since much of what i get to hear is just not very good. In my system, in my room, with my gear this is a major step forward in hearing more, More is the word that matters and how I describe changes in general. I have a system that has been mostly constant for a number of years, I have made changes over the last 5 or so years and have written about them. I changed from CH to Riviera, a major step for me in my search for more realistic sound, I have gone to the Sunyata power products and I love their new power cords and I have learned a lot about noise from them and from the use of their gear. I was not interested to get the Reiki switch as I am not a fan of lots o f black boxes but my sources insisted that I try and I did and I kept it and now the same thing has happened to me again. I got a few messages telling me that the JundoStream was something I should try, I did.
I don't listen to gear anymore. I don't want to A/B anything. I did that many years ago and very shortly I hated everything and stopped enjoying music. I am not a gear head. In fact I don't want to ever be and I don't take much from those who are. Listening for differences IMO distorts my purpose of wanting to get more music and more engagement and more joy from my music. Iam at the point of my life that I go out searching for anything anymore. I do mean anything so my system is more and more important and the fact that I can listen for as long as I like to almost everything without wanting to change of leave tells me what I need.
I hope that helps explain my goal

 

[Di-fi]

The Jundo Stream does everything better than Nigels previous cable which I thought was very good. There is a sense of purity and lack of noise and distortion that is palpable. Hyperbole here runs rampant and I don't care to go there. I am not saying that anything is universal. I am not saying that this is the silver bullet for every application simply because I don't know and many hear are looking for something different than what I do. I don't understand a lot of that since much of what i get to hear is just not very good. In my system, in my room, with my gear this is a major step forward in hearing more, More is the word that matters and how I describe changes in general. I have a system that has been mostly constant for a number of years, I have made changes over the last 5 or so years and have written about them. I changed from CH to Riviera, a major step for me in my search for more realistic sound, I have gone to the Sunyata power products and I love their new power cords and I have learned a lot about noise from them and from the use of their gear. I was not interested to get the Reiki switch as I am not a fan of lots o f black boxes but my sources insisted that I try and I did and I kept it and now the same thing has happened to me again. I got a few messages telling me that the JundoStream was something I should try, I did.
I don't listen to gear anymore. I don't want to A/B anything. I did that many years ago and very shortly I hated everything and stopped enjoying music. I am not a gear head. In fact I don't want to ever be and I don't take much from those who are. Listening for differences IMO distorts my purpose of wanting to get more music and more engagement and more joy from my music. Iam at the point of my life that I go out searching for anything anymore. I do mean anything so my system is more and more important and the fact that I can listen for as long as I like to almost everything without wanting to change of leave tells me what I need.
I hope that helps explain my goal

Thanks so much for taking the time to elaborate—it helps put things into perspective, and I fully respect where you're coming from.

Most of us here still find ourselves chasing that “last cable” effect—not because we want to, but because it actually makes an audible difference. I often say I wish the network didn’t matter so much… or that streamer designers would just build in a solution that delivers that “sense of purity and lack of noise and distortion that is palpable” by default. But here we are.

We often default to A-B-A testing not out of habit but as a way to ground our impressions and have a common reference point here at wbf. That said, I completely understand you prefer to stay focused on the musical experience rather than the gear. Thanks again for sharing

 

[sbo6]

We often default to A-B-A testing not out of habit but as a way to ground our impressions and have a common reference point here at wbf. That said, I completely understand you prefer to stay focused on the musical experience rather than the gear. Thanks again for sharing

Is this Bizarro World? Show me examples of where this occurs with WBF members. ;-)

 

[PYP]

I don't listen to gear anymore. I don't want to A/B anything. I did that many years ago and very shortly I hated everything and stopped enjoying music. Listening for differences IMO distorts my purpose of wanting to get more music and more engagement and more joy from my music.

Rings true for me (been there, done that). Once the system sound and level of engagement are firmly established, a new cable/piece of gear is easily evaluated within that system. My setup seems to require a month of settle-in time, but I can hear some of what the new entry brings within the first hour or so. In the best cases, this first impression provide a good sense of the "flavor" of what fully develops over time.

 

[Republicoftexas69]

Rings true for me (been there, done that). Once the system sound and level of engagement are firmly established, a new cable/piece of gear is easily evaluated within that system. My setup seems to require a month of settle-in time, but I can hear some of what the new entry brings within the first hour or so. In the best cases, this first impression provide a good sense of the "flavor" of what fully develops over time.

Rings true for me also, if I like how it sounds then it stays in my system. I am not a gear hopper and have a good baseline.

 

[Di-fi]

Is this Bizarro World? Show me examples of where this occurs with WBF members. ;-)

Haha, fair enough! Maybe "often" was a stretch—point taken! A-B definitely seems more common overall. Appreciate you keeping me honest!

So why not turn this into a challenge: anyone can do A-B-A. No lab coat required—just ears, a bit of patience, and a curiosity to really know.

Why bother? Because our minds are tricky. First impressions can be powerful—but they can also be misleading. Going back to A after B helps anchor what changed, what didn’t, and whether that “wow” moment holds up or fades. It’s not about proving others wrong—it’s about being more right for yourself.

Where YMMV rules the day, A-B-A is how we move from “I think I heard” to “I’m pretty sure I heard.”

Also Big Thanks to the manufacturers who understand this process, offering generous 30-day trials. They know the importance of taking the time to really compare—what a great opportunity to experience and verify, not just guess.

 

[Elliot G.]

Haha, fair enough! Maybe "often" was a stretch—point taken! A-B definitely seems more common overall. Appreciate you keeping me honest!

So why not turn this into a challenge: anyone can do A-B-A. No lab coat required—just ears, a bit of patience, and a curiosity to really know.

Why bother? Because our minds are tricky. First impressions can be powerful—but they can also be misleading. Going back to A after B helps anchor what changed, what didn’t, and whether that “wow” moment holds up or fades. It’s not about proving others wrong—it’s about being more right for yourself.

Where YMMV rules the day, A-B-A is how we move from “I think I heard” to “I’m pretty sure I heard.”

Also Big Thanks to the manufacturers who understand this process, offering generous 30-day trials. They know the importance of taking the time to really compare—what a great opportunity to experience and verify, not just guess.

You have your process. You think this is the best way to do something and no one is saying that you can't. Personally this is not the method that I want nor use. I have said before and I will repeat again ( not aimed at anyone) when one has a properly set up system and the room, placement etc has been addressed any change is easily heard and one can see if this takes them closer to the music. I think many are searching for the solution for the problems that they caused. A soft this for a bright that etc. This is in my opinion just wrong.
This site and this Industry has way to many experts that never have to defend their positions. Reviewers don't visit other reviewers even in their own publications etc. The facts are always mixed with emotion and emotion seems to rule the day because change is hard and sometimes people can't ever accept that they be incorrect.
Last point next show you go too listen to the rooms, take notes on what you liked and what you didn't and maybe why. The n wait a few weeks and see what the press thinks. I find this really interesting ( laughs). To quote Forrest "that's all I'm going to say about that"

 

[sbo6]

Haha, fair enough! Maybe "often" was a stretch—point taken! A-B definitely seems more common overall. Appreciate you keeping me honest!

So why not turn this into a challenge: anyone can do A-B-A. No lab coat required—just ears, a bit of patience, and a curiosity to really know.

Why bother? Because our minds are tricky. First impressions can be powerful—but they can also be misleading. Going back to A after B helps anchor what changed, what didn’t, and whether that “wow” moment holds up or fades. It’s not about proving others wrong—it’s about being more right for yourself.

Where YMMV rules the day, A-B-A is how we move from “I think I heard” to “I’m pretty sure I heard.”

Also Big Thanks to the manufacturers who understand this process, offering generous 30-day trials. They know the importance of taking the time to really compare—what a great opportunity to experience and verify, not just guess.

Completely agree. I ABA as much as possible. My wife and kid is getting good at it.

IMO most folks are either afraid of the truth, too lazy to do so or are reviewers who don't have faith in their products. It's that simple.

 

[sbo6]

You have your process. You think this is the best way to do something and no one is saying that you can't. Personally this is not the method that I want nor use. I have said before and I will repeat again ( not aimed at anyone) when one has a properly set up system and the room, placement etc has been addressed any change is easily heard and one can see if this takes them closer to the music. I think many are searching for the solution for the problems that they caused. A soft this for a bright that etc. This is in my opinion just wrong.
This site and this Industry has way to many experts that never have to defend their positions. Reviewers don't visit other reviewers even in their own publications etc. The facts are always mixed with emotion and emotion seems to rule the day because change is hard and sometimes people can't ever accept that they be incorrect.
Last point next show you go too listen to the rooms, take notes on what you liked and what you didn't and maybe why. The n wait a few weeks and see what the press thinks. I find this really interesting ( laughs). To quote Forrest "that's all I'm going to say about that"

What are you afraid of? If everything is set up perfectly with excellent synergy, then why not ABA? If you're right, would it not prove you to be so?

 

[Elliot G.]

What are you afraid of? If everything is set up perfectly with excellent synergy, then why not ABA? If you're right, would it not prove you to be so?

You don't seem to understand that I don't need too do it. Anything else I would say will come off in way that might offend and I am not trying to do that. Do your thing I do mine.

 

[sbo6]

You don't seem to understand that I don't need too do it. Anything else I would say will come off in way that might offend and I am not trying to do that. Do your thing I do mine.

All we "need" to do in life is die and pay taxes.

It's about confidence in your products and proving your assessment accurate. But you do your thing with your opinion. And you know what they say about opinions? ;-)

Happy Listening!

 

[PYP]

Last point next show you go too listen to the rooms, take notes on what you liked and what you didn't and maybe why. The n wait a few weeks and see what the press thinks. I find this really interesting ( laughs). To quote Forrest "that's all I'm going to say about that"

This is true of critics of music as well. For example, when jazz musicians were listening as much as they could to Sonny Rollins when he was first experimenting, the critics said he couldn't play at all. Same with Monk. So many experts. Of course, they changed their, um, tune once these jazz greats started to receive more widespread acceptance. The critics are forgotten, but not the musicians. The herd instinct is part of being human.

 

[Di-fi]

You have your process. You think this is the best way to do something and no one is saying that you can't. Personally this is not the method that I want nor use. I have said before and I will repeat again ( not aimed at anyone) when one has a properly set up system and the room, placement etc has been addressed any change is easily heard and one can see if this takes them closer to the music. I think many are searching for the solution for the problems that they caused. A soft this for a bright that etc. This is in my opinion just wrong.
This site and this Industry has way to many experts that never have to defend their positions. Reviewers don't visit other reviewers even in their own publications etc. The facts are always mixed with emotion and emotion seems to rule the day because change is hard and sometimes people can't ever accept that they be incorrect.
Last point next show you go too listen to the rooms, take notes on what you liked and what you didn't and maybe why. The n wait a few weeks and see what the press thinks. I find this really interesting ( laughs). To quote Forrest "that's all I'm going to say about that"

Thanks for your thoughtful reply—I really do appreciate your perspective. I didn’t mean to come across as prescriptive or suggest there’s only one “right” way. Like you said, everyone has their process, and mine just happens to involve A-B-A because it helps me quiet my own biases and second-guessing. But that’s me—others may connect to the music more directly through a more intuitive, immersive path, and I respect that deeply.

Totally agree that when a system is well-set up, differences can be obvious. And you raise a really important point about chasing fixes for problems we may have created upstream—something I think we’ve all done at some point in the journey.

As for the review culture and shows—yeah, the mix of subjectivity and influence there is wild. This’ll be my last comment too, before we veer too far off topic. Appreciate the exchange!

 

[Di-fi]

Completely agree. I ABA as much as possible. My wife and kid is getting good at it.

IMO most folks are either afraid of the truth, too lazy to do so or are reviewers who don't have faith in their products. It's that simple.

It’s an interesting paradox, isn’t it? The thread is titled Best Audiophile Switch, but without structured comparisons—especially A-B-A tests—we're often relying on first impressions or memory-based perception.
A-B-A testing doesn’t solve everything, but it does help anchor what we’re hearing, reduce the influence of expectation bias, and confirm if perceived changes hold up over time.

Without that rigor, the term best starts leaning heavily on personal context—system synergy, mood, expectations, even the power grid that day. That doesn’t invalidate the impressions, but it does make “best” more about narrative than reproducible result.

So maybe the thread really reflects favorite audiophile switch rather than objectively best. And maybe that’s okay—if we acknowledge it.

This will be my last post on the subject—not wanting to go off-topic. Thanks again for the exchange.

 

[Di-fi]

This is true of critics of music as well. For example, when jazz musicians were listening as much as they could to Sonny Rollins when he was first experimenting, the critics said he couldn't play at all. Same with Monk. So many experts. Of course, they changed their, um, tune once these jazz greats started to receive more widespread acceptance. The critics are forgotten, but not the musicians. The herd instinct is part of being human.

Totally agree—what lasts is the impact of the music or the experience, not the ’early noise’ around it. The herd instinct is real, in audio too. That’s why personal listening and trusting your own ears—whether through A-B-A or just sitting with the sound—is so important.

 

[orange55]

It’s an interesting paradox, isn’t it? The thread is titled Best Audiophile Switch, but without structured comparisons—especially A-B-A tests—we're often relying on first impressions or memory-based perception.
A-B-A testing doesn’t solve everything, but it does help anchor what we’re hearing, reduce the influence of expectation bias, and confirm if perceived changes hold up over time.

Without that rigor, the term best starts leaning heavily on personal context—system synergy, mood, expectations, even the power grid that day. That doesn’t invalidate the impressions, but it does make “best” more about narrative than reproducible result.

So maybe the thread really reflects favorite audiophile switch rather than objectively best. And maybe that’s okay—if we acknowledge.

Interesting point, as I was hoping to read comparisons here. I know in my system my switch setup sounds amazing. But I have only compared it against three other audiophile switches all of which are cheaper, so I would hope the more expensive sound better. Although that is not always the case. Only one of the four switches I have tried is mentioned here, the Ethergen. I have the SOtM switch which sounded better in my system. Frankly a lot better, but then it is double the price.

I also tried the Electric 8 switch, sounds great, lacks bass and weight. The AQVOX SE switch. Found this a bit edgy and not as good as the Ethergen, although similar price.

Adding good external clocks lifted the performance massively.

Hope that helps a little towards comparisons.

 

[ssfas]

Totally agree—what lasts is the impact of the music or the experience, not the ’early noise’ around it. The herd instinct is real, in audio too. That’s why personal listening and trusting your own ears—whether through A-B-A or just sitting with the sound—is so important.

Personally, just think there is some ethernet paranoia and an easy sell, that will die away in time with a few people still losing sleep over it. I see reviewers are involved in hawking this stuff, without describing the rest of their network.

My wired ethernet has remained largely unchanged for 10 years - server etc attached to a main switch upstairs near the modem, 25m of fibre to a FMC behind the hifi with a low noise power supply and a filter between the FMC and the streamer.

The filter has changed, now use the Stack Audio LAN Regenerator instead of an EMOSystems one.

 

[audiobomber]

Only one of the four switches I have tried is mentioned here, the Ethergen. I have the SOtM switch which sounded better in my system.

Yet I've heard others say the opposite. That's why YMMV is so appropriate when discussing audio; different systems, different preferences = different results.