Well there’s a can-o-beans you just opened!
At least one positive from all this lock-down and pandemic is that my system has taken some further steps forward. The thing is, anything good that you do by way of upgrade anywhere in your network, be it a new cable, vibration control, better power supplies or whatever brings a reward, and the better your system gets, the bigger the reward becomes. No laws of diminishing returns , certainly not at the level I‘ve been working at. The other observation I would make is that in data processing, the role of the network is to move data. In audio, the role of the network should be two-fold, to move data AND to refine the signal.....regenerating finer and finer versions along the way. We know several things based on the improvements I mentioned above. We know that every stage of the network has the ability to improve the signal, proven by the fact that SQ improves, often markedly. It also proves that the improvement at one stage is passed on throughout the network which therefore must be based on ‘better signal in, better signal out’, which means that any improvement you’d hear is made on top of the improved input, which means that each and every stage has the ability to improve the signal and strongly contribute to the resulting sound quality.
Following the above, you’ll realise that a network should ideally be arranged in ever improving steps. That way its all gains with no or minimised limiting steps. So what have I done?
My system is Modem —>3 Band Router—Wi-Fi—> Ethernet Bridge—>AQVox SE—>Statement server. As you also know I had the AQVox connected to a Sean Jacob’s DC3. Adding that power supply brought such a huge uptick in performance that I added DC3s to the rest of the network. With the very generous advice and help of Nenon I then discovered the virtues and benefits of Mundorf Silver/Gold DC cables. I know some may be sceptical that a DC cable matters, but the improvement these JSSG360-format cables brought is way beyond ‘matters’; its really quite fundamental and massively improves the 3 dimensionality and unlimited spacial abilities, where the system can project an ‘any size the recording contains” acoustic venue with all the spacial ambient listening clues in place and 3 dimensional instruments playing music. With many good recordings the music is completely immersive. I was extremely happy with the way the system was sounding....it had SOTA PR&T, and generated incredible listener involvement. So naturally I wondered what even better power supplies throughout the network could achieve. A couple of calls to Sean Jacobs who‘s based in one of the Yorkshire Dales about 100 or so miles away and an upgrade path for all 3 DC3s was defined. A new, somewhat beefier ‘Statement-class’ transformer was fitted, regulation was upgraded to DC4 units, the case was lined with DC4 damping materials, iec sockets upgraded, 3 DC4 footers fitted and the units rewired with Mundorf Silver/Gold cable.
Installed and fired up, by hour 2 it started to make beautiful music with a wonderful energy and vibrancy. The system took about 3 months to reach a completely stable level of performance and I have to say, it was pure magic.....hugely spacial, 3 dimensional, pure, accurate, incredibly transparent with massive PR&T, with a soundstage as big as whatever was on the recording....sometimes small, sometimes huge, sometimes infinite.
So that’s where my system was when I added a well run in PhoenixNET. I always thought I’d like the chance to review a piece of kit, so I was pretty happy to receive this pre-production unit. I used the standard power cord and patch cord to connect from the PhoenixNET to the Statement. Remember what I said before about a network ideally being based on a series of improvements. Well that patch-cord wasn’t.....an improvement. It was exactly the opposite and proved very, very limiting. Into my attic to fetch the only extra ethernet cable I possess, a piece made and supplied by AQVox. It sounded like it sounded when it was last in my system but at least it allowed me to let the PhoenixNET do its thing, which is what I reported.
I now have my own PhoenixNET hooked up with Synergistic Research power and ethernet cables.
Several other network upgrades include the addition of a Melco S100 with Pink Faun Ultra OCXO and a dual rail DC4 with Mundorf silver/gold for all DC wiring to switch and clock. I also got hold of another Finite Elemente Pagoda Master Reference rack and some Cerabase footers for the 3 power supplies and 2 switches. So now the whole lot is again running in. Already sounds amazing but its still about 2 months for all the Mundorf content and cabling to properly condition.
