English Electric 8Switch

[Antonmb]

Just added to the system, the new English Electric 8Switch 8-port Ethernet switch. English Electric is a new division of the Chord Company. The switch is said to, among other claims, have noise isolation, a “medical grade” power supply (although still switching), a customized temperature-optimized clock, and a hefty aluminum case. It arrived very nicely packaged and came with a .75 meter length of Chord’s C-Stream Ethernet cable.

I replaced an old Trendnet switch with this and have all my hard-wired music streamers connected to it (MicroRendu, UltraRendu, Linn Klimax DSM, Linn Klimax Renew) as well as the SonicTransporter and Synology NAS. My main rig (the Klimax DSM) is already well-isolated with an EtherRegen in front of it so no difference is jumping out at me there, but there is a meaningful improvement in my second system and with the UltraRendu headphone system, which are fed directly from the switch: the sound seems cleaner and imaging more focused.

https://englishelectric.uk
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[John49]

I have been thinking of getting one of these. The Chord Company have had most of my money up to now, so why not! Very interested in your findings Antonmb.

[Abcde]

@antonmb
How would you compare the English Electric 8switch with the Etherregen? Which of the two would you recommend?

[Masterlu]

Abcde... Welcome to AA!

[Antonmb]

Welcome abcde (clever moniker[emoji16]). I don’t think I can really compare the English 8Switch and the EtherRegen, they serve different purposes in my system. In my network cabinet, I use the 8Switch to connect all my streaming-related devices: NAS, 4 streamers, and server. It’s a good, high-quality switch, and I need the 8 ports. From there I have a 30’ run of Audioquest Forest that goes to my main system, where the EtherRegen sits in front of my Linn Klimax streamer. The EtherRegen serves as a final “moat” to provide isolation for the Linn and gets rid of any vestiges of noise in the system. You can use the ER as a switch too, but it only has 4 ports.

So I guess it depends on your system. If you only need 4 ports, or if you want to go optical, then I’d say the ER because of its isolation capabilities. If you need more ports, then I can highly recommend the 8Switch.