$4,700 audiophile-grade network hub promises a noise-free experience and music with 'emotional impact' — seven isolation stages per port were chosen with 'listening comparisons,' uses a $5 Realtek controller
$4,700 audiophile-grade network hub promises a noise-free experience and music with "emotional impact." Seven isolation stages per port were chosen with "listening comparisons"
The Aurender NH10 Network Hub, priced at $4,700, is a high-end network switch designed for audiophiles seeking a noise-free and emotionally impactful music experience. This hub features eight gigabit ports, with six standard copper inputs and two SFP ports for fiber or copper connections. Interestingly, six of the six copper ports boast seven electrical filtering stages each, while the remaining two ports have only two.
The team behind Aurender decided on seven filtering stages after listening comparisons, despite initial experiments with more. The hub employs an OXCO controlled by an FPGA for clock synchronization and includes a BNC input for an external source. The main chips powering the NH10 are a Realtek RT8370N switch controller, an MV85 oscillator, and an AMD/Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA.
While hardware cannot impact sound in a digital realm, the NH10's design aims to provide a clean and isolated connection at the network level. However, the impact on sound quality remains questionable as the playback equipment handles electrical isolation of the DAC output stage.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
