That’s absolutely right, Robert.
Minimizing network traffic (to which the streamer is connected) and disabling Wi‑Fi both influence the calmness of the sound.
At the moment, my laptop is hardwired to the network and Wi‑Fi is disabled (as Kenny already mentioned, I believe).
Closing the Roon app on my laptop during playback also has effect.
I’m curious to try this myself with my Tempus Switch and K41/K22 combo.
Antipodes say the Direct Stream Ethernet port is superior to the Network Port on the K41.
My set up is:
Tempus > Muon Pro Filter > K41 Server > Muon Pro Ethernet Cable > K22 Streamer
I won’t bother trying to use my Tempus Switch as a network “hub” and have both K41 and K22 (Muon Pro Filter) both coming from the Tempus if indeed using my above set up chain will be superior.
The NA product manual for the Tempus says: “ Tempus has been designed with huge switching/processing capacity, enabling you to simultaneously connect to
and deliver a clean signal to all the networked devices in your home entertainment system.”
So, should I at least try this NA Tempus recommended set up or just stay with the Antipodes recommended use of Network input and Direct Stream output Ethernet to my K22 ?
I guess Ethernet send/ receive protocols from the same Ethernet Port simultaneously makes a change to my set up a breeze.
You have what may be unique opportunity to evaluate a number of options that maybe Antipodes themselves can’t evaluate (unless of course they have on hand both a NA Tempus plus a Muon Pro). I would encourage you to give it go prior to hearing what Antipodes recommends so what they recommend has no chance of biasing you.
I think I would want to try the Muon Pro just before the K22. Since it’s the K22 that directly connects to your DAC, reducing noise that goes into the K22 may pay greater dividends.
And as far as plugging both the K41 and K22 into tempus, given the magnitude of improvement I heard from the tempus feeding a K50, I would have tripped over myself to hear what might be gained by connecting both Kala devices into the tempus.
I definitely appreciate any guidance a manufacturer can provide, but as you can probably tell, I place a much higher value on what my own ears tell me - especially when it comes to products that reduce noise. We each have different sensitivities, so our own ears should be our guide. Plus without letting our own ears decide we can’t know how closely we should follow advice others have given us.
There IS a fairly substantial difference in sound with the Tempus.
I also got a NA Muon Pro Ethernet cable to link my K41/K22 last week.
It’s got about 150 hours burn on so far, but it’s tipped the balance towards a “slightly” more upfront sound that I’m not sure that I like. The bass also seems a tad less in volume than before, although the definition and dynamics are still there, perhaps also a bit more dynamic too.
I’ll keep burning it in until I’m at 300 or so hours and try again.
Then I’ll switch the connections over to an all Tempus to Antipodes feed and see what i prefer.
Good plan. My tempus was preowned so it didn’t take long for it to really impress me. Rob from NA cautioned me nonetheless about it needing some time to settle in.