SILENT ANGEL BONN N8 PRO - REVIEW
SILENT ANGEL BONN N8 PRO
If one remains open and aware to the fact that change is inevitable, whether to one personally or to the world at large and beyond, and one eschews stultifying ideologies, that censure or block change and any new or relevant information, then one can be assured of continued growth and discovery and life.
Change can happen on many levels and in many timelines—geological, generational, yearly, and immediate. Remaining open, unlike the noted, amplifier manufacturer who staunchly believes that wires/cables are “snake oil,” can truly lead one to quite wonderful revelations.
This is but a fancy way of saying, that though I had exceptional experience with the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 Streamer and Forester F2 Linear Power Supply duo, the idea of a network switch bringing to bear anything other very marginal change/improvement was doubtful, though I remained open.
And this brings me to the review of the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Network Switch, a rather interesting experience which confirmed my notion of just how much one doesn’t know and how much one still has to learn. Needless to say, the Bonn N8 Pro was eyeopening.
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start, below, with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Terminator, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Queen’s Gambit, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginnin
The SYSTEM
Baetis Audio Revolution X4 Streamer
Silent Angel Rhein Z1 Plus Streamer
Silent Angel Forester F2 Linear Power Supply (LPS)
Silent Angel Bonn N8 Network Switch
Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
Mojo Audio Mystique X SE DAC
Dan Clark CORINA Electrostatic Headphones
STAX SR-009S Electrostatic Headphones
Blue Hawaii SE Electrostatic HPA
Kubala Sosna Cables/Wires/Power Cords
Black Cat TRØN Signature Digital Cable
TORUS RM20 Power Conditioner
The Sound
I plugged the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro into the system, attached the various ethernet cables, plugged it into the Forester F2 Linear Power Supply, and I let it all settle for awhile.
Two days later, I came back, plugged myself into the the system (System 1) and experienced a bit of a shock, which lead to a few minutes of drooling catatonia. Well, not quite, but it was, indeed, an immediate revelation.
Regardless of the price point and the system that utilized the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Network Switch there was always, and I do mean always, noticeable improvement. Whether the Silent Angel “Tiny Tots”—Munich M1 and Forester F1 (review coming)—served as source or the Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 or the Grimm Audio MU1 and Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, the improvements were unmistakeable. And my initial skepticism was put in check time and time again.
Suffice to say that there is an abundance of clarity with the Bonn N8 Pro serving as network switch, and said clarity diminished when the Bonn N8 Pro is removed from the system. Further, the frequency spectrum from ‘treble+’ to midrange to sub-bass is, well, “more” in every respect. More?
That which was quasi-intelligible—certain choral segments, instruments at depth within a given orchestral soundstage, a singer’s barely audible phrasing, the signing of birds offstage (Olafur Arnalds, “Arbakkinn”, Island Songs, Mercury KX), etc.—is now clear, has entered the mix earlier than previously heard, and is also more transparent and better resolved. Given the current reference systems (see “Systems”) this was surprising. And it speaks clearly to the point that all segments, even the ethernet switch and ethernet cables, need to be well regarded and tended to.
But that revelation was but one of several. Tone and timbre became more natural, more, well, musical and involving. And while this was certainly true of the top reference systems, it was also true of the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo and their siblings the ‘Tiny-Tots’—Munich M1 and Forester F1—to no small degree. Further, the stage became more real—intimate and up close, personal, if the track called for that, or vast and deep, with improved layering and positioning, as there was now more information—microdynamics, detail, relative ambiance, etc.—available.
Yes, I know, “it’s a network switch for crying out loud!” This represents yet another instance, case, where I had only thought minor improvements would be forthcoming and from the better systems at the cutting edge, “what could they learn?” Quite a bit it seems. Though the Bonn N8 Pro also has an internal clock which, no doubt, contributed to the substantive improvement of musical playback whenever the Bonn N8 Pro was utilized.
For the purposes of this review, I will not evaluate the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro across the various, differentiated, frequency regions—treble, midrange, bass—for the simple fact that improvement was consistently noted from the tip-top treble region to the subterranean, Holy-Bass-Head-Grail bottom. This, as most know, is no small feat and the Bonn N8 Pro was always up to the task.
WRAPPINGS, ACCESSORIES
The Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro is packaged in a robust, thick, black, cardboard box that is printed on its top only, with the Silent Angel logo centered.
The interior box is padded with with white foam sheets.
The Bonn N8 Pro’s included contents are:
A power cord
A power adapter
An ethernet cable
DESIGN, LOOK, FEEL
Like its siblings the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro network switch is clean, well designed. Though unlike them it is wide, of relatively short depth, but a couple inches high, and light weight.
The Bonn N8 Pro front panel bears its logo, centered. All other sides, save its rear panel, are without design or input or output.
The Bonn N8 Pro back panel bears from left to right an IEC for one’s power cord, an On/Off switch, a grounding port, a BNC word clock interface, a switch which activates either the internal word clock or an external word clock, an LED indicator switch, and eight, gold-plated. ethernet ports.
The Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro is minimalist, features great attention to detail, and is beautifully executed.
FUNCTIONALITY
Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro is a network switch which sports the added feature of an internal word clock and the ability to tether to an external word clock.
The Bonn N8 Pro features eight gold-plated ethernet ports and a Temperature Compensation Crystal Oscillator (TCXO). The combination of which “reduces signal interference, greatly lowers network latency issues, and jitter effects.”
Perhaps, most importantly, the Bonn N8 Pro is a plug-and-play affair. Attach your router to its ethernet port, then attach the various ethernet cables from your streaming devices into its available ports. If an external word clock is not available, leave the switch on internal word clock and get ready to experience the benefits. You may ground it as well.
SPECIFICATIONS
SILENT ANGEL BONN N8 PRO
Available Model: N8 PRO-CLK (with an 10MHz external Word Clock input)
N8 PRO (without external Word Clock input)
Color: Black
Power Input: IEC (AC) 100-240V, 50/60Hz (DC) 12V/1A at max
Power Use: 10 Watt at max
Ethernet Port: Pure gold-plated 1GbE RJ45 port x 8
Interface: Clock input switch x 1 (external/internal)
BNC interface 10MHz external Word Clock
Silent Angle specialized TCXO clock module
LED indicator switch x 1
Control the on/off status of LAN port LED
Grounding Port x 1
Connect to a ground box to make the signal quality more purer and
precise without interference
LED Indicator: Power LED (Green) x 1 at the front panel Port Status LED x 8 (Light on when linked; Flash when it's active) at the rear panel) Green: 1000Mbps; Amber: 100Mbps
Temperature: Operating: 32 ~ 86 °F Storage: -4 ~ 158 °F
Humidity: Operating: 10% ~ 90% RH (non-condensing) Storage: 5% ~ 95% RH (non-condensing)
Dimensions: 17.37 (W) inch x 2.05 (H) inch x 6.89 (D) inch
Weight: 5.74 lbs
Conclusion
The Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro is a must whether you own other Silent Angel products or not, as it is quite fastidious with regard to eliminating noise at the ‘entry point’ of one’s streaming system via optimized components, build quality, and an internal word clock. Though having experienced the synergy between the various Silent Angel products, it is easy to comprehend an A to Z engineering/programming, via R&D, that targets optimization among ‘siblings’.
The long, slim, almost wafer-like component provides a cover that does not, at all, begin to tell its most profound story—if you are not already networked-switched and ‘clocked’ to the max, your system will experience improvement, period.
In terms of awards, I would say that the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro lifts the Rhein Z1 and the Forester F2 to the top-end of its already achieved Gold KeyNote Award, easily, where it stands poised to move yet higher. Will the Silent Angel new dedicated Word Clock—Genesis GX—move things to the next award level?
Pros: A product that will level up most systems and all systems that are not currently using a network switch with a built-in word clock.
Cons: None.
[Note: Did not apply the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro to the reference two-channel system, so the above refers solely to headphone listening.]
The Company
Thunder Data, Co., Ltd.
Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Network Switch $1,599
Thunder Data Co., Ltd
www.silent-angel-audio.com