SILENT ANGEL BONN NX AND GENESIS GX - REVIEW
SILENT ANGEL BONN NX NETWORK SWITCH AND GENESIS GX MASTER CLOCK
Imagine for a moment that the people around you, all the people around you, are visibly and unnaturally shaking. And it is perceptible, if you concentrate and look very closely. However, as you look more closely, you notice that there is a strange noise that accompanies the unnatural shaking. A look of bewilderment covers your face. You stop and turn very slowly as you curiously examine the people for whom all of this is true.
Jitter. The ‘skinny’ on jitter is that it’s always, well, shaking because its timing is off. And, ahhh, it’s always making noise too because of the shaking. It’s a wreck. And that shaking and noise—(electronic timing artifact)—is affecting the music (all of our music!) in some very weird and uncomely ways. Just saying. And a lot of people really don’t know or believe that it even exists! Can you imagine that?!
It was the CD player that brought ‘jitter’ to the attention of a great many, and certainly many of those in the audio industry, whose audio houses developed CD players, DACs, and other digital wares. It would be some of these same audio houses that would first understand and then deal with jitter, toward its ‘ever-increasing’ diminishment—‘Jitter Diminishment.’
I have long witnessed, the reduction of jitter via the ever-improving quality of the signal, the resultant bits and bytes, and the waveforms now emanating from CD players, DACs, streamers, etc. Recently, I have become aware of another level of ‘Jitter Diminishment’ that makes its way to consumers who value ‘high fidelity’—distortion free musical playback. My first experience with a ‘jitter diminishment’ component of this ‘raised’ level was the Silent Angel Bonn N8 pro. The Bonn N8 Pro with its 10MHz Word Clock was an eyeopening experience and has never left my system (I bought it). This, however, brings me to a higher level still with regard jitter diminishment, which brings me to this next review.
There are two new Silent Angel products—Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and the Genesis GX Word Clock—tasked singularly and collectively with higher levels of jitter diminishment. Are they largely on a par with the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro with its inbuilt 10MHz Word Clock? Or do they raise the bar significantly?
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 beginning
The Sound
Silent Angel In. Silent Angel Out. Now, let’s bring to mind that earlier scene in which everyone was shaking and their bodies were making all those strange noises as a result. Yep, jitter’s ugly. While we may not be able to do anything for the good people in this scene, the analogy hopefully provides a rough understanding and a wee bit of practical insight into what jitter is and why we want to diminish it—we want those people to stop shaking (and making that weird noise)!—like our music.
The Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and the Genesis GX Word Clock (NX/GX Combo) were employed in my reference two-channel system and my reference electrostatic headphone setup (see SYSTEMS). The first part of the review entailed placing the NX/GX Combo in a given system and taking notes on the differences of the system when there had been no switch or word clock, or when the Bonn N8 Pro Networks Switch w/10MHz word clock was replaced—Switch In. The second part of the review entailed taking both components out of the system entirely and analyzing the difference—Switch Out. And to reduce variables, I used, solely, the Genesis GX’s strength relative to the Bonn N8 Pro—its 25MHz Clock.
In my review of the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Network Switch, I gave the following observations after initially placing it into the system:
“That which was quasi-intelligible … is now clear, has entered the mix earlier than previously heard, and is also more transparent and better resolved.”
Experience and hindsight are two potentially powerful tools for a reviewer and especially during a time when technological improvements blaze forward, leading to ever-continuing improvements. And this is what was experienced when switching the NX/GX Combo into the reference two-channel system and then into the reference headphone system.
If there was no network switch or word clock before the NX/GX Combo was switched in, then the improvements were vast and immediate, across the board. This was easily heard in both systems and it encompassed rather notable leaps in improvement—transparency, resolution, ambiance, air, staging, etc—and overall musicality which conveyed greater emotional pull. Tone and timbre were more natural, there was a better realization of texture, while decay, ambiance, air, and even the indrawn breath of performers were now more easily heard. And still there was more. The music, better refined and more organic, arose from a background that was black quiet.
When the NX/GX Combo replaced the Bonn N8 pro the improvements were also very immediate, though not as stark as having no network switch and/or word clock. The NX/GX Combo, for instance, brought an overall clarity and focus, as if quasi-translucent layers were summarily removed. This resulted in being able to hear (see) a good deal more of the stage, the performers, the crowd, their interaction, and the ‘micro-sounds’—violin bow positioned, subtle finger movements across the strings of a cello (heretofore unheard), the turn of a page, a stifled cough, etc. Further, this combination of greater ‘jitter diminishment’ delivered an ‘analog-ease’ that dropped one’s shoulders, settled one in to hear the music, and, unfortunately, often prevented one from taking review notes.
However, once the NX/GX Combo was taken out of the system, things got very interesting. My reference system has evolved to be a highly transparent, resolving, detail rich, musical renderer of signals and streams and waveforms. It has deftly allowed me to parse even ethernet cables switched in/out, at the very top of the chain. And it has recently gotten even better with the addition of the Vivid Audio Kaya 45s!
The above said, it was easier for me to discern the difference without the NX/GX Combo than I would ever have imagined. The resultant increase in jitter made the music sound more vague, murkier, bereft of a good measure of previous detail, and more, well, strident. This I would never have even imagined, despite my long years as an audiophile and music lover.
I am trying to think of a single person I know who wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, especially given my very revealing though musical reference system. I cannot think of that person. My friend’s daughter (15) couldn’t miss the change, it was that stark. Needless to say, it was a firm letdown when the NX/GX Combo was removed from the system after having lived with it for weeks.
If your system is fairly discerning—transparent, resolving, detailed and musical— you will immediately get the difference, especially if you’ve not been using a network switch or clock at all. If you’ve only been using a network switch you will still, very much, hear the difference. However, it is taking the NX/GX Combo out that will provide a most profound understanding of that which you no longer have. At least, that is what it has done for me and my system.
The Wrappings and Accessories
The Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and Genesis GX Word Clock are packaged in robust, thick, cardboard boxes, which contain an inner padded box that holds both products securely, and in my case free from damage.
The Bonn NX’s box included:
A power cord
A power adapter
An ethernet cable
Quick start guide
Warranty card
The Genesis GX’s box included:
A power cord
4-Clock cables
Quick start guide
Warranty card
Design—Look, Feel, and Technology
The Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and Genesis GX Word Clock are designed in what might be called industrial chic. They are both slim affairs that share the same dimensions and styling, carry a weight that convincingly conveys their gravitas, and once employed, their functionality. And, should one wish, they can be discretely hidden away as they perform their task of eliminating jitter.
FUNCTIONALITY
Silent Angel Bonn NX is a reference network switch that contains eight gold-plated ethernet ports, an internal word clock and the ability to tether to a 25MHz external word clock and to host a 12V external power supply. It also has an IEC receptacle.
Its chief responsibility is to supply, via its architecture, a clean and jitter-diminished signal to better serve the streamed music to its attached system.
Silent Angel Genesis GX Word Clock is a reference clock that provides four independent word clocks—2-10MHz, 2-25MHz—via gold-plated connectors, and a ground plug. It also has an IEC receptacle.
Its chief responsibility is “to deliver the best audio quality possible” to its attached system.
Conclusion
The Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and the Genesis GX Word Clock will together dramatically reduce jitter, period. What the switch-in of the Silent Angel NX/GX combo will entail is an eyeopening experience and a real-world introduction to ‘Jitter 101’. What this will mean in practical terms for one’s music is greater focus and resolution and transparency, more detail, and a better overall appreciation of your music. The prior ‘noise’ or ‘shakes’ as the above analogy attempts to define has simply been dealt with to a much greater degree than most will have ever experienced. Other aspects of improvement will be that tones and timbres will be more germane/natural to their points of origin—vocalists, musicians. And there will be refinement via the Silent Angel NX/GX Combo noticeable in the more natural and nuanced presentation, the sense of ease, and greater access to a performance’s spatial cues.
If what you seek is the next level with regard to effectively diminishing jitter and its attendant troublesome gremlins to a state of dramatic unnoticeability (‘shake-free’), you may wish to look no further than the Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and the Silent Angel Genesis GX Word Clock combo.
The Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch and the Silent Angel Genesis GX Word Clock are easy winners of our DIAMOND AWARD for excellence, which takes into account their build quality, their ‘service skill’—‘jitter diminishment’ in the interest of the music—and their ability to do it exceptionally well.
Pros: An exceptional option for mid-fi to high-fi systems that will provide improvement across all aspects of the music and especially so if you do not have an optimized network switch and word clock already employed in your system.
Cons: None.
THE SYSTEMS
1.
Grimm Audio MU1
Silent Angel Bonn NX Pro Network Switch
Silent Angel Genesis GX Clock
Mola Mola Tambaqui
Bricasti Design M1SE
Lyric Ti 100 SET (Single-Ended-Triode) Integrated
Vivid Audio Kaya 45 Speakers
Kubala Sosna Wires/Cables
RSX Power Cords
Seismion Electrified Amp Stand
2.
Grimm Audio MU1
Silent Angel Bonn NX Pro Network Switch
Silent Angel Genesis GX Clock
Mola Mola Tambaqui
Bricasti Design M1SE
Audionet PRE G2 Preamp
Audionet AMP Monoblocks
Vivid Audio Kaya 45 Speakers
Kubala Sosna Wires/Cables
RSX Power Cords
Seismion Electrified Amp Stand
The Technical Specifications
SILENT ANGEL BONN NX NETWORK SWITCH
SILENT ANGEL GENESIS GX MASTER CLOCK
The Company
Thunder Data, Co., Ltd.
Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch $3,899
Silent Angel Genesis GX Master Clock $3,699
Thunder Data Co., Ltd
www.silent-angel-audio.com