Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch

It is an extension or the big brother of the previously available Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch, which Thunder Data Co. Ltd. now introduces with the new Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch.

With the new Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch, Thunder Data Co. Ltd. now offers another solution under the Silent Angel brand, which is aimed at all those who want to equip their hi-fi chain with the highest level of “data delivery”, i.e. a solution that is intended to handle the data stream for streaming in a particularly accurate manner. Ultimately, a separate segment in the overall network can be set up – quite banally and technically not quite correctly expressed – in which only hi-fi components are used, so that other systems in the rest of the network cannot exert any disruptive influences on the signal processing.

The new Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch has been developed for audiophile music lovers as a so-called “go-to network switch” who want to settle for nothing less than the ultimate “hi-fi network”, as the manufacturer himself puts it.

Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch for a dedicated network segment

In practice, this means that streaming components, music servers or the central network storage solution, a so-called NAS, on which the audio data for music streaming is stored, are not connected directly to the router of the Internet provider as usual, but instead to the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch. This then establishes a connection to the already available central router, so that, as described above, a separate segment is set up solely for streaming.

Designed for the highest quality in every detail

The Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro is the ideal network switch for audiophile users because, according to the manufacturer, it has been equipped with techniques for interference reduction and clock precision and is designed for optimising sensitive high-frequency audio networks.

A very important aspect is the design of the connectors themselves, because in conventional solutions, according to the manufacturer, they are arranged far too close together to effectively prevent mutual negative interference. Therefore, in the new Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch, the distance between the Gigabit ports has been increased by 5 mm, and the eight available connections are each equipped with 1um gold-plated GbE ports, which should enable better signal transmission and also greater user-friendliness, especially when using cables that are somewhat larger than standard network cables.

Thunder Data Co. Ltd. also paid great attention to the switch’s clock, which uses a TCXO, also known as a Temperature Compensation Crystal Oscillator, to significantly reduce latency and jitter. The manufacturer promises that the TCXO is 50 times more precise (0.01 ppm) than conventional solutions.

As if that were not enough, there are said to be two versions of the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch, one of which has an external 10 MHz word clock input in the form of a BNC connector.

Another important area is, of course, the power supply, which relies on a “Radar Grade Power Module” and highly efficient DC/DC converters, as described by the manufacturer itself. It is also interesting that the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch, according to the manufacturer, has a low power signal of 28 mV (Vp-p), compared to conventional solutions that work with 122 mV (Vp-p).

Also essential is an EMI absorber that is effectively embedded throughout the power board to reduce electronic noise. This works in the range from 1 MHz to 18 GHz.

It is interesting that the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch does not have any LEDs on the front, the typical LEDs for displaying data traffic can only be found on the rear, so that the system can be easily integrated into the rack without having to realise some kind of Christmas lighting. A detail, but a very important one, especially in this environment, in our opinion.

In this context, it should also be mentioned that the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch presents itself with a solid metal housing in discreet black, which measures 44.11 cm in length, 17.5 cm in depth and 5.2 cm in height and thus weighs 2.6 kg.

Optional external power supply unit

For those who want to expand or upgrade the new Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch, an external power supply is available, which Thunder Data Co. Ltd. offers in the form of the Silent Angel Forester F2 Linear Power Supply.

Prices and availability

According to the manufacturer, the new Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch should be available in specialist shops by the end of March 2022. The price for this switch is US$ 1.099,- and the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro-CLK with external Word Clock will go for US$ 1.399,-

Getting to the point

Solutions from Thunder Data Co. Ltd. under the Silent Angel brand should appeal to hi-fi enthusiasts who really want to optimise every area of their hi-fi chain and thus create the best possible conditions for outstanding quality. Of course, this also includes the area of networking when it comes to streaming. The Silent Angel brand already offered audiophile solutions for handling data traffic in the network, but the new Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Audiophile Grade Audio Network Switch is supposed to be even more meticulous and actually prevent any negative influence in the beginning.