Is this a case of function following form? I suspect that it is: Each system in which I’ve used the JundoStream, whether with the Reiki SuperSwitch, or the SOtM has been significantly enhanced by the cable’s presence. It goes deeper, reaches back further, adds body and character to the instruments and performance – irrespective of whether that’s rock, pop, jazz or classical, acoustic, electronic, manipulated or a radio mix. It just seems to deliver more of the original performance – suggesting in turn that you are getting more of the data the system needs – and less of the noise it so obviously doesn’t. Direct translation of Japanese terminology is always a difficult one, but the closest approximation of Jundo might be “purity”. That seems bang on the money.
One effect that’s been widely reported by users is that the JundoStream obviates the need for additional in-line filtering of the Aardvark/Ethernet Control type. I’m not sure I’d go that far. But what I will say is that using a filter and the cable in conjunction sound very different to the cable alone: different enough to demand a system re-set. The JundoStream generates sufficient extra bottom-end weight, a big enough shift in spectral balance as to demand a nudge to well-set speakers. Adding a filter might easily reduce noise and at the same time, reduce that energy, disturbing (or restoring) system balance, depending where you are in the process and how far you’ve advanced down the dialled-in continuum. At the same time it arguably shifts the focus of such devices, moving them further upstream, preventing noise entering the network via the hub, the router or the broadband feed.
Whether adding a filter to the JundoStream is a good or a bad thing is going to depend on the environment. Inserting an Ethernet Control, for example, will potentially strip out remaining noise – but it will also introduce an additional junction into the data feed, an additional point of vulnerability to RFI influx: and that weak-point will be right next to the streamer/DAC input. I’ve run systems both ways and wound up working with both configurations, but that’s partly because I can. I live in a very low RFI environment which reduces the impact of such filters, but there’s also no doubt that the JundoStream is more capable of existing without their help than the other Ethernet cables I have on hand. I’ve taken to assuming that the JundoStream will cope and then trying the filters to see what they contribute. Just don’t rush to judgement…
Few amongst the audio-interested can have failed to notice the arrival of the Wadax Studio Player, a product that has upended the digital landscape almost overnight. This isn’t arriving with a splash: this is a tsunami – and it’s pretty much decimated the competition. But the Studio Player is more than a one trick pony, taking the place of disc replay systems but also consolidating a superior streaming solution into a single box. That has both introduced a lot of streaming sceptics to what’s possible from file-replay and caused those committed to streaming to seriously re-evaluate their rigs.
