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Aardvark in-line network filter

Aardvark in-line network filter

Outside of audio applications, aardvarks are insect-eating mammals native to sub-Saharan Africa. In audio, however, Aardvarks are noise-eating filters native to Argentina. With the Aardvark in-line network filter, I think we won the battle.

The product itself couldn’t be more straightforward. You plug it between your Ethernet cable and your streamer or server. The RJ45 connector goes into your audio device. Your Ethernet cable (and the outside world) plugs into the rectangular box. 

The female end of the Aardvark (the bit in the box) is transformer-coupled. It also has two coils in that box, transmitting data via inductance, with no electrical connectivity between them. That means proper, entirely passive galvanic isolation. It’s that simple.

Of course, ‘it’s that simple’ is never that simple. The Aardvark in-line network filter relies on high-grade micro transformers, hard-wired using silver alloy solder, and carefully selected cables. Selected for its shielding properties, the RJ45 connector is hand-built and encased in its anti-vibration case.

It’s also the result of hours upon hours of listening tests. Months of evaluation ensued for every component in the Aardvark. This inflexible little dongle is a labour of love. No sensible human being would create the Aardvark in-line network filter in the quest for a fast buck. 

Nerd toothpaste

The alpha nerds who make the Aardvark supply it in bubble wrap and a white card case. This is similar in size and shape to toothpaste packets but with less garish colours. It does have what looks like a wax seal with a little aardvark in place of a royal crest. The box has a pithy mission statement printed on two faces; “because digital audio is about time and silence.” I’d cranked up my sarcasm catapult to say something snide about this statement, but it damn well holds in the performance of the Aardvark in-line network filter.

There are two sides to its evaluation. Does it work? And, if it does, does it work better than an audiophile network switch, and by how much? The TL:DR answers are ‘yes’, ‘mostly’ and ‘it depends’. The Aardvark unquestionably works as a bulwark against noise distributed along an Ethernet cable. If you have shifted to fibre optic Ethernet, what the Aardvark does no longer applies.  

Funny ha-ha or funny peculiar

My grandfather worked on what became known as ‘Hobart’s Funnies’ before discovering he was allergic to torpedoes. ‘Funnies’ were highly specialised armoured fighting vehicles, each built on a converted tank. They included mine-sweeping flails, amphibious landing tanks for laying pathways, armoured bulldozers, and more. 

I mention this because the Aardvark in-line network filter joins a plethora of audio ‘funnies’ designed to do a specific task well—in this case, keeping the network noise nasties outside the system. There are many products that do the same thing, but few are quite as small, simple, or elegant as the Aardvark, and only a handful do the job as competently. 

It’s very simple. The Aardvark in-line network filter strips away whatever it is in Ethernet performance that seems to make it appear artificial and flat-sounding compared to CD versions and allows the music to spring back to life. This was an easy test to make, as I have several ripped CDs stored on a NAS drive and comparing them to the original CD played through a CD player exposes the differences easily, clearly, and quickly. Notionally, the CD should sound inferior to the ripped version as its error correction is performed on the fly and is nothing like the bit-perfect ripped track. However, in reality, the CD sounds more alive and vivid, while the stored music has a flat soundstage and often sounds musically dull. 

The Aardvark goes a long way toward levelling that playing field. It gives recordings life, space, and vibrancy that were missing before. 

Unflattening sound

Another helpful test is running a local music server directly into the streamer. Then, compare the sound of recordings with those taken from online music libraries. If the home server sound is ‘flat’ compared to the CD original, then external streamed sources have suffered a bizarre steamrollering accident. And here, the Aardvark in-line network filter really comes into its own. I’m surprised just how much of what we think is poor-quality streaming sound is actually the bit between the outside world and your streamer filling the DAC with ‘meh!’. 

The Aardvark snuffles out noise like its African namesake does with ants and what’s left is clean, vivid and three-dimensional. Playing ‘Drive Home’ by top progster Steven Wilson on his The Raven That Refused to Sing album [Kscope] highlights the benefits. This track maxes out on the atmosphere and demands a lot of detail, space, and soundstaging. These are traditionally aspects streaming nails, but played through the Aardvark, there’s a holographic quality that is sorely missing elsewhere.

Like the best of the ‘Funnies’, the Aardvark in-line network filter knows no fear. It’s untroubled by the recording scale and is equally comfy when used with lower and very high-end equipment. I’ve also used this with several decent network switches (in particular, the Melco S100 data switch). While it doesn’t raise the musical bar as high as it might when keeping the noise from some low-cost Netgear switch at bay, there is still improvement.

Bringing vibrancy back

Once again, this is mainly in the soundstage, bringing vibrancy back to the music. Sometimes, that’s more literal than figurative, as it polishes up the tonal colour of a recording. But it often strips away the musical flattening that comes with the network territory. Instead, it breathes new life into the recording.

This is one of the most surprising products I’ve heard all year—in a good way. The Aardvark in-line network filter might look small and simple, but it knows how to maximise networked audio. 

Price and availability

Aardvark In-line RJ45 Filter: £499/ $449

Manufacturer

Aardvark

www.aardvark.com.ar

UK distributor

The AudioWorks

www.theaudioworks.co.uk

+44(0)161 428 7887

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Tags: AARDVARK IN-LINE NETWORK FILTER

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