Can there be too much?

1. I would keep it down to a minimum necessary 

2. Do you think you’re missing something with that component out of the system?

I know when I spoke to Bill at ADDpower and was considering which to get first a switch or a symphony. Obviously, he gave me a biased answer and said to get the symphony first. I can’t recall why he gave me a good explanation why. But I do feel I remember him saying that it wouldn’t interfere with a switch if you purchased one down the line. Hopefully that’s the case as both are doing two different things.

The philosophy that has worked for me is the absolutely highest quality and fewest number of single function components in the loop. The "straight wire" approach even reaches into the component and dictates... no tone controls.

So I have a flagship streamer (take care of any deficiencies of the network) and top notch DAC. Sound quality is as good or better than my very high end vinyl rig. 

Assuming your switch does no harm, I would just get a pair of excellent Ethernet cables and call it a day

Shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Applies to audio too!

Now the question is have you tried the Symphony I/O with your new switch? If it sound better (not different) then leave it in. Only you can tell there is no right or wrong answer, your ears will know. 

Thanks All! Great responses!

@audphile1 question 2 is yes indeed, isn’t that why we’re always tweaking things because maybe we could be missing something😂? Indeed my friend especially already having the symphony I am thinking maybe I could be missing something?

@gkelly I too spoke with Bill before first purchasing the Symphony and whilst he was very gracious because I had no clue how best to connect it, I never felt like he answered my questions directly as far as how best to connect. My question was to do both USB and Ethernet or just do either? Though I did find 1 review that stated they had no idea how or why the Symphony did what it did, but it made a noticeable improvement and they used both Ethernet AND USB connections to the streamer/DAC.

I also agree with the less is more theory on many things (love the straight line theory @foggyus91) just wasn’t sure that applied to audio as well…

I know when I first added the Symphony (this was before adding the Hermes and LHY switch) I did notice an improvement. System sounded more “alive”. And like I said once I got the LHY is when I removed the Symphony…

Thanks for your time and advice I look forward to hearing from any and all with more thoughts…

@kingbr 

For whatever it's worth: I have a Sorcer X4  and a LHY-SW10.  The sorcer is a different beast as it plugs into the wall and is not directly connected to any equipment. The beauty of it is it enhances all my systems, vinyl, CDs and streaming. The streaming sounds fantastic with both the LHY-SW10 and Sorcer X4 together. 

@kingbr 

(love the straight line theory @foggyus91) just wasn’t sure that applied to audio as well

It was Peter Walker of Quad who first said an ideal amplifier would be "a straight wire with gain" in the 1960s, so over 60 years ago!

He designed, built and marketed both valve and solid-state amplifiers. He was so incensed by a reviewer who claimed these sounded different that he paid for the best blind listening tests I have ever seen reported.

There were three sets of amplifiers with one set being valve driven, one set the revolutionary current-dumping 405, and the third set being conventional solid-state.

A review panel of industry heavyweights spent two days listening to 16 studio-master tracks played A-B on two randomised sets of amplifiers.  Each panel member just had to record whether A sounded the same, better or worse than B.

Sometimes A and B actually were the same amplifier!

For every reviewer, the results were statistically inconclusive.  The original challenger withdrew from the tests, and was driven out of the industry.

I have had an Ad Powr Symphony IO.  I was hesitant to add more connections.  It added a little more sparkle and richness.  I felt it was a nice improvement.  Then I went from Bluesound Node 2i/Topping to Innuous/Denafrips.  That was a big change.  I have been listening to the system with IO on and off to see if I still need it.  I agree, less is better but sometimes the gain is enough to justify leaving it.

With so many variables in streaming setups there is no single answer to this question, only you can answer this question by comparing with Symphony in and out of system. I've found instances where adding equipment has enhanced sound quality and vice versa. Bottom line, best sound quality is best sound quality regardless of number of components. Streaming interfaces are a particular issue with streaming, many find various interface devices to be effective because of those inherent issues. 

Sorry, but YES - too much digital degrades SQ.

IMO, analogue is much simpler and sounds better as well.

Enjoying the responses, and thanks to all you, All for taking the time!

@daledeee1 appreciate that perspective. So you are keeping the Symphony involved after moving up to Innuous/DENAFRIPS, huh?

@sns I know man, only way to know is to do it. And I will. Just wanted to get some perspective from any with experience.

The good part is that I already have an extra excellent Ethernet cable from Pine Tree Audio so I don’t have to spend another cent to reintroduce the Symphony. 

@inagroove thats is precisely my concern, is there such a thing as too much🤷🏼‍♂️

Ultimately only thing it will cost is some time and some painful twisting/contorting😂

Another thing I have noticed is that I have read many cases where people have said even higher end Network Switches have not made a bit of difference to sound quality, but I have yet to see anything negative about ADD-Powr products. And when I initially added Symphony (before Hermes and LHY), I did hear a noticeable improvement…

@kingbr The jury is still out.  60/40 keep

@daledeee1 Thanks for the response my friend. And FWIW, one of the biggest improvements to my rig was when I added the DENAFRIPS Hermes DDC😉! Worth every cent. 

OP

yes, I think so. but if the synergy is right, then all goes we

I'm one of those who found adding an audiophile switch diminished sound quality. On the other hand, adding Gaia DDC,  linear power supplies to every single streaming component, and second streamer for Roon all resulted in improvement. 

For anyone running Roon more complexity is likely required for best sound quality. For myself and many other running Roon with separate streamers, one running Core and the other Endpoint results in superior sound quality to running just one streamer, this likely due to complex Roon interface which requires much processor power which in turn means added noise. The same holds true with linear power supplies, many of hear superior results with lps on every streaming component. And then I could also go into all the interface filters and optimizers out there, usb, I2S, LAN all have their issues and many find interface improvments via these devices. 

Vs all this complexity we have those advocating simplicity. Since Roon necessarily complex for best performance we need a different music app, the proprietary ones seem to get good reviews. Can we simplify and yet maintain high quality interfaces without add on filters/optimizers? So, assuming these are effective, these filters/optimizers would have to be contained within streamers, dacs, switches in order to simplify. Same goes with external linear power supplies, these would all have to be contained within components. And then I could go on with local storage solutions, optimization of modems and routers. So the most simple, least complex solution would be a integrated streamer such that one has local storage, dac and streamer all contained within a single component. Would this be considered best solution based on straight wire concept? And then we have all manner in between most complex and least complex setups, and this where most of us likely find ourselves. On one hand we have the argument having discrete components that serve single needs are best, on the other integrated components that serve more than one need best. Do we have direct comparisons or face offs with streaming setups to work from?  Doubt we'll ever come to some definitive answer on any of this, far too many variables to account for, each of us will come to our own conclusions, and what's wrong with that.