best network switch configuration for audio

Bloviate on, ulmerc. That was a great post - understandable, helpful info based on real life experience, not just conjecture. I'll be using some of this info for sure.  To clarify, though - when you say PoE switches can be noisy, do you mean sound noise or electrical noise?

Sorry it's been so long since I visited this one.  I've actually experienced both.  Not all AC power supplies are created equally.  I've consistency had the best results in A/V use cases when working with networking equipment by manufacturers who have a history of designing equipment with datacenters in mind.  The power may be redundant but it's often shared by hundreds or even thousands of other devices and it can get pretty foul. 

When it comes to network switching, I've been supremely disappointed by the offerings from reputable A/V manufacturers like Crestron, AMX and Control4.  To be perfectly candid, I have no idea why they bothered to make the attempt.  They're not really any better than off the shelf brands like Netgear and Linksys.  Fine for basic stuff but if you're getting into any of the interesting multicast applications that are creeping into the world of A/V, spend a few extra bucks on even a used enterprise grade switch. 

Most of the A/V applications will have good enough documentation that tells you what you need to configure to get everything working.  The big bonus with enterprise grade network switches come into play when you start working with QoS (Quality of Service) queuing to guarantee levels of bandwidth and priority to specific network traffic.  Without it I'm sure you can well imagine how bad your knucklehead son can affect your HD video or audio stream when he launches a 5GB bittorrent download.  With a little bit of tweaking you can throttle him down and make your HD streams bomb proof.

I thought switching would be dead simple until I read this thread. Actually, I’d like to keep it simple if I can.

My husband I and are elders now, and Audio is strictly my “game” so I don’t expect a lot of bit torrent interference, to put it mildly. The most that can happen is my husband might be watching TV with no Ethernet needed at the same time I am listening to music.

That said, do I really need a managed pro switch? Can I get by with a simple unmanaged switch from Netgear? My Netgear Nighhawk router will host only two Ethernet Cat6a cables. I just need one switch at my TV room where I want to split an Ethernet Cable to two sources, a Roku and a DVD player/network streamer. Will that lone consumer grade unmanaged switch compromise my high res audio quality? I’ve got mid to high quality stereo systems where audio quality definitely matters but I’m a long way from a $100k audio system.

I’m not kidding when I say my head feels full to bursting with a ton of new technical details related to adding high res streaming to my household. I really hope to minimize that brain bulge and avoid learning how to manage managed switches! But if I need to, I want to know I really do need to.

You do not need a managed switch.

Simple UN-managed and a unit with fewer ports.

Thanks much for that very comforting response!