Network Switches

@mike2019,

Just the home setup please. 

@mitch2 

My knowledge of switches is basically non-existent, hence the dumb question. If this is not the thread for this then just say so.

Not a "dumb question" and certainly appropriate for the thread. 

Hopefully another member/poster will comment. Family is in from out of town and I haven't had time to spare. I'll be able to catch up this weekend.

No mike2019, really, a "network technician" would not need to know everything about noise free analogue signal reconstruction. I am not sure how you can even make that claim. Tell me, in the course of your employment as "network technician", how many 10’s of products have you designed the circuitry for, laid out the PCB to reduce noise analog / digital interaction, worked out the packaging/ shielding? There is a big difference between the skill set for "network technician", and product/system development for low noise analog signal reconstruction.

I think you will find that most who question the basic premise of digital data transmission for audio transmission are not engineers.

mike20197 posts10-31-2019 9:30am @atdavid

"I would not be using "software engineer", or "network technician" because that communicates no knowledge w.r.t. noise free analog signal reconstruction"
Oh my goodness ! get into the 21st century. A network technician should know everything w.r.t. noise free analogue signal reconstruction.
The problem is that audio engineers have still to learn about digital transmission.

I used to think ethernet cables could not possibly make a difference or improve sound quality. Well after trying A SOTM Cat 7 cable, it was clear this particular cable made an immediate and quite substantial improvement.

My SOTM switch and Innuos server are not poorly built and I am left with empirical, direct experimental observation, evidence that this particular Ethernet cable, in my system, made for a nice improvement in sound quality. I know my system’s sound very well as I play music for 6-10 hours every day. Not hard for me to detect changes in SQ.

I build and sell USB cables and have compared and meticulously jotted down the sonic differences in these cables. They are very real. When developing my USB cable I tried all manner of conductors ranging from stranded to solid core, silver to copper to silver/gold, 24 gauge to 16 gauge, cotton vs PVC and Tefton dielectrics. I also tried various shields on the +5v Vbus as well as on the entire 4 conductor assembly. In most cases the differences in sound quality ranged from subtle to quite obvious. The materials matter and impact the sound. The build design matters and impacts the sound. Again, I am not learning this from books and theories, but rather through hard work and actual first hand experience.

I have done the same with parts such as capacitors and resistors as I also mod gear for customers and myself. Many think all these parts sound the same as long as they are in spec. Many great and talented audio designers believe this. They are incorrect on this point however. Most likely because they have spent the hours becoming expert in other areas such as design and building of electronics. I am not skilled at design and do not possess the knowledge of these designers. Not even close. I do however consider myself expert on parts and their influence on the sound character of a given piece. I can only claim this has I have done the work, spent the countless hours learning through doing.

All of this to say that ethernet and usb cables do change and impact the sound of our systems. They just do. Frankly, the parts in our switches and power supplies also impact sound quality. Yes, even in digital electronics including switches.  The parts in these switches impact the sound never mind the brand or maker of the switch.  Some text books may say no, but actual empirical evidence says otherwise. 

@atdavid
When did I say I was a network technician ? That was many years ago. More recently I have designed and installed networks for the likes of TV and radio studios.
Besides which, if I discovered that one of my tecnicians did not know exactly how sound was encoded into a digital signal, transmitted and then decoded back to an audio signal, he or she will be looking for another job
How can a switch adjust the audio encoded in a digital signal passing through it ????   This is the sort of thing you really must try to learn about.   IT CANT