Network Switches

Yes, good call, even DC cables make a difference.  The value you place on great sound may not justify the costs of these items, but if you really want to improve your sound, the options are there, and they work and add up (cost wise and benefits wise).

As an electronics engineer, I do believe that noise on the Ethernet connection (really any connection to your audio equipment) could have an audible effect on the sound quality, but trying to fix this at the network switch seems misguided. You're just providing more opportunity for noise to creap back in between the network switch and your audio gear. 

It seems to me that you are much better off investing the same effort (dollars) as close to the final conversion to analog as possible. The DAC and/or streamer is a much better place to eliminate noise from the network connection than the network switch. 

mitch2, we dont use switches to imrove audio.  I use it so that I can bridge multiple devices onto a single 1 gb/sec ethernet link.  That goes to a wifi router.  I have netflix, jazz radio and yamaha vtuner all conected to my amplifier, tv and a streamer.  So I have ONE gb/sec ethernet wired connection and I have a netgear switch in betwen which bridges the different mac addresses.

For people who do not what "bridging" means, search google for "difference between routing & bridging" to find out.

jaytor, there is NO SUCH THING as noise on an ethernet switch.  It is DIGITAL.  It is either so badly distorted that even the error correction codes (read up Hamming codes, Viterbi decoding) cannot fix it or it is perfect.  There is NOTHING In between.

Based on my experience in the networking field and 50 years of audio tinkering, I truly believe that audiophile network switches are utter nonsense, designed solely to bilk gullible audiophiles, and those that hear a difference do so because they REALLY, REALLY WANT TO.  That being said, no one is listening to reason in this thread, nor is anyone listening to the counter claims - as silly and uninformed as they are.  This thread is becoming a shouting match with no possible resolution.

Signing off.