Basic switch....should I upgrade?


I'm using a D-Link switch into a EtherRegen (with an AfterDark PSU & Clock) via a Signature Ethernet Cable. Coming out of the EtherRegen I use a basic fiber optic cable into my streamer. (All connects/cables not mentioned are upgraded.)

Simply put, should I upgrade the switch or does the fantastic EtherRegen clean up the switch's audio shortcomings?

Please don't tell me to get a TT!  

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The Cisco 2960 is a fantastic bargain second hand. It is a brilliantly made switch, made in the millions. Despite huge production runs the switch is expensive  new as it is so well made. Compare that to audio switches which are made in the thousands and you can see that the quality of a Cisco is up there with the best audio switches.  I have tested a few switches and the Cisco at $50 on eBay is as good as any.
The other great thing about the Cisco is that it has an optical input/output. You may find you get a better result if you run optical from this switch to the etherregen and then take ethernet from the cleaned and isolated single ethernet ‘out’ to the streamer/bridge.  This is how the etherregen is intended to be used as the single output from its ‘B’ side gives unparalleled clean ethernet to the streamer.  Or, if you are running optical into your streamer/bridge you will probably find that an optical out from the Cisco switch straight into the streamer, therefore bypassing the etherregen, will be just as good since optical fibre is the cleanest of cleanest connections  

 

@ghdprentice depends on how bad the switch is. D Link are among the worst consumer equipment out there, so there is a real possibility that the streamer chache and tcp/ip can’t cover for it.

What is clear is that you can’t plug use a bad switch, and then add another device to clean up the bad switch output. That’s not how things work in networking. 
 

Also, Audio Science Review have some thoughts on this topic too.

 

 

@duckworp The Cisco 2960 is a low end enterprise grade switch. Very very few home users will ever be able to push it to where it will be remotely a concern for streaming. 
 

 

Audiosciencereview doesn‘t listen, measures the wrong things and is frightfully opinionated