Basic switch....should I upgrade?

I spoke to an EE friend who is designing next generation 6G hardware; i.e. he knows something about this topic. I asked about stacking switches. He quickly replied that the addition of each switch degrades latency. Pure and simple.

So, the good news; properly dealing with ethernet is important. Apparently, deliberately degrading the signal is changing the sound. Just like other areas of audio, some types of distortion can seem to be a solution for other issues.

The bad news, properly dealing with ethernet is important. Stacking switches is not a solution.

@vinylvalet

Latency in audio applications is not a significant problem, easily addressed by buffering. Clocking accuracy, though is a whole other matter. Your friend clearly works in the digital domain. Analogue/digital conversion takes completely different priorities than digital transfer

@antigrunge2 I'm not sure about your point. Regardless of whether ethernet latency issues are a significant problem or not, why degrade latency deliberately (multiple switches) only to have to add more circuitry down the line, easily addressing (debatable) the issue you've introduced or not.

We are talking about the ethernet signal, clearly in the digital domain, not a non-ethernet digital stream decoded by a DAC.

Again, decisive is what gets to the converter. Latency is not the problem, RFI/EMI, ground level noise and timing errors are. Adding switches helps with those.