Basic switch....should I upgrade?

@fredrik222 : so to sum it up, what you are teaching all here with the Ethernet protocol is either it works, or it doesn’t, correct? As long as Zeroes and Ones come as such, we are fine? There is absolutely nothing to gain or lose SQ wise by optimizing the Ethernet in any shape or form?

Is this the reason why when I send a long email to China, the recipient gets the email intact, not missing any words, and not even missing any punctuation marks (I.e a comma comes as a dot)? Right?

@thyname at a high level, yes, there is nothing you can do. If you have a low quality switch, you will lose packets if you load it, that will impact sound quality. If you tape anything generating magnetic fields to the Ethernet cable, you will likely lose packets, also improving the sound quality.

as for your email to China. While a completely different protocol at a much higher level, similar principles, if you have punctuation issues, that is all about the what’s in front of the keyboard. 100%. I have unfortunately had to prove that one too many times to think it is funny. 

Meant to say impacting not improving SQ. 
 

here is a very high level overview of how networking works: 

@fredrik222 

The juniper ex2200-c switch seems to be updated in a newer model- not sure one can buy new.  Do you have a newer model suggestion?

@sns

If you are not already aware, the SFP modules and FMC make a difference. Some people even say single mode is better than multi mode and the length makes a difference. But one thing for sure, fibre does not collect or transmit noise.

In my network, replacing a generic fs.com FMC with EtherRegen was a worthwhile improvement. Perhaps Sonore Optical Module would be as good there, but I had ER on hand.

Fibre > NTD > Cat 6a UTP > EtherRegen > fibre > Mikrotik CRS 305 (router) > audio grade Cat 6a > Server > audio grade Cat 7 > WAP > - wifi - > Devialet

Who would’ve thought it would make any difference there?

Take note, there is no switch downstream of the router. The SFP+/10Gbe router/switch really makes s big difference for the better. It is not the speed it is the specification for that speed that seems to really matter for audio. I have my CRS running at 100Mb. But patience and learning is needed to set it up. I am not a network technician, but managed to get it done with some help.

Also, need to be careful about the how cable sheilds are terminated. Not all audio grade cables use the same approach.

@fredrik222 I hear what you are saying and hear it many times. However, it appears that as well as the digital encoding in ethernet transmission, there is something else that is detrimental to audio. I have seen it explained that the digital code is carried by analog signal which also transmits ’noise’. That noise also may affect each device differently. Hence trial and error is needed to discover which cables best suit particular devices. I wish it were easier, easy works but gets mediocre results, and that may be satisfying sound, but not as excellent or optimal as it could be.