Relationship between Ethernet Switch and SQ
This one will probably invite some withering mockery, but I will ask....
I only stream, and my streamer (Bryston BDP) is fed with an ethernet cable that runs back to my router. Literally back to my router; there are enough output jacks on the router that I have a long run to the streamer and no ethernet switch in the chain (or the house system for that matter). (There is an Eno filter right before the streamer).
I happen to OWN a nice LHY ethernet switch. I am assuming that there is no reason to use it in this configuration, that is, assuming there are noisier switches, and less noisy switches, there is still no net benefit of adding any switch to this chain. But maybe, just maybe, in the metaphysics of electrons that I do not understand, there is some reason why a nice switch prior to the streamer accomplishes something (in theory...I get that I can A/B test and try to fool myself whether I can hear a difference). For the first person with a correct answer, I will mail a nice $600 switch to the address you specify! (JK)
@lalitk how do you square these statements?
If your Aurender is reading from the cache, it is not using the Ethernet cable at all, so how would switching cables make a different? |
On my digital journey, I have found that sometimes just tweaks can make a notable difference in sound quality. Better digital cabling for the Ethernet as well as USB or S/PDIF makes a difference. Minimizing noise is also really important. Last year, I was listening to the differences between music stored on my music-server and streamed through the same device. The difference though subtle was obvious that the streamed music was not as micro-detailed and dynamic as the SAME album stored on the music-server. I installed an Uptone-Audio Ether-REGEN device and that brought the streamed music on par with the stored music. That Ethernet regenerator not only re-digitizes the signal, it minimized and isolates noise from the incoming signal. Even my fiance could tell the difference in the music and she's not as attuned to subtle changes as I am. The LHY switch referred to in some above comments is a really good device. An audiophile friend of mine has one and is impressed with the improved performance of the streamed music. As I've experienced in my continuing digital-audio journey, minimizing jitter, noise and use of precision clocks all have their place in improving sound quality and thusly enjoyment. |
I'm not here to troll. But packets are packets and ethernet knows how to reassemble them. If it didn't then $%kdiow @#sedfm WE235* would happen. The rest of this, on the network side, is audio bling, unless your streamer isn't designed well to handle any electrical noise over its LAN port. And that is only theoretical. I feel bad for Fredrik222 - he's absolutely correct, but some of his posts are off-putting. Then again, so are the responses to those posts...
Definitely don't swap single-ended interconnects and if you swap speakers you have to pull the + first and put in the - first. If anything bad happens when you pull a USB cable, then you've got something seriously wrong with that USB device. I honestly do not want to start or perpetuate an argument but analog audio logic simply doesn't apply in the digital or network domain. It's fundamentally different. |
I owned the Bryston SP3. I too run all my music through my internet set up (server). I use NAS storage as well as internal 8 terabyte internal drive. I run Synergistic Research Ethernet hub, their Ethernet filtering, and their Ethernet cables and power cables. It all makes a difference. The EVO Aeon music server makes the biggest difference in my opinion. This server has the closest to vinyl sound for it’s price. The Ethernet hub is one of the best you can buy but many audiophiles could not justify the price. It is certainly very musical and much more versatile than my previous reference turntable but vinyl still sounds better to me. |
