@jmeyers ethernet switch will not improve anything. In some cases it will negatively impact other components due to noise it creates on the power line and by being in proximity to audio components and cables. If you isolate it from your system by running it off a completely different circuit and keeping it far away from components and cables, you should be OK. And in this case any $30 switch should suffice. I wouldn’t waste money on the expensive switch. Spend it on room acoustics instead.
Which company manufactures this Ethernet switch for the other?
I am looking to buy an "audiophile" switch to isolate my audio and video connections from the main switch in my home. One important consideration in my decision is cost; another is that this AV Ethernet switch must have 8 ports to accommodate all my audio and video equipment. I have done as much research online as I can, with the result that I found two products that especially appealing: the English Electric 8Switch and the Silent Angel Bonn N8.
Studying their constructions, features, and components, these two Ethernet switches seem so similar that with the exception of one being 10mm higher than the other (their widths and depths are the same) that these two appear to be identical.
Consequently, I am asking -- does anyone know whether Silent Angel OEMs this product from English Electric or vice versa? OR, is this just an extraordinary coincidence?
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+1 @audphile1 I've tried different switches no difference. My dealer tells me not to waste my $$ either. Even a manufacturer of digital gear says the same thing. Listen yourself but don't be fooled by those with "golden" ears. |
I couldn't disagree more - spending a few bucks to set up a solid network is one of the best things I've done for my system. That included paying an electrician to snake an ethernet line direct from my computer room to my system rack which is on another floor of the house. That lets me keep the potentially noisy cable modem, router, and network switching well away from the audio gear. It is amazing how an experienced electrician (or first rate cable or alarm installer) can fish wire through walls and I think it's worth every penny. Plus it yields a neat 'n' tidy installation. |
@cleeds - Most here seem to believe in having a "solid network". In my case, that was achieved by isolating my server in a separate room with my network gear, powering all of it from LPSs through a dedicated 20A line, and using fiber optical cable from the server to my streamer. While I believe all of that stuff may help with noise reduction, to the point made by @ghdprentice , improving my streamer was the one thing I can point to that made a noticeable improvement in the sound of my digital front end (before the DAC). None of the many other costly add-ons I have tried have made a reliably noticeable improvement. |
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