Network Switches

Let me start by saying that I don't have the strongest understanding of digital audio transmission works and how the information is encoded and decoded at both ends. However, I am in IT and I do have something of it an understanding of how TCP/IP transmission works. Built into the protocol is constant error checking to make sure the data arrives exactly how it was sent. Each packet is verified four times. I don't understand how the quality of the switch will impact the quality of encoded audio being streamed through it any more than it would affect a Microsoft word document that you are transferring from one PC to another. 

There are definitely some gaps in my knowledge, so I'm not going to say "snake oil" with 100% certainty, I'm just going to say that I don't understand how a switch would affect the audio quality of a stream.

I connect my Internet to my Etherregen with a quality Blue Jeans Ethernet Cable. Then I connect the Etherregen to my Aurender N20 Streamer with a DH Labs Ethernet Cable. No need for additional switch. The sound is excellent. I have most of my ripped FLAC CD library stored on an internal drive on the Aurender and I can’t tell the difference between my ripped files and the same streamed from Qobuz. In my experience adding any additional switch or filters between the Etherregen and the streamer took the air out of the sound as if it some way over filtered the highs. The sound without the Etherregen is noticeably inferior. 

English Electric 8 (EE8) network switch 

A very pretty switch with really cool lights.  Highly recommend.

Comes with a nice Ethernet cable, which is on the short side disappointingly

The English Electric 8 seems (to me at least) to an overpriced, and mediocre, piece of equipment. The primary selling point appears to be the crystal quartz oscillator that keeps time. This is a two dollar component that appears in a far range of electronics. For a 8 port, gigabit switch, 700 dollars is extraordinarily expensive. If you want to spend good money on a good switch, a rack mounted layer 3 would be a good bet.

I agree with the above comment, the EE8 is an overpriced piece of shite, and would struggle to be vfm at 20% of rrp. I had one here and ran it for 14 days and couldn’t wait to return it for a refund. It’s effect on my streaming rig at best could be described as a very mild polishing of the sound.

I achieved far better results for <£40 with the purchase of 2 used metal bodied commercial office switches (Zyxel 8 port & Cisco 5 port) which I mildly modded by disabling the LEDs, using gardeners copper slug tape over 100% of the internal of the casework, + some 3M RF/EMI patches and leaving only 2 ports open [1 in & 1 out].

Last week I added a Stack Audio Smooth-LAN passive filter directly behind my ZeniTH mk3  and this gave a pretty significant uplift to the sound. This little unit so impressed me that I’ve gone ahead and ordered their Smooth-LAN Regenerator  to see if this will up the ante.

Current Network = Full Fibre to property > 1.5m as supplied lan cable >

Router > 2m cat 5e > Zyxel 8 port > 0.75m cat 5e > Cisco 5 port > 0.75m cat5e > Smooth-LAN > 0.25m cat 8 > ZENith mk3.