Do I really need an " Audio Grade Network Switch "?

[amit11]

Received the 2nd FMC unit and optical cable.

View attachment 86331

Review is long pending after plugging this into the system.
Actually i was myself waiting to get my impressions confirmed before posting anything half-baked.

I was reading something on the net about fibre network and audio, which co-relates to my experience.


Noise can brighten up a dull system. It can also be very enjoyable.

I don’t enjoy noise any more. It is the enemy of purity.

I will put more details in my further post...

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

Avoiding Wireless

It might be interesting to read Auralic’s CEO on this:

Ethernet or WiFi - which is better for high-end audio streaming? | Darko.Audio

Implementation, implementation, implementation.

darko.audio

Personally, I prefer the sound over wifi in my CXN streamer than over Ethernet (even with the well-regarded Blue Jeans cables). The latter sounds like it is picking up some disturbance. Not surprising in a clutter of cables including power cables behind the cabinet. The wifi output sounds more natural to me.

BTW, I don’t understand what a network switch is or why it is needed. My CXN pulls the data from my Airtel provided router via Wifi or Ethernet cable. Do I need a network switch additionally or does it replace the router? Can anyone help me understand please?

 

[amit11]

My CXN pulls the data from my Airtel provided router via Wifi or Ethernet cable. Do I need a network switch additionally or does it replace the router? Can anyone help me understand please?

It will not replace the router.

Consider a switch, like a DDC.
It will take input from router via cable.
It will output again via cable .

Since it has its own power supply and independent circuit, the signal coming out will be slightly different which can affect noise etc. And ultimately impact the sound.

In fact different routers (not switch) will also impact sound differently. And so is the case with switches.

Hard to believe but a fact. I experimented myself to observe it.

 

[keith_correa]

BTW, I don’t understand what a network switch is...

A network switch provides more ports when your router ports are occupied. Think of it as analogous to a power strip.

or why it is needed.

Now that you know what it is, you will be able to determine the need for a switch.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

A network switch provides more ports when your router ports are occupied. Think of it as analogous to a power strip.

Thanks. My router (and all the routers I’ve had before) have at least four outputs ports, only one of those used for Apple TV. So, if a network switch doesn’t add to the sound quality, I guess I needn’t bother considering it for my system.

 

[Analogous]

Just to be clear: We will believe we want a network switch only after we start convincing ourselves that we need it for more ports then? It has no benefit in terms of any impact on the SQ?

 

[balavignesh002]

audio grade network switch

Dear sir,

What about Audiophile grade Routers, Firewall, DDoSS, Carrier Ethernet switch, Data centre switch for computes and cloud storage, MPLS Routers, POP Multiplexers, and can explore to upgrade the cables in the service providers network between the cloud and your pop.

Going this way a new vertical of business market and growth potential will emerge.

 

[bobbyprajan]

Just to be clear: We will believe we want a network switch only after we start convincing ourselves that we need it for more ports then? It has no benefit in terms of any impact on the SQ?

Most home segment routers will have an integrated switch with 4 ports. Extra switch is needed only when you need more ports or if your router does not come with an integrated switch

 

[insane79]

Just to be clear: We will believe we want a network switch only after we start convincing ourselves that we need it for more ports then? It has no benefit in terms of any impact on the SQ?

ZERO impact on SQ. If you want a diff in SQ, Speakers, Amplifiers & then you can experiment with Cables. I heard an amazing sound system that was playing with a streamer using WI-FI connection. My breath was taken away then i realised just get the best Speakers & Amplifiers you can ever afford, then probally some good cables if you want to mess around but Network stuff i would just leave it Standard.

 

[bobbyprajan]

Ethernet switching is based on IEEE standards and they are followed to the dot in all switches. What you can do to at the switch level is limited to implementing CoS, but then you need other equipment in the chain to honor the marking. Again this will only help if the network is under heavy load most of the time.

At the network level there are a few things you can do like avoiding fragmentation, implementing QoS etc but these are configuration that you can do in most diy friendly routers and are not specific to any make / model of the router

 

[alpha1]

Dear sir,

What about Audiophile grade Routers, Firewall, DDoSS, Carrier Ethernet switch, Data centre switch for computes and cloud storage, MPLS Routers, POP Multiplexers, and can explore to upgrade the cables in the service providers network between the cloud and your pop.

Going this way a new vertical of business market and growth potential will emerge.

You must also add: audiophile grade servers, virtual machines, operating system/container/docker/kubernetes, and the overall cloud service.

 

[Analogous]

ZERO impact on SQ. If you want a diff in SQ, Speakers, Amplifiers & then you can experiment with Cables. I heard an amazing sound system that was playing with a streamer using WI-FI connection. My breath was taken away then i realised just get the best Speakers & Amplifiers you can ever afford, then probally some good cables if you want to mess around but Network stuff i would just leave it Standard.

Thanks. You have expressed it nicely. A network switch would come low in the list of priorities

 

[Analogous]

kubernetes

?

 

[alpha1]

?

All of them technologies are used in building a hyper scalable cloud-based service. I am sure there has to be an audiophile version of those technologies that makes a difference to the "sound" being stored, retrieved and delivered to consumers like you and me.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Last vacation, I decided to improve my ethernet chain leading upto the streamer. And it did pay dividends. Now my CD rips streamed into the CD player's coaxial spdif input, sound as good as spinning the same CD in the same CD player. Never thought streaming would reach the level of local CD playback to be honest.

But then, the ethernet chain is fairly lengthy as below :

Router with 12 V LPSU >> Optical media converter >> 3 Mtrs optical cable >> Optical media converter >> Ansuz A2 power switch >> Ansuz Signalz A2 etherent cable >> Melco N1ZH EX server " Lan port" >> Melco N1ZH EX server "player" port >> Sotm DCBL Cat-7 cable >> Lumin U1X.

My room walls are solid concrete, and I dont have a Lan port wired to my room. So Iam forced to use power line adaptors, which are famous for being very noisy. Thus, my improvements with signal cleaning are not surprising. Maybe others dont need as much. However, I would heartily recommend the Sotm DCBL Cat-7 cable to connect that one last meter to your streamer. It really brings out an organic flow to the music while reducing back ground noise noticeably.

 

[bornfi]

To all non-believers, I can only request that if your budget allows and your wife allows (if you are still married and not divorced due to this audio hobby), try it.

Ethernet Switch SW-8 | Beatechnik

www.beatechnik.com

For those who need only one connection can try this one instead.

Fiber box II – Ediscreation

 

[Analogous]

To all non-believers, I can only request that if your budget allows and your wife allows (if you are still married and not divorced due to this audio hobby), try it.

Ethernet Switch SW-8 | Beatechnik

www.beatechnik.com

For those who need only one connection can try this one instead.

Fiber box II – Ediscreation

Would you recommend this even if the streamer had a very good internal clock and jitter control design? Eg: with a Aurender or Innuos streamer?

 

[bornfi]

Would you recommend this even if the streamer had a very good internal clock and jitter control design? Eg: with a Aurender or Innuos streamer?

No, in case of only the Innuos Statement which I know that it has been taken care of but not sure about Aurender. Which model of Aurender are you referring to?

 

[Analogous]

X100L

 

[bornfi]

X100L

For this model, yes, you should. In fact, since you are taking USB out of this, I would also recommend trying something like PhoenixUSB or Wyred4Sound Recovery with a good LPS too. And, in case you are ready for only one of them, try the USB solution first. I know this is a slight digression but since you mentioned USB audio, I just wanted to mention here that you will realize more benefits addressing the USB side first than addressing the Ethernet.