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

I think it's been a quite controversial topic for years, like what's the difference between normal network switch and an audio grade network switch, the price difference is certainly obvious though...
Anyway, I've done some researches, most audio reviewers say that under this " new digital streaming era " that an network switch is a must for an audio system, which is understandable for me, I mean because if I wanna play TIDAL or Qobuz or Spotify, I gotta use network so I can stream these online services, so yeah I get that if the network quality is good enough, it can possibly level up the music performance.

But anyhow, I'm new to this area, so I don't like to spend big bucks on my first purchase hahaha... there's a very wide range of the prices though, the top one is Ansuz Power Switch I think, the inner circuit and design look pretty sharp, and surely over my budget lol

So I'm choosing between Bonn N8 and SW-8, these two both got good reviews, and the prices seem so darn much friendly to me as I'm looking for an entry level switch now, do any of you have any insights to share?
or should I just go for the higher level ones?

Best,

preston8452

Showing 1 response by adsell

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adsell
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I have been in IT services for 20 years; my understanding is that data arrives intact or doesn't. If you hear a difference, you have a bad power supply in your switch that adds noise, affecting the DAC's Analog out. Wall warts = noise, but a good power conditioner should make all that moot. Confirmation bias is real. 

 

I liked reading those EE's or just being well informed of us list out the inner spec on 802.x etc. Thank you.

 

We regularly swap out ethernet cables with systems that start to get buggy random packet loss or slowness in a database, and It's cheaper to do that than buy a Fluke networks qualification tester. (Though we have one) CAT5/6/7/8 takes a beating over time, and getting the higher-spec cable should help in inference-based packet issues.

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