Network Switches

@lalitk you are correct I only tried the original Eno streaming system.

@rivinyl is there a reason why you need a switch at all? 
In my opinion, invest in a better ethernet cable first. They make a difference.
You can also pick up an iFi LAN iSilencer on amazon and combine it with a better cable. I wouldn’t waste money on a $500 switch. Unless the switch reclocks the signal and throttles the output at 100mbps and your streamer prefers that speed. But now we’re talking $1000+ for a switch which to me once again makes almost no sense. 

 

wokeuptobose

144 posts

06-05-2025 at 01:53pm 

Starting 4 years ago I built up a switch adding things that improved the sound of streaming. EtherRegen +Afterdark clock to re-time the ER, then two Farad linear power supplies then all the afterdark cables. Each added something better at the time. It was almost 4K of switch components. I lent the entire rig to my friend who said it deadened the sound. I did a full switch system to no extra switch gear and found I had gone too far as well. I sold it all off.
 

yep. None of this is necessary. I tried a few tweaks and removed them all. Good Ethernet cable going into high quality streamer feeding a high quality dac is all you need. Dumping $ into Ethernet tweaks (except a good cable) is a waste of money that could be directed to real improvements such as component upgrades stepping up to a better DAC. Or a better streamer, amplifier, speakers, etc

I tried the copper to fiber two box solution using a $65 set from amazon. I tested these with 3 different streamers and I did not like the effect. Yes it seems to produce a more silent background but it imparts a certain flavor to the presentation especially obvious in the mids that renders it unnatural. I made several attempts and each time yanked it out and went back to straight copper cable between eero and streamer. Streamers used: Lumin U1 Mini, Bricasti M3 DAC network renderer, Aurender N200.  
I am keeping an open mind and will try the iFi pro purifier when I have an opportunity but I’m not in a hurry to do it. 

As to effe-01….I’d love to try it but trying something shipped from Europe is not very appealing to me as the return shipping is a pain in the 🫏 

You guys can try it and let me know. I’ll be patiently waiting. 

The iFi does no harm in my system. I can’t hear any difference with it in. It provides electrical isolation and protection against transient voltage surges. I am totally cool with the fact that I don’t hear any difference with it. As opposed to Network Acoustics Eno Streaming System that I used to own and that killed the dynamics, to me this ifi gadget is a winner. Others reported improvements in sound with the ifi and that is possible but highly dependent on streamer and environment your system lives in - rfi, emi, etc.

People love playing with network tweaks. It’s a low hanging fruit. Address room acoustics, component quality and power distribution that all make a much bigger impact than adding crap to remediate non-existent issues in network. That’s my $0.05

@lalitk yep you and I discussed this in the past. It makes sense although these lower priced devices won’t compete with your telegartner. I have my eye on the iFi LAN ipurifier pro which is similar to effe in what it does (I gather based on a wuick look). Just can’t get around to trying it. Was tangled up in USB cables comparison and upgrade and it eventually rippled into a DAC upgrade 🤦‍♂️

But it’s on my list

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1828212-REG/ifi_audio_0306068_lan_ipurifier_pro.html

Effe-01 is an optical network isolator. Not exactly a switch but you are not asking about a switch because you need to branch out to many devices. You’re asking for something that can improve your network. There are many ways to skin this CAT. 
Optical isolation, switch with reclocker/regen, passive filters like the NA Eno, etc

Also, a respected dealer/ friend who used to sell Network Acoustics products found them to compress dynamics in his system.  As much as he enjoyed working with them he ultimately stopped carrying their products.  Has anyone had a similar experience?
 

have you read my response? It’s exactly what I mentioned 

@sns good post.
CD rips on SSD mounted inside my streamer (AAIF, FLAC) is what I use for comparison as well but once again we’re potentially comparing 🍏 and 🍊 as we just don’t know if we’re streaming the same master from Tidal and Qobuz. In most cases streaming in my system equals to or beats CD rips. Streaming also far exceeds the sound quality of my CD playback using the same DAC but that’s not a fair comparison as my streaming setup is approximately 10x the cost. I just enjoy popping a cd in once in a while. 

@tshark I don’t doubt switches make a difference. The difference though can be either positive or negative. I have a very good dedicated streamer and a dac with a a tried and true network card. The difference between using a dedicated streamer feeding the DAC via a good USB cable and streaming using the network card in a DAC yields different results. And so it should. And I’ll be hard pressed to buy into an idea that a switch or a regen/reckocker between the router and a DAC can bridge that gap completely. Going down the rabbit hole with Ethernet tweaks without adding a good streamer is a waste of time and money. IMO.
 

This brings us back to the point I was making earlier about investing in components as opposed to tweaks to feed an inferior streaming device. 

The OP is using an inbuilt streamer/network card. Ideally to step up in sound quality a dedicated streamer is money better spent than a high end switch. A better Ethernet cable alone can improve things significantly but then again it won’t reach the level of performance you get with a proper streamer. This has been my experience and it’s unfortunately the reality in most cases. 
 

Alternatively if the Elecrocompaniet in question is a streamer with a built in DAC, a dedicated outboard DAC would be the next logical step in improving performance.