Network Switches

Good to hear. Thank you.  

I've got a test cord coming tomorrow.  The system is sounding so good now -- the media converters with those finisar SFPs & the Corning OM4 fiber seem to be magic -- it's hard to imagine any improvement, but I'm eager to expirement to see the effect, if any, of replacing an unshielded cat 6a cord for the last foot into the M33 (streamer, DAC, integrated amp all in one) with this shielded one. 

Just to close the loop on this, the shielded Cat8 cable arrived and seems fine.  No real change over the Blue Jeans Cat6a that I can discern. But some peace of mind knowing that that last foot from optical to the streamer/DAC/amp is now also shielded from EMI and RFI, without having created any ground loop hum. Were it more than $10 at stake, I might consider returning it, but as is, I am inclined to keep it. 

I wonder if I could throw out another question to the group; keeping in mind that my budget is limited in the 500 dollar - 750 dollar range.

If I were to pursue an LPS as the first step in enhancing my digital sound; which component would the starting point to add an LPS to optimize sound?

Ethernet switch vs Router Modem vs Server ( Small Green Computer )?

A server or streamer is the component that most benefits from a quality lps. Next in line would be switch followed by router then modem.

@rivinyl 

A gentle caution, It’s so easy to over-analyze the Ethernet signal chain. I’ve been down that rabbit hole—switches, filters, cables, clocks… the nth degree of tweaking.

After all that, here’s my takeaway: Less is often more. You’ll get better results focusing on fewer, higher-quality components rather than stacking layers of tweaks. Simplicity when done right, can sound astonishing.

At the end of the day, trust your ears. Stream smart, not cluttered.

Look at the components that offer robust performance and functionality. 

Tweak your existing setup with following, add optical conversion ahead of your streamer / DAC

https://www.beatechnik.com/product-page/lhy-audio-efi

And this to your basic switch, 

https://a.co/d/2rnfJYr