It took me a while to figure out digital. Contributing to the confusion were the IT professionals who don’t understand streaming. They spend their lives in the corporate world where dropping a bit in a $Billion transaction would be really bad. So all files are transferred with error checking protocol that won’t let the transfer complete until verified identical.
This isn’t fast enough for streaming so error checking goes out the window, replaced by "error correction" meaning that if a bit is dropped, some value between the 2 adjoining bits is chosen (interpolation). still sounds smooth and is just peachy for consumer stereo, but not good enough for us OCD listners who call ourselves "audiophiles’.
So we have to do everything we can to avoid dropping bits IN REAL TIME.
So back to the question. When an IT professional tells you that you are wasting money buying anything more than a name brand $40 switch, such as the ubiquitous Netgear 5 port, thank him very much smile, and tell him you’ll run out and get one right away....because he doesn’t understand the problem and there is no use arguing with him.
So streamers, clocks, power supplies, and audiophile switches are ways we endeavor to avoid dropped bits. I’m currently using an EtherRegen but considering upgrading.
Jerry