My feelings on this is always that the power supply matters more than the switch. The ability of wall warts to inject noise into the AC line should not be underestimated.
Where to place your best switch?
I have a cheap switch after my modem/router connected with cat 8 between them. From that switch I have a 35 foot run of cat 8 that fits into my Eno filter which is then connected to my streamer. (This cheap switch also has a PC, audio receiver, and my TV upstairs connected to it. I have read that audio is best to be separate?) I have purchased and on it's way a high quality LHY Switch that has an OCXO clock and linear power supply built in. MY two options would be:
1. Replace the cheap switch with this switch.
2. Place the better switch at the end of the 35 ft long cat 8 and use a short quality ethernet cable such as a WW Starlight 8 into the Eno Filter.
My suspicion is that #2 will be better but I was wondering if all these connections make a difference and detract from any gains. I have been reading a lot but many of these threads get into pissing matches and get off topic so it's hard to sift through them.
I realize I can just try both options myself. I am not going down the fiber optic route, I am happy with the 35 foot cat 8 connection. This is in my basement and the cable is run already.
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I just went through this. I concluded to put the generic netgear switch near the router and then put the Etherregen at the streamer with a short quality cable into the streamer. Then I realized I could move my Roon Core over to the audio stand and elimate the negeear switch all togehter. So I have an 8 meter AQ silver plated cable supplying my Etherrregen and then all my accessories hooked to it. Addressing Erik’s comment. Etherregen comes with a switching power supply but they claim that their onboad power managment system is all that is necessary. I bought the Nutone audio linear power supply, could hear no difference, and sold it. I didn’t sell it because I could hear no difference. Small improvments are sometimes not audible in a listening session. It was not expensive, and I would have kept it. I sold it because I was sure the difference was small and it runs too hot for my taste. I"m looking casually for an LPS for it, 7 to 12 volts that runs cooler. I just bought Farad power supplies for my DAC and they are nice but pricey. They DID make a difference on the DAC. Jerry |
@fthompson251 network acoustics have a new switch called Rubicon. I assume it was developed and tested in conjunction with their Eno and Muon filters so might be worth reaching out to them for a consultation. |
In my recent experience having a fiber connection between the network switch that connects my Roon server to my DAC was a noticeable, inexpensive, upgrade. I put a IFI power supply on the DAC side. This significantly reduced digital glare for me. I then put in a Shunyata Ethernet cable that opened up the sound a bit more, but the greater improvement came from the fiber connection. |
@audphile1 The Rubicon has stopped production due to supply chain issues. Thank you. Since I have the LHY sw-5 already coming from Alvin Chee - I will place it at the end of the long cat 8 run, then use a HQ .5 m silver wire ethernet cable to Eno which is attached to the streamer. We will see if that makes any improvements, I will also have a nice shunyata power cord on the switch FWIW. BTW, I read our post about your adventure on this connection with switches, eno, etc-it was helpful, thanks.
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@fthompson251 sounds good. And I’m glad you found my post helpful! Please follow up with your updates when you get around to it. |
Option #2 is what I'm going to try. The lesser of my two audio switches at the end modem/router. Run by a cheapish Aliexpress linear power supply. 15m run of Cat 5 cable to my system. Then Triode Wire Labs Freedom ethernet cable to Acoustic Revive RLI-1GB-TripleC LAN Isolator to better switch fed by a Teradak DC30W linear power supply. TWL Freedom to Pink Faun LAN Isolator to streamer. |