Why do I need a switch?

@jeffstrick 

what fiber setup do you have?

Thanks

@mitch2 

Okay, So, I’ll have to use the Powerline adapter and have the boxed between it and the streamer. Knowing i have thirty day to return everything, I’m going to give it a try.  Heck, I can even plug the warts into the power conditioner.

I agree @jjss49 

besides putting in the Ethernet to fiber, I’ve also been thinking about getting the Denifrips Iris DDC, but unlike the Ethernet to fiber boxes, the Iris isn’t going to be returnable, so it’s much farther down the list.

@tonywinga 

I’ll try moving the fiber to the router end of things and see if I hear anything.

 I have a 100’ Cat 6 cable, but it has to go down and cross the hallway before I can connect it to the server. Not wife approved!😁

@mitch2 

I have DH Labs, Silversonic Mirage USB from the server and XLR’s to the integrated amp.  Please Tell me more about your experiences with the Hermes.

Thanks.

If I change the 9v PS’s,  I’m hoping to find one LPS, with two outlets. Use only one AC plug, less clutter.

@grannyring ,

But won’t my signal only be as good as what comes out of my router?

@erik_squires 

Are you talking about those things that are @$67 for the pair on Amaz—? Or some other brand? 
 I have never heard of gas discharge surge protection.  What air gap/gas line products do you use?

Thanks

Thanks grannyring,

I’m still trying to wrap my head around a switch improving my sound. My little brain keeps saying getting a better modem and router makes more sense than adding something after the modem and the router. And while I have the N130 Node and the Pardo LPS, maybe I should look at a N-10 or a N-20 first or maybe start small with the optical boxes @erik_squires was talking about. 

@dinov 

message sent

@8th-note 

Thanks for the reply.

yes I have a CD transport, An Audiolab 6000cdt, and yes sometimes I can hear differences between the CDT and the streamer, but sometimes the disk is better than the streamer.  I have also noticed that the sound is sometimes different in the evening than the morning. Oh and I was planning on getting a couple of the ifi power warts to replace the ones that come with the converters.

@mitch2 

Thanks for your reply,

I screwed up. The part above about getting the ifi power was supposed to be for you.  I’m going to order A Pair of 1.25G/s Bidi Gigabit Multi-Mode Fiber Ethernet Media Converter with 2PCS Bidi SFP LC Dual Transceiver Module Included, 10/100/1000Base-Tx to 1000Base-SX SMF RJ45 to SFP Slot up to 550M https://a.co/d/3XpXgoa

first and see if it made a difference and then upgrade the power.

@markprice 

Thanks for the reply. After reading a bit more and listening to the video that @jjss49 provided, I’m guessing that the difference is that switch’s have clocks in them and are reclocking the signal and that’s making the sound difference. I have an older 5 channel Netgear passive switch. I wonder if I’ll hear a difference. 
 

And speaking of the Ref 5’s, I swapped one of the 2 long port tube with a small one in each and have almost stopped using my subwoofer. 😁

@mitch2 

One more question, do you have the converters before your router or plugged into one of its outputs. I’d have to put it before the router because I mostly do WiFi.  Otherwise I have to use a netgear Powerline adapter. NETGEAR Powerline adapter Kit, 2000 Mbps Wall-plug, 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Passthrough + Extra Outlet (PLP2000-100PAS) https://a.co/d/4YswvJv  And lord knows how much noise that puts into the mix!

Thanks

Thanks @jeffstrick for the answer.  Seeing as this is only a test, I just ordered a couple of the Ethernet to fiber boxes from Amazon and we’ll see what happens. If I hear anything I’ll get better power supplies and if I hear nothing, they’ll go back and I’ve shelved adding a switch for now.  I do have a cheap five channel switch somewhere, but it can stay in the cabinet for now.

@12many 

Yep, what I just ordered cost around $70 and if it doesn’t make a difference to my ears, everything can be returned.

So I received and installed these,

TP-Link Gigabit SFP to RJ45 Fiber Media Converter, Fiber to Ethernet Converter 10/100/1000Mbps RJ45 Port to 1000Base-SX Multi-Mode Fiber (MC200CM) Black https://a.co/d/7JUU7Su

Easy peasy everything works and sounds good. There was no immediate difference and  It’s way to early decide anything, but without buying another $500 power supply, is there any decent LPS’s that have two or more 9 volt output connections that I can use on these network boxes? @erik_squires @jjss49 @zlone @mitch2 and all.

@nd1der 

The reason I am trying to add a bit of fiber is to remove noise. If you have fiber coming into your home and modem, then you are good to go. You could try running fiber out of your modem to your router, but you probably won’t hear any difference.

@pcrhkr

I’ve been using the for about a year and it works great!

NETGEAR Powerline adapter Kit, 2000 Mbps Wall-plug, 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Passthrough + Extra Outlet (PLP2000-100PAS) https://a.co/d/0pfP5NU

One out goes to the integrated and the other goes to the server.

@erik_squires 

My DAC has a LPS built in and I bought Teddy Pardo for my streamer, but it’s got a special cord and it’s 5 volts and these little guys need 9.

Also that article is interesting. But I wonder which is better, the fiber or the capacitor route?

So the TP-Link boxes are installed and everything seems to be working,  but I really don’t hear any difference. I’ll give it a few more days to break in or whatever and if I still can’t hear any difference, back they go.

@mitch2 

All of this started because I read a couple of articles and saw a few videos about cheap switches making a positive impovment in hifi systems.  So in answer to your question, I’m exploring possibilities.  I had a couple Netgear switch's, but for the life of me I can’t find them, so for $67, I tried another Avenue and bought the Ethernet to fiber boxes. 
In the same vein, I have read a few articles and watched a few videos about reclocking. It seems to me that it’s basically the only thing a switch does that could possibly change/improve the signal/sound. So, I was thinking about getting a Denafrips Iris DDC to do the reclocking job, but haven’t made any firm decisions yet.

@tonywinga 

So from the router I’m running a Netgear Powerline. One end is plugged into a UPS and the other is plugged into the same outlet my integrated is plugged in. It’s because of the Powerline device that I went with the Ethernet to fiber setup.  Maybe it could be adding noise. 
FYI, I can’t hear the difference between WiFi from the Nighthawk router and using the Powerline.

NETGEAR Powerline adapter Kit, 2000 Mbps Wall-plug, 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Passthrough + Extra Outlet (PLP2000-100PAS) https://a.co/d/cKOpK93