Basic switch....should I upgrade?

@ghdprentice 

The weird situation I find myself in means  my system is down.

So have been adding to/changing my system. Which is why I haven't told you how these changes effects. Will get to try it in a couple of months. 

FWIW, I switched (pun) from a cheap D-Link to this and am very happy with the results. https://englishelectric.uk/8-switch/

There are too many variables to possibly account for with streaming audio. Again, my humble op. The streamer, the DAC, the type and design of the cable connecting the two let alone the quality of the internet service, router, switch, location of all the aforementioned....

For example, for better or worse, we have ATT Uverse which means our household internet comes in through a single "box" (combined access point, receiver, and network switch). The main router supplied by ATT sits next to it. They are in our family room. My dedicated listening room is forty feet away and on the same floor. I had no to run an ethernet cable under the floor joists to my listening room. So I have a repeater router plugged in in the basement with a short generic ethernet cable to the above switch with a twenty foot generic ethernet cable running under the floor joists closer to my listening room and up through the wall to an ethernet receptical. Is that optimum? Nope. But with my Aurender W20 connected by a custom Analysis Plus S/PDIF cable to my SW1X DACIII Balanced and using Qobuz I am very happy with the sound quality compared to my pretty good vinyl rigs (see my profile if interested).

I find it interesting that in so many of these posts on the subject of digital the people posting with opinions don’t have their systems listed in their profiles and don’t reference them. How do we know if your opinions are compromised by loudspeakers placed right up against the wall with a huge flat screen in the middle due to WAF?

And then add into the equation that the technology involved is relatively new, particularly with the streaming side of things. Who was relying on streaming just five to six years ago? 

There is some great info in this discussion, and not heated. In answer to the openning post question is that my experience has been;

• Replacing existing switches with better/audiophile switches can improve sound quality
• Minimising noise in each network device handling your audio data matters, and that noise is from power and ethernet transmissions.
• It is important to pay attention to and be careful with the way cable sheilding is terminated as it could affect devices differently.
• Audiophile ethernet cable can make a big difference, but are not always the best solution for a particular link in a network.
• You need a very low noise floor to hear the full benefit of some little changes
• Fibre optical and wifi can be very beneficial.
• Some audiophile switches may not perform as well as enterprise or managed switches.  For example SFP+ switches are very good. This is a good read ...
• https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/24002-optical-network-configurations/page/98/

So who has owned the Bonn 8 and is it that much better than a standard Amazon $30 switch and 2nd is the LPS required to use? Looking for actual users please.

@fsonicsmith

Thanks for weighing in on importance of ‘everything matters’ in a high resolution streaming setup. BTW, you have a gorgeous system! Wonderfully balanced and I couldn’t help drooling over your Garrard 301 with Reed 3P tonearm. One of the top 3 tonearms under consideration for my upcoming TT setup. 

Enjoy!