An interesting "Linus" video on the "Audio Quality Ethernet"

I’m not going to make much comment, but this tech youtuber examines the inside of an Audio Quality Switch. I bring this up because frankly unless you have a super noisy (electrically) environment or distances that exceed 100m then there is really no need for even optical networking with respect to audio streams.

I do respect YMMV but unless you are doing double blind tests then I’m not going to believe you.

I have listened to very expensive HiFi such as Bowers And Wilkins high end speakers. I’ve bought a $3000 CD Player and $600 headphones and a $2500 power amp. I can hear plenty of differences and find extra detail in the analog side or the Digital to Analog side, but don’t waste your money on better digital - ethernet has enough error correction that chances of corruption is very very small unless you are in an industrial electrical environment.

Throw your rocks now.

35 Likes

No rocks. Just kudos for exposing snake electronics.

6 Likes

It is what I tried to explain in one of the other related topics as well. You can’t improve audio quality with “better” networking equipment. Networking does not work that way.

8 Likes

Because it’s not audio.

3 Likes

"Don’t force your opinion on others, it’s useless because you’re not on the same channel as him.
Don’t try to change a person, you can’t change him, you are in pain, he is also very painful because of your nagging, let it be. "

1 Like

Sadly there is a lot snake oil in the audio world. Who to trust and who not to trust.

2 Likes

Maybe you right - but you can improve SQ with the right equipment. I did change from CAT7 to mCAT6 (BJC) and there where an improvement in SQ.

1 Like

Yeah, my mistake.

There have been numerous discussions on this topic. In fact the mods closed a very long and contentious one just a few days ago.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Maybe you had a ground loop caused by the Cat7’s grounded shielding that was removed by switching to Cat6?

3 Likes

Yes, maybe - I don’t know. But for me it was an improvement based on the “right” equipment.

If @mikeb + @ericafterdark are right, than there is nothing we can do to improve SQ ( with “better” networking equipment).

Which is different than trying to improve something that is already “right”.

Linus has been around a long time. Unfortunately, his argument won’t make a difference to the true believers any more than the demonstrations in ASR.

Just for completeness sake, I noticed that there was a quick swipe at Melco, another bird of the same feather. Ohoh, now I’ve done it.

3 Likes

Given that it’s Halloween Eve, perhaps frankensystems where audio enthusiasts patch together bits and pieces to make some unholy whole is appropriate! Just make sure Igor retrieves the right brain from the lecture hall!

A movie recommendation: If you’ve never seen “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”, from the 1930s, now’s the time to watch them back to back!

After that, of course, “Young Frankenstein”! Lots of the jokes in that refer back to the previous two.

3 Likes

OK - fine with me :slight_smile: But where is the different? At least that is my problem :slight_smile: What is real and what is not? Is buying an LPS real? Or just snake oil? Buying a high-end power cord? High-end USB?

My thoughts:

Depends on what you’re using it with. With a well-engineered piece of modern equipment, like a Linn Selekt DSM, it would be snake oil.

Always snake oil.

Always snake oil.

9 Likes

Love that movie. The bit where they play charades is hilarious.

2 Likes

“Sedagive?”

1 Like

No doubt others will soon join the discussion to claim having heard indisputable audible mprovements from “audiophile” network switches, cables, filters etc.

Of course, no double-blind listening tests will have been conducted to back up the claims.

I’ll leave things here…

3 Likes

Always put a question mark if someone tries to charge more than $1,00 for a switch or an ethernet cable.

Just another ordinary day on the forum then :wink:

2 Likes

It just doesn’t make sense from an IT perspective as well.

If I capture the network traffic with a tool I will see the same digital traffic. With a cheap or expensive cable. With a simple switch or an expensive switch. Doesn’t matter.

1 Like