Just watched it. Clearly, that should be absolutely the very last word on the topic.
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There will be no last word. A whole industry is running the “audiophilia
Lots of jobs depend directly on them and many more indirectly.
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Yep, I know, it’s not going to go away 
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a) Digital data transmission in an Ethernet network is always bit perfect.
b) The audible differences that you (can) hear is analog HF and LF noise coming along with it and affecting the gear down the road more or less. Noise that has its origin with all gear connected to the switch, the switch itself or a combination of both.
So if you hear a difference it is because of b) not of a), while the ‚scientists‘ here in this topic relate to a) only. They will continue in telling you that you cannot hear what cannot be from their point of view.
Be wise and trust your ears because our ear-brain combo is listening to music and not interpreting digital data measurements. If you like what an audiophile switch does to your sound go with it. If you don’t hear a difference go find something else to improve the sound if you need or want to.
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Surely any decent design in the high end should deal with point B as a matter of course. If your system doesn’t then that’s where you upgrade monies should be spent.
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I’m pretty sure that the video covered this, i.e. Amir was measuring output signals from the DAC, and there was no difference in noise between the cheap switch and the other two. In other words, the expensive switches didn’t make a difference. So any differences in perception have nothing to do with a) or b).
By the way, if you’re still convinced it’s b), show me some data. HF and LF noise is measurable, so show me the difference in noise levels between a cheap switch and an audiophile one.
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Any half way decent ethernet implementation deals with the noise you keep talking about. Ethernet is galvanically isolated, provided you don’t mess around with Cat7 and Cat8 cables (which have no place in an audio setup) and stick with Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6 UTP cables. The twisted pairs are isolated at each end by isolating transformers, common mode chokes and there is no connection to the ‘ground plane’ to which so many snake-oil publications refer when making erroneous claims about noise. Any noise present (did you watch the video?) is so far below the signal level, that it has been scientifically proved to be inaudible.
Our sense of hearing is all too easily fooled by so many things. Cognitive bias, expectation bias and other conscious and unconscious biases.
Unless you conduct blind, level-matched, A/B/X comparisons and can reliably and repeatedly tell when A=X and when B=X, all of your claims about what you can hear are meaningless.
Why are audiophiles so afraid of blind listening tests?
Because they may actually prove that your beliefs are wrong and that in fact, you really can’t hear the differences you claim to hear?
There’s a user over on ASR who has a standing offer to donate $10,000 to your chosen charity if you can reliably discern the difference between DACs in blind, level-matched A/B/X listening comparisons. If you lose, you pony up $1000 for your chosen charity. Strangely, no one has taken him up on it…
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Wise words NOA. I’m not sure why it’s such a big deal for some people if some of us actually like to listen to our hifi setup instead of measuring it. Just plug any given equipment in your own setup, listen to it and if you like what you hear, keep the equipment (if it’s within your budget). This hobby is really that simple.
Blind testing removes our expectations and placebo from the equation. It’s all fun and games until we take the blindfold off and once again our brains are back in the game fooling us. Nobody listens to their home setup blindfolded.
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I am no EE, so I won’t argue with anything technical here. However, I do not clearly understand your comment from a logical point of view. If eveyrthing that is audibly different is in the analog domain, then why can a network switch impact the sound? I thought this thing just routes bits and Ethernet network is bit perfect?
Really struggling with the logic.
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I assume you’re joking with this part. Of course single- or double-blind tests have nothing to do with the listener using an actual blindfold or not otherwise being able to “see”. It has to do with whether the listener knows which “thing” is producing the sound (and same with the person conducting the test in the case of a double-blind test)
I obviously know what blind testing means and how it works. My point here is that you are always aware of your own setup. You will always know all the components and that knowledge will or will not affect the listening experience. Even if you do double blind test of your own setup, it won’t help after you get back to real world situation where you know the components.
That’s good then. (sorry, nothing is obvious on the internet.) But it seems what you are saying is that even if a double blind test proves that you can’t detect the difference between two or more options, when you know which option you are listening to, you’re happy to let your cognitive biases generate your happiness with the audio. I actually have no problem with that, as long as someone understands what that means. It’s perfectly OK to enjoy the audio (even more) because you like the looks of a piece of equipment or [fill in the blank].
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Hell yes I want all my senses to affect what I’m experiencing. That’s as real as it gets when I actually sit down on my couch and press play. No one in their right mind would set up a double blind test every time they choose new hifi equipment. Imagine all the trouble?
Imagine spending money that you don’t need to just because you think it sounds different.
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If I audition and compare an audiophile switch for many days before making the decision, and my setup sounds clearly better to me with that switch vs the old one then yes, that’s enough for me. At that point I don’t really care if Amir says it can’t affect the sound quality.
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And that has hit the nail squarely on the head! Buying “audiophile” network switches, linear power supplies for network components, ethernet cables, ethernet regenerators, ethernet purifiers, fibre media converters etc. is a waste of money.
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Two types of upgrades in my house, I buy the biggest speakers that she allows in the house, she buys the room treatment (cushions).
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The mind is a beautiful thing, able to bend the truth to the point where expectations fit the reality.
My apologies, and I really don’t intend for this to sound rude, but that seems to me to be a truly bizarre attitude. If you know that cognitive/expectation bias is real, and that there’s no scientific or rational explanation as to how a network switch could affect the sound quality of your system, why go to all the trouble of fooling yourself into believing that it does?
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To be honest I wouldn’t expect an expensive upgrade to take a few days. It should be immediate like a slap in the face.
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