LOL, you probably also believe in Santa Claus, Leprechauns and homeopathy…
You do understand that the Audiophile Switch in that article has a 30 dollar generic switch inside a fancy looking case? Right?
OK I am out of this thread - no use to try explain to people who have no basic understanding of network tech and refuse to acknowledge facts even if they are displayed clearly. I think I actually smell a troll here, nobody can be so gullible.
I wouldn’t put money on that 
The Absolute Sound also published some articles a few years ago that claimed lossless files copied from one operating system to another (e.g. Win 7 to Win 8, or windows to OSX, if I recall correctly), sounded different, played through the exact same system. And keep in mind that the copied files were confirmed to be exact bit perfect copies of each other. Complete nonsense of course.
As it’s just a hobby I decided to have a play and rearrange my network as I had some long runs and multiple switches.
Phone line moved and router moved into media unit, all Wi-fi, Sonos, sky Apple TV on one router.
Old netgear switch with feed direct from router feeding Roon core NUC and LUMIN. The only slightly fancy cable is an Audioquest Ethernet that feeds the LUMIN, the other two are just shielded ones from Amazon I think.
So does it sound better, yes, I don’t understand all the buzz words used, but it does sound more detailed and open, in a word more musical.
No idea if that’s because of really short runs or because I,ve moved the mess of non hifi network to its own switch away from the hifi.
I’m going to take a punt on two short cables for the switch feed and and NUC and see how it goes, it’s only a few pounds to do.
I bought some dedicated CAT8 cables for between my switch and Meridian 210, then a very short patch cable between said 210 and Meridian 218 Pre Amp.
Did I notice any sonic difference? In a nutshell, nope!
They were not expensive and having my chosen lengths is tidier so no regrets, it is a hobby after all. Better to spend the money on Music, guitars and Gigs…
Does this move also change the source of the power, something like Lumin and amp from one AC power, and other things from a different AC power?
I guess not.
An alternative scheme to try is this:
Dear Peter @wklie & Alex @Alex_Crespi1,
Thank you for the information.
What’s the technical difference between GigaFOILv4-INLINE & EtherRegen? Which one is supposed to give the maximum SQ shift theoretically…?
Would it be advisable to have both the products in the architecture? @wklie
Regards,
Tushar.
Hello Peter
I’ve not changed the power to the amp or D2, will have a read on the optical, I was going to so this but decided to move the router instead.
Cheers Phil
It’s raining again so I had another re-org.
All non hi-fi related power was moved the the other side of my media unit.
So hifi has its own power and network, I just expected it to look neater, however I tried it and found I can turn the volume up more without it sounding over loud, strange some of the perceived changes you get from removing lots of plugs from one space.
It builds up having a count I had 13 units that require power just to provide TV and Hi-Fi.
Maybe we need a power thread 
Our perception of sound quality is easily influenced by marketing. Creating a need for a product is the key to achieving success in the marketplace. It’s all too easy to become caught “chasing the dragon”. When considering a system change I ask myself "why was I happy with sound before and why am I suddenly unhappy now ? Have I been blinded by marketing? Then I remind myself that just because it sounds better on paper doesn’t mean it will sound better at home.
I am not being critical and am merely offering my own opinion.
Has anyone ever taken something like a wireshark trace comparing an audiophile and consumer switch? Be interesting to see things like the timings of packets etc.
Being a network tech I can’t see a value in audiophile switches, the “problem” they seem to cure doesn’t appear to be published or peer reviewed and only documented on websites of manufacturers trying to sell the audiophile switches.
Couple of additional points -
I do know network interference can be thing but this is largely cured by using shield cables (STP rather than UTP).
I understand that grounding / earthing in various countries is an issue (the UK use earthed plugs / sockets), so maybe this causes issues?
Personally I run over a homeplug between my core switch, admittedly a Cisco 3850, and network streamer and it sounds just peachy.
I think good equipment makes a good hifi.
But I don’t really get if you have no control over power routing into your house how can a last meter of cable make a difference.
Same with network, a file must pass through hundreds of routers and switches then arrives at your house on a thin piece of wire designed for telephony.
Like all hobbies people will spend money on all types of things, although I’ve heard a difference just by rearranging my network and power over the weekend, maybe I’ve just stopped some noise getting into cables.
Although most of the main backbone networks are optical these days , in the UK only the last link would be wire.
I think as long as the person thinks it sounds better it’s fair game, I’m happy with my setup now which it’s just a standard netgear router, I’m surprised no one has mentioned routers only switches.
You should listen to those switches and then judge, please stop about asking why and how
A better switch makes a huge difference
Especially Q-tips!
The world develops by asking why and how, it would be completely wrong to stop asking.
Who ever developed these new range of network add ons must have understood why and how, if they didn’t they are providing a product con if they don’t understand how it works.
There are so many words in this thread and Zero measurements. Electrical noise is easy to measure, let’s see some oscilloscope measurements or some spectrum analyzer measurements. Until then, theres isn’t much point.
A very capable scope is less money than people here are spending on power cords and fancy usb cables.
Sheldon
In some other forums there is a school of thought that the presence of wall warts, smps of other electrical devices and chargers harm the SQ by affecting the AC. I’ve even known an audiophile who had to power down the whole network to avoid SQ degradation to his vinyl setup.
I cannot guess how it may affect SQ, but I do not recommend using two different Ethernet isolation devices together.
Here are some measurements which have been posted, IIRC:
