Stability is better than speed.
Stability is better than …
Not when you’re getting chased by a bear it isn’t…
5 Likes
I haven’t got to beat the bear, I’ve only got to outrun you 
1 Like
I’m not a fan of Darko, but you seem to be setting yourself up as the fount of all knowledge on audio networking here. Have you actually heard any of the audiophile switch offerings yourself? My apologies if you have.
But personally I find it bad form to criticize and lambast something you haven’t actually used, whether they make a difference in your system or not, esp as they seem to do in many people’s I trust. Honestly anything above the cost of the etherRegen a really hard pill to swallow, but some people are ok with grocery store sushi and other’s will only eat it in Ginza (I’ve had both and fall somewhere in-between to Ginza). It’s their money, their life, their enjoyment. Plus most really high end gear has, or should have, an audition/return policy.
I don’t use any audiophile switches myself (just a nice, picked up at a bargain, Cisco 2960-16PS as a main household switch) though have had luck with the Sonore opticalModules sounding better than the cheap FMC’s I had before, and I run one from the switch fiber out in the office, and the other to an opticalRendu in the living room. As everything in audio, your budget and mileage may vary.
2 Likes
I’m sure @Graeme_Finlayson is can justify his position. I’d just point out that I think Graeme is offering his considerable experience in setting up pro-grade networks at home. I’ve worked in IT a lot of years as a dev, but know a bit of networking. I’ll not bother posting here because it’s still obvious he knows more than I on the subject. The point is it appears he has some experience of networking and posts with some authority on the subject. I think he feels qualified to post on audio networks because there’s no such thing, it’s just networks…
4 Likes
I never said he wasn’t qualified as an experienced IT person who can set up a robust future proof network for a Fortune 500 company, and that for basic home networking that works his advice isn’t solid. What I’m questioning is how does he know, without listening experience, that the so called audiophile switches won’t make any difference in the sound?
Well I’ve used networks for years at home and work and believe in the rational science behind them. My experience is that it’s amongst the most reliable tech around. Audio data is just that, data and there’s nothing special about it. Speaking for myself here, not Graham.
1 Like
And I’ve read plenty of first person experiences by IT pros who were entirely skeptical of audio switches making any difference that were then gobsmacked when they heard them and they did. This is entirely different and new territory than making sure, say, thousands of stock changes go through quickly and stable. I would encourage him to buy an etherRegen and test it. If it make no difference he can return it, and I’ll tip my hat to his now experience in "audio networking.’ (you’ll note that above I didn’t say just 'networking).
Not trying to be rude or confrontational, but I think it’s important that we all realize that without actual listening experience, one way or the other, it’s reliance on the old maxim of the data going through is the end of the story.
1 Like
I’m a network architect who designs VoiP networks and solutions for a living so know a little about real time communications.
Audiophile switches are absolute rubbish.
7 Likes
And so have I. But I have heard sound improvements with networking improvements/cable changes/etc, so where does that leave me? Delusional I suppose…
Pray tell, which ones have you auditioned? I/we all need to be saved from the rubbish you’ve heard (or should I say didn’t hear when you auditioned them).
read the thread, I posted the list a while back
1 Like
No just subject to unconscious or expectation bias along with the rest of us…
1 Like
Charles, no, not at all. I’m not the fount of all knowledge on audio-networking. There is no such thing as audio-networking. There’s just networking, period.
I’m merely pointing out from a purely engineering perspective that audiophile network switches are a waste of money. The things they claim to solve are already taken care of in network equipment design.
The trouble with auditioning on a sighted basis is our visual sense carries more weight than our ears and feeds our expectation bias. Double-blind A/B/X is the only way to go. Audiophiles in the main have real problem with it because it doesn’t give them what they want.
Your cheap optical modules may have just been cr@p from a purely design perspective. I’ve never used them. My switches have built-in fibre capability because I need the bandwidth the fibre offers over GbE copper.
2 Likes
Well, from what I’ve garnered, it has a lot do with the PHY layer, as well as clean power regulation not sending any electrical noise over the cable (nothing to do with actual ‘bits’ getting where they need to go, which we all know are actually translated into voltage pulses and resound would be scrambled or non-existent if it choked up) and isolation of the ground. I’m just a consumer, not an EE, so could be way off. But I definitely noticed a difference in sound gong from a cheap Netgear to Cisco 2960, and from a TP-Link FMC to a Sonore opticalModule (which has much better power regulation). Haven’t tried the etherregn or others so can’t comment on those, but at this point they’ve sold several thousand I believe, so must be mass delusion (and I do know some didn’t hear a change at all, which is perfectly acceptable and normal as it often has to do with total system synergy.
I’m just saying perhaps don’t write them off altogether (though the $3500 Innuos is ridiculous, plus who needs all of those inputs if they’re just going to use it as an audio switch?).
1 Like
All industrial switches. Have you tried a purpose built audiophile switch?
It’s all good. Just playing devil’s advocate for a moment and glad that we can all find our own ways in this mysterious hobby.
They’re not industrial grade, they are enterprise grade designed for switching huge amounts of data quickly and accurately.
Audio switches are a fallacy and have nothing above a good well designed switch.
The claims being made here is that the Cisco 2960G should be used as an audiophile switch and sounds better, which is rubbish.
Sorry, forgot the correct terminology. But fair enough. Repeat anything, either direction, and it becomes the truth to the repeater. But I’ll be more inclined to take the word of those that have actually used them, whether they’re seen as hallucinatory or not.
1 Like
I’ve tried the 2960G that many here claim sounds better and it makes no difference to the sound.