miktec
retired
Yes - the thread had moved into some dodgy terrain .... probs best to remove
(PS - I doubt it had anything to do with silly GIFs or ad homs... so they are probably still fine
)
Audiophile Network Switches for Streaming ... really ?
- Thread starter beammeup
- Start date
Yes - the thread had moved into some dodgy terrain .... probs best to remove
(PS - I doubt it had anything to do with silly GIFs or ad homs... so they are probably still fine
)Your router is broken and/or needs to be closer to your computer.
Zombie
pfm Member
Thank god for that, thought I had to buy a £1000 replacement
adamdea
You are not a sound quality evaluation device
...and yet comfortingly this post was preserved for posterity
strange and wondrous ways.
beammeup
pfm Member
This thread has been quiet lately so: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/network-optimization-for-serious-streamers
Anyway I feel slightly guilty by kicking this back into life - I work with Cisco switches around my neck so I am happy to lend anyone here a small Cisco network switch with an SFP if you wish pre-configured by me. Just tell me the specific configuration you have in terms of how you might want it connected inline with your network streamer and I will configure up the Cisco switch appropriately for you to try out - no charge - just to put some peoples' mind at ease.
For example: ISP router -- Cisco Switch -- network streamer (instead of ISP router -- network streamer).
Just a thought - it may help someone out.
Anyway I feel slightly guilty by kicking this back into life - I work with Cisco switches around my neck so I am happy to lend anyone here a small Cisco network switch with an SFP if you wish pre-configured by me. Just tell me the specific configuration you have in terms of how you might want it connected inline with your network streamer and I will configure up the Cisco switch appropriately for you to try out - no charge - just to put some peoples' mind at ease.
For example: ISP router -- Cisco Switch -- network streamer (instead of ISP router -- network streamer).
Just a thought - it may help someone out.
TheFlash
Reiki Audio
A generous offer!
You really need cable lengths in your install spec.
ISP router - 5m- Cisco Switch -1m- network streamer
is likely to sound very different from
ISP router -1m- Cisco Switch -5m- network streamer
because of how and why switches work (RFI/EMI reduction). The digital in each topology is identical of course.
tuga
Legal Alien
Since you mentioned RFI/EMI reduction, IEEE 802.3az is good to have because it will detect the length of the cable and adjust the power usage:
Green networking
The environment-aware ZyXEL ES1100 Series offers 10/100 Mbps Ethernet speeds that is critical to next- generation network applications. It also provides power-saving functions to reduce energy consumption for lowered operating costs.
Traffic detection — IEEE Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) compliance (ES1100-8P/16P/16/24E/24)
The IEEE Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) feature automatically detects network traffic and adjusts power consumption dynamically, enabling the switch to reduce power consumption during low link utilization periods.
Inactive link detection
The inactive link detection function automatically reduces power usage when inactive links or devices are detected. The ZyXEL ES1100 Series can adjust power consumption according to link status and the number of active network devices.
Cable length detection
This green feature enables the switch to automatically detect the length of connected Ethernet cables and adjust power usage accordingly. The shorter the cable length, the less power it consumes.
https://www.zyxelguard.com/datasheets/Switches/ES1100-series.pdf
TheFlash
Reiki Audio
It is indeed a good thing: I’ll leave it to you to join the dots!
Paul Hindle
Do you mock me?
But you somehow managed it anyway
Yeah but, no but…it depends on what is defined as a shorter cable. The power adjustment isn’t based on a sliding linear length it goes in steps. D-Link imply power is reduced 0-20m then 50m and full power for 100m, Cisco indicate it is 30m for 10Gb and 50m for all other speeds. So power is certainly not going to be reduced for 1m vs 5m for instance.
Warszawa
pfm Member
What a great idea!
chiily
PFM Special Builder
It was suggested waaaaay up thread. I couldn't tell the difference, RJ45 in, RJ45 out.
Zombie
pfm Member
Oh no, that's an A-B test, not allowed
I quite regularly visit with a friend who has an interest in hifi and music, I should really say music and hifi because the hifi is a just a means to an end. Now he has a very nice system but he couldn’t be called a hobbyist because its really just fit, forget and enjoy for him. The time before last when I visited he said he would like to rearrange things to move his NAS from its bookshelf location to free up his shelves for more books. By necessity because he has a poor wifi signal in his listening room he has to use an ethernet over powerline adapter which is also a wireless access point. The NAS was sat on the book shelf nearby the power sockets with the wireless access point which has two gigabit network ports. The NAS was connected to one of these ports with a 750mm ethernet cable and his streamer was connected to the other with a 2m ethernet cable. This worked fine and sounded good. Without telling him of the alleged benefits of introducing a switch just before a streamer my suggestion was to move the NAS to a free shelf on his equipment table and to run the 2m ethernet cable from one of the ports on the access point to an intermediate switch on the equipment table alongside the NAS, from there he could use two shorter cables to connect the switch to the NAS and to the streamer. Of course, he didn’t have a switch handy so on my next visit I took my basic TP-Link gigabit switch and we connected it as described above and the sonic benefits were immediately noticeable to him. He listens to mostly acoustic female singer-songwriter music and the background became quieter, the soundstage expanded and it became an altogether more intimate listening experience. In his ignorance he attributed it to the shorter cables but I said nothing because I really don’t know, I just know it sounded better and he was happy. He has since bought a £12 switch and given me mine back and it is now the new norm for him and it will likely remain so indefinitely!
I see, just because you can read doesn’t mean you understood! The £12 got his shelves freed up, the improvement in sound was an unexpected bonus.
slavedata
pfm Member
I come from a computing background and am very cynical of overpriced audio switches. However my streaming on a 1Gb network would sometime stutter when playing high res DSD files. I bought a used Cisco Catalyst 2960 series unit off ebay for £30. Added this to my network with just the music server, Pi4 and SBT connected to it plus a link back to the network to gain IP addresses from DHCP. It sits less than 2m from the HiFi. Never since had a problem with any stuttering and it sounds clean and good so it will stay in the network. A worthwhile investment for me as it seperates all audio traffic from contention with anything else on the network.