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Audiophile Network Switches for Streaming ... really ?

And the crowd sounds different in that YT video because he cuts the second clip in way earlier where its much louder.
 
miktec said:
Yep - basically the 'Golden Wonder' is an industrial M12 switch remarketed as 'audiophile'.

M12 Industrial switch .... £289

'Golden Wonder' M12 industrial switch .... €3800 plus €1550 for the 'strongly recommended audiophile' PSU.

Complete and utter bollox indeed :confused:
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Just remarketed? No tweaks at all? I haven’t checked myself as I’m sure you have already done so before making this assertion.
 
camverton said:
It’s interesting just how subjective and uninformed by fact some of those who align with the objective standpoint are. Of course they may be right some of the time!
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Please feel free to point out any significant and expensive technical 'hifi' tweaks this particular miracle switch brings to the table that I have missed ... the floor is yours :)
 
As an industrial/railway M12 switch, it is permitted to produce higher Class A levels of EMC noise than one intended for the Class B commercial and domestic sector.
If it only meets Class A, it is illegal to market it to domestic users.

Also the M12 connector is intended for shielded cables, not UTP
 
miktec said:
Please feel free to point out any significant and expensive 'hifi' tweaks this particular miracle switch brings to the table that I have missed ... the floor is yours :)
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You’re the one going on about tinkerbell dust. To make such an assertion it seems reasonable that you have fully tested the item in question. I make no such assertions about the item, for or against, because it would be based on ignorance. The floor is yours; how about some facts to back up your strident opinions.
 
Just a reminder of the OPs original question:

beammeup said:
Can anyone explain the need for audiophile network switches when streaming from Qobuz or the likes please?

I thought all streaming was done over the TCP/IP protocol to the streamer which ensures perfect data delivery into the streamers buffer through any ordinary competent network switch designed for that role.

There may well be a need for these tweaked switches to improve sound - but I just need to understand the logic if anyone here can help.
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The onus is on the supporters of this kind of stuff to explain how these things work and put the OP's mind at rest .... and answer the criticisms. ;)

The detractors are under no such obligation.
 
miktec said:
How do you test something for Tinkerbell dust?
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You tell us! Tinkerbell dust is a figment of your imagination.

It is absolutely reasonable to state that one cannot see a reason why something should have an effect but that is very different to asserting that something doesn’t have an effect. For that some evidence is reasonable. Do you understand this distinction?
 
camverton said:
You tell us! Tinkerbell dust is a figment of your imagination.

It is absolutely reasonable to state that one cannot see a reason why something should have an effect but that is very different to asserting that something doesn’t have an effect. For that some evidence is reasonable. Do you understand this distinction?
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Did I say it didn't have an effect?

It's an industrial distribution switch, of course it has an effect. As does the other one I posted a link to ..... at a fraction of the price.

Do you believe the considerably more expensive one will be any better?
What additional benefits might it have?
What evidence of additional benefits have you found?
What is this evidence - bar the YouTube video and other subjective online reviews already cited?
Anything else worth mentioning?
Any technical/audio innovations cited on the distributor's website or elsewhere?
Any evidence from the actual manufacturer's website (Telegärtner)?
 
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Fourlegs said:
I was sufficiently intrigued to look around and saw this review of the same switch.

https://darko.audio/2018/03/for-the-audiophile-who-has-everything-telegartners-m12-switch-gold/

His opening paragraph made me smile (and it will no doubt make some splutter their morning cornflakes over the table).

“Everything matters – to some, a notion so obvious that it’s hardly worth the keyboard press. To others, a contentious proposition that results in calls for measurements and double-blind (ABX) testing but – here’s the kicker – only for certain components. Demands that reviewers conduct ABX testing and/or measurements should apply to all components and not just those bracketed by movable goalposts with a crossbar that reads ‘controversial’.”

Indeed, why is it that the foo police do not seem to mind discussions regarding the sound of speakers, or amplifiers or cartridges or other things with never a mention of demands for ABX testing and yet for some items it is their full on kneejerk keyboard warrior reaction?

His third paragraph will have the warriors reaching for their keyboards before they can splutter their coffee to follow the previously spluttered cornflakes.

“Furthermore, I won’t ask if you believe in audible differences between digital cables? The B-word suggests an unnecessary leap of faith that’s all too easily side-stepped by trying things out for yourself. Instead, I ask: have you experienced audible differences between digital cables? Because, y’know, experience matters.”

His comments with specific listening examples echo the sort of differences I hear with my Innuos PhoenixNET,

“Next we ask: in what way does Telegärtner’s network device alter the sound? Answer: the stereo image takes half a step back for an even greater dose of ease; and from all types of music.

Extended listening reveals even more. Robert Leiner’s Visions of the Past wears a richer midbass, casting the Swedes electronica as less emotionally detached and more homely. A little more soundstage depth from Global Communication’s 76:14 really opens up one’s ears (and third eye) to the album’s Blade Runner / Vangelis core.

Also notable was an uptick in tone density and acoustic mass on The Decemberists’ The Crane Wife, an indie-pop album that can sound wiry when heard via low/er quality digital front ends. The M12 sees our high-end streamer/DAC combo more generous toward poorer quality source material by infusing it with a greater sense of micro-dynamic elasticity.

Some might hear the addition of the Telegärtner to the signal path as music’s fabric softener. What comes out of the Genelec actives is nicer, gentler and – for hot masters like The The’s Soul Mining – less grating in the long run. Quite astonishing give the already superb starting point.”

I guess that will be the final straw and some will now be having to lie down in a darkened room whilst they allow their rage to subside.
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What this says, if I've understood correctly, is that network-streamed lossless music is audibly inferior to local lossless (eg.FLAC) files played direct from a PC into a DAC. If you need a switch costing many thousands to retrieve the 'homeliness' (wtf?!) of a track streamed over the network then you should abandon network streaming completely and stick to direct-connect sources, clearly.

Or are we saying that audio streamed through this magical device makes things even better than local direct-attach FLAC? If I want less 'emotional detachment' should I buy a NAS so I can squirt the files through the network to get all the benefits of this marvellous switch?

Honestly, the guff around all this is such horseshit.
 
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