Audiophile switches and routers may be a waste of money

[gadawg58]

Admittedly I don't stream at home very much as in my system local playback from my music server over ethernet does sound better than streaming from any service. Just an inexpensive switch and router but it is over copper and not wifi. That said, I'm not sure I understand how a really expensive switch at home is going to make as much difference as some have experienced because by the time the media stream has reach us its been through no telling how many telecom grade switches and routers across the country and perhaps around the world potentially degrading the signal at each different step. After all of that hooking up a quality switch will guarantee that there is no further degradation but I'm thinking at that point does it really make a difference as it can't repair the damage already done? I'm not saying it doesn't I'm just struggling to get my head wrapped around it. Now reclocking the signal could make some difference?

I am in the crowd that has tried an expensive switch and I couldn't tell any difference at all so back it went.

Cheers!

 

[Downtheline]

An eero compatible LPs would be helpful because I think it's the wall wart that creates much of the noise, even plugged into a Puritan power conditioner

I don't have mine on my puritan conditioner, it's on a separate old school panamax conditioner/ power strip. Ethernet then to a taiko switch that is powered by an uptone js2 that is on the puritan conditioner and is grounded. I had a huge uptick in sound quality when I removed the intervening amplifi switch that was also powered by the js2.

 

[PYP]

I don't have mine on my puritan conditioner, it's on a separate old school panamax conditioner/ power strip. Ethernet then to a taiko switch that is powered by an uptone js2 that is on the puritan conditioner and is grounded. I had a huge uptick in sound quality when I removed the intervening amplifi switch that was also powered by the js2.

The JS2's outputs share a ground. The noise from one switch might have migrated to the other higher quality switch.

 

[Downtheline]

have migrated to the other higher quality switch.

Yes they totally may have. However the particular set up was really the best at my prior home where I was able to run ethernet from the router ( on another js2) to the amplifi.

Previously this bettered multiple other configurations including multiple buffalo switches, etherregen, optical fmcs etc.

My thought here is that one needs to experiment since conditions are different from one set up to another. I'm not so sure that having the eero without an lps is holding back my system... and won't know for sure until I can run an ethernet cable to my taiko switch from the router. I do know that the digital glare/hash from poor network isolation and conditioning is not present currently.