Best audiophile switch
- Thread starter Frankie67
- Start date
Any intelligent and intellectually honest person won't confuse my video talking about how great the Jim Smith book is with sparkie.
I do appreciate you linking to my video though to help get the word out about how helpful his book was. Thank you!
Last edited:
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
The Greek is a "Veteran" of this thread and willing to bet that the majority that have participated in this thread may agree with his post, to a point.
Maybe there should be a thread started on this Dante network.
Thank you I will. Cheers.
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
OMG, for the last time, it's not about reliability, it's about improving sound quality. Until you try an audiophile switch, you have nothing to add to this thread, which is titled "Best Audiophile Switch". Please, take your Dante ideas to another thread.
Last edited:
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
I wrote on my thread about the Reiki. It is excellent and I am keeping it.
Elliot G.
Industry Expert
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
if you don't want to cull for it: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...-divin-noblesse-reference-system.38221/page-3
I really couldn’t care less Right ! , my point being that I have a problem with anyone attempting to whip up a gang of “We” against another forum member who happens to post with a point of view contrary to others .
If you have a problem with what @sparkie has been posting then take it to the correct place .
Trying to get this back on topic. We have one vote that there is no best audiophile switch and we should use a VLAN instead. Noted. I must admit I am curious and may try this at some point. But I still have experienced the very positive effects of a well executed, low noise switch. So, back on topic with "what is the best audiophile switch."
My vote for best still goes to the Reiki. WIth the caveat that there are a few switches I have not yet heard that are probably pretty good. I hope to remedy this in the not to distant future.
What do I hear when I install a low noise switch. I hear a lower noise floor. There is more silence between notes. The sound is smoother (like analog). Dynamics comes along wIth the lower noise floor. And the system picks up a much stronger sense of rhythm.
Is this what others are hearing when they plug in a lower noise switch?
Also, the choice of ethernet cable used between the switch and streamer seems critical. A poor choice here undoes a lot of the goodness that a low noise switch does to the sound. If your ethernet cable is shielded and the shield is connected at both ends then my advice is to not use it between the switch and the steamer. Use it soewhere else.
My vote for best still goes to the Reiki. WIth the caveat that there are a few switches I have not yet heard that are probably pretty good. I hope to remedy this in the not to distant future.
What do I hear when I install a low noise switch. I hear a lower noise floor. There is more silence between notes. The sound is smoother (like analog). Dynamics comes along wIth the lower noise floor. And the system picks up a much stronger sense of rhythm.
Is this what others are hearing when they plug in a lower noise switch?
Also, the choice of ethernet cable used between the switch and streamer seems critical. A poor choice here undoes a lot of the goodness that a low noise switch does to the sound. If your ethernet cable is shielded and the shield is connected at both ends then my advice is to not use it between the switch and the steamer. Use it soewhere else.
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
Would the cable scenario not be streamer dependent when it comes to shielded vs unshielded?
I am a proponent of a shielded ethernet cable. I look for every opportunity to keep noise out. However, if given a choice of unshielded or shielded with the shield tied at both ends; I would take the unshielded cable. (This is from the switch to the streamer)
It's not really a shielded vs unshielded question, it's a shield-grounded-at-both-ends-like-eg-Cat8 vs unshielded question. A shielded cable with the shield tied to the RJ45 at only one end is perfect but few manufacturers include this in their specs and most audiophile cable manufacturers do ground the shield to both plugs. A cheap ethernet cable tester or any multimeter will allow a cable shield to be tested for circuit continuity.
I've personally yet to hear a streamer which benefits sonically from receiving much of the noise that the switch was introduced to get rid of, and this is what using a shield-grounded-at-both-ends-like-eg-Cat8 cable between switch and streamer does. I guess if you happen to have a streamer which sounds dull without some noise injected into it then this might be an honorable exception but I've yet to hear that honorable exception... and of course it begs the question why you would introduce a noise-mitigating switch into your network only to hook it up in a way which undoes much of its noise-killing goodness.
Hope this helps, happy to discuss!
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
I find your post quite interesting and it conflicts with what a North American cable manufacturer has stated on their site. I thought that shielding is beneficial in reducing noise from EMI and RFI..
It is. What I said doesn't conflict, it's a vitally important nuance relating to a very specific use case...
I suspect the North American cable manufacturer was talking about network cables (or even cables) in general and not about the specific use case of switch-to-streamer. Shielding is a hugely powerful tool in cable design because, as I know you know, it's a great way of reducing the amount of RFI reaching downstream circuitry and this applies across an ethernet network and beyond the streamer into digital and of course analog(ue). But the best conductor materials (copper, silver) are the best shield materials, and between a switch and a streamer the last thing you want is a great conductor of noise.
Breaking the noise chain from switch to streamer has far more impact on sound quality than stopping the pickup of local RFI by the cable. So in descending sequence - in this specific use case, though not necessarily elsewhere in a network - I'd rank the cable shielding options as:
1. Best: shielded cable with the shield grounded only at one end; install this grounded end at the switch. Breaks the noise chain from switch to streamer and also directs any RFI noise picked up by the shield away from the streamer.
1a. Next theoretical best (but why bother!): shielded cable with the shield grounded only at one end; install this at the streamer. Breaks the noise chain from switch to streamer but directs any RFI noise picked up by the shield towards the streamer. Hey, just flip the cable around. See (1).
2. Next real world best: short unshielded cable. Allows ingress of environmental RFI hence importance of keeping it short. Not undermining the good work of the switch in removing huge amounts of RFI noise trumps the little RFI which might be picked up from the local environment. Think Cat 6 UTP.
3. Worst: shielded cable with shield grounded at both ends. Allows the noise stopped by the switch (its whole point) to travel along the shield to the streamer. Think Cat 8 and most "specialist audio" cables.
Well you are around on many online forums, so I bet you already have an idea ;-)
There is a lot of reading out there like https://alpha-audio.net/background/how-a-network-switch-affects-audio-playback-an-extreme-deep-dive or Hans has videos on it like
If you don’t want to go into more expensive switches I highly recommend the new Network Acoustics ENO2 streaming system - a nobrainer anyway.
Similar threads
