Anybody want a laugh?

I think that when spending beaucoup bucks on a hifi, people figure a couple hundred extra on a router with noise management as a design focus, regardless of actual merit, is not a big deal. An insurance policy at worst.

Again, there are some I know with very well thought out and resolving setups, who I do not suspect of imagining things, who claim the device covered in the white paper did make a difference. So I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. To me, if there is noise on a circuit, all devices connected to the circuit MIGHT be affected.

Personally, I’ve used wireless network connections to my streamers exclusively now for many years with excellent results so I am more than pleased with that approach.  Always dead quiet with top notch detail, if you have the right gear to show it.

I found the link to the whitepaper

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0660/6121/files/UpTone-J.Swenson_EtherREGEN_white_paper.pdf?v=1583...

So I agree its not intuitive that a network switch can make a difference in sound quality when streaming.

But I have seen an extensive whitepaper on one such product whose name escapes me that goes into detail to make the case that noise on the network wire can make its way into the signal path between streamer attached to network and DAC adding jitter, in which case it might possibly make a difference.

That’s a plausible scenario I would say and some who I know to have very good and honest ears say to hear a difference at least in their case, so this is one of those things that at least has some plausible theory behind it.

Does it work? Don’t know but if the theory holds then I can see where it might at least in some cases.

Personally, I only use wireless network connections so not applicable in my case. Many modern DACs are also highly jitter resistant so that is another factor that helps these days compared to past.