Basic switch....should I upgrade?

@fredrik222 Thank you.

I only wish it was as easy as @fredrik222  says it was. Per usual we have so many configurations, @fsonicsmith  and @dbastin  both provided some good generalizations. Regardless of what the objectivists say, obvious we hear differences with streaming setups, not our imaginations, confirmation bias or some other nebulous psychological explanation for it.

As to switches, I've probably not seen a more argued about streaming component, results all over the place. IME, it was the single most awful thing I ever added to my many streaming setups over the years. In many cases, I simply don't see the value of them. The vast majority of us already have routers in our setups, so the switch is only being added to the router, certainly the switch has potential to drop noise floor relative to router, but you still have the noisy router prior to the switch, can't get back what you've already lost, and you're adding complexity and cables, more chances for RFI and EMI, so there goes noise floor. The other use for switch as I see it, is for those going to separate streamer/server route. Most servers don't have two ethernet ports, ie., switch is needed to connect to streamer. Again, more complexity and added chance for EMI/RFI. And I do see the advantage of why one would want to separate streamer from server as vast majority of servers do poor job of rendering, what with non-optimized port implementation.

And so my contention, in either of above cases, why not stick to router only setup, minimizes complexity and possible added noise. The router can be powered by lps, go into quality power conditioner with quality power cord, shield the router with EMI/RFI blocker, good to go. The switch only makes sense to me if one is no longer using router, at least in an audio setup. Now, I will grant many need switches because router may not provide enough ports, still aren't there routers with more ports? And how about audiophile router for us who need wifi in house?

@dbastin I do hear colorations with optical. I've had a variety of generic FMC powered by various lps, power cords and power condtioners. With every single add on there are slightly different sound qualities. The generic FMC's have poor quality voltage regulation and clocks, result is internally induced noise and jitter, both have affect on sound quality. The quality of lps, power cords and power conditioning can help minimize these negatives. Best optical I've heard is Sonore OpticalRendu powered by Uptone JS2, quality power cord and into my balanced transformer power conditioner, no color I can discern, easily best streaming component ever tried.

As to my switch experiment, this vs. two generic FMC, both lps, quality power cords and going into power conditioner. Both between router and server. FMC easily preferable to audiophile switch, both have lower noise floor, but FMC far more spacious, natural sound stage and imaging. On downside, FMC vs nothing between router and server, FMC sounds slightly less spacious, more constricting, not as free flowing as router direct to server. FMC more resolving but at price of sounding less analog, slight thinning out of sound. Acoustic Network Muon filter is next in line for audiophile switch vs FMC vs optimized ethernet battle in feed from router to server.

@sns you are applying ANALOG terms to a digital connection. Completely irrelevant. Noise floor in Ethernet only means did it transmit a clear enough signal to discern a 1 or a 0, and did the frame add up in the end to match the CRC check.

so, for someone who knows what is actually going on, it is very simple. All the stuff you are talking about is just things that simply doesn’t have an impact at all, never ever. 

@fredrik222 : so to sum it up, what you are teaching all here with the Ethernet protocol is either it works, or it doesn’t, correct? As long as Zeroes and Ones come as such, we are fine? There is absolutely nothing to gain or lose SQ wise by optimizing the Ethernet in any shape or form?

Is this the reason why when I send a long email to China, the recipient gets the email intact, not missing any words, and not even missing any punctuation marks (I.e a comma comes as a dot)? Right?

@thyname at a high level, yes, there is nothing you can do. If you have a low quality switch, you will lose packets if you load it, that will impact sound quality. If you tape anything generating magnetic fields to the Ethernet cable, you will likely lose packets, also improving the sound quality.

as for your email to China. While a completely different protocol at a much higher level, similar principles, if you have punctuation issues, that is all about the what’s in front of the keyboard. 100%. I have unfortunately had to prove that one too many times to think it is funny.