Cheapest way to enhance SQ with digital streaming

@clive101 

I also have Finistar and they do uplift quite a lot from regular ones. From my understanding Melco S-100 and Telegartner M12 switch are top echelons in the network switch category. I would love to hear people who have Melco S-100 or M-12 switch. If you do buy them, please keep us posted about your observations. 

Yes, certainly seems like topic is going from "cheapest way" to expensive switches, but since these come under category of clean ethernet, I guess it is alright, as long there is lot of learning. 

@fmzip i am glad you tried and worked. Digital “noise” is more than we imagine. We don’t know unless we hear “minimizing the noise”. Since my last post, I have done a bit more in the digital chain. Router > sotm with cat 7 > ethergen with fiber optic > English electric 8s > ENO acoustics > streamer. Not every step is superior but synergistic and now more organic (less “digital”). 

@dbb I am really glad you tried and worked. Sometimes people are used to digital noise and they might not like it when using fiber optic because of “change” but at least it is least expensive way to try in expensive hobby. Once you get used to noise free digital, it’s hard to go back. 
Another good thing about the fiber optic is that it is made of glass and no amount of purification/ processing will change the character and hence works out cheap, unlike copper or silver cables, where you see the price going Uber high with different manufacturers and how they build it. 

@txp1 Not sure I had experienced like you. I had almost immediate improvement. Give it time and see if it changes better. 

@romanesq that is some serious improvement in your system. I will be honest, I have spent quite a bit on components (a lot), but still, to date the best bang for buck (by big margin) has been fiber optic in digital chain. It might not be for everybody, especially with already very high end Ethernet switches (which also do job of reducing noise) in chain, but I can imagine it will be big improvement in most system. Best thing about them is they are inexpensive to test/ experiment. 

@audphile1 good to hear your assessment. I have gone a great deal in this and everything matters, including a separate 20 amp line, wall socket, power cables, ethernet wire, ethernet switch, SFP module. Some are small improvements and some are big ones. Depends on system and your preference in tonality. I like to have black background with low noise. Have never stopped trying different components in chain and still find the optical fiber to be the best bang for buck. 

@clive101 Thanks. Yes, once you start this route, it is a rabbit hole but you will find the journey very revealing, exciting (with some frustrations and hiccups in between) but  will get you were you want. 

I have tried etheregen, sotm, English electric, ubiquiti network switches in my system, individually and in all combinations of 2 and 3s (including the sequence in which they are in series). My take and for my taste, more the switches in chain, lesser the noise but there are some changes in musicality which I did not like it. I ended up just using sotm (Router to ubiquiti switch > sotm via fiber > streamer via ethernet). Still, in digital chain, fiber optic and network switch (of your choice and taste) gets best out of your system. Of course, I have seen people using multiple switches in chain, but it is not my preference.