Network Switches

Greetings

I have followed this thread with interest

I will state up front that although I do realise the function and capabilities of each network element, I am no expert so I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing with any previous post.

I am in the UK and I listen to the excellent BBC Radio 3 (mostly classical music) on their 'Sounds' application or one of my DAB receivers (that is Digital Audio Broadcasting for our friend in America who do not have it !) 192 kbps on DAB and terrestrial with 320 kbps HLS AAC online

I have been lucky enough to be shown round a digital television and radio transmission station. You have never seen such a jumbled mass of cables. Power, Ethernet, the odd USB etc. with feeds from around 200 stations.

Around twelve million people depend on it to provide them with perfectly reproduced music and television. As most using this forum are undoubtedly aware, with DAB radio and digital TV it is either exact, garbage or non-existent, picture and sound quality degradation not being possible.

I have an open mind on the subject, but I am wondering why commercial and professional applications such as television and radio networks don’t need the same level of equipment as is being promoted for home cinema/music room applications.

All I know is that I enjoy the consistent high quality of digital and do not miss the hit and miss (and s*it and hiss!) of analogue.

Thanks

@david_uk_22   

I have an open mind on the subject, but I am wondering why commercial and professional applications such as television and radio networks don’t need the same level of equipment as is being promoted for home cinema/music room applications.

That's like asking why drive a Ferrari when a Kia serves the same basic purpose of delivering you from point A to point B. It's about eeking out extra performance...and not just making a successful transmission of data.  I feel that any piece of gear powered by electricity, including digital gear, can benefit from reducing the effects of RF/EM noise.

Thanks for your reply three_easy_payments

But I don't think that your Ferrari/Kia comparison works.

If the sole purpose is to get from a to b and the Kia will do that, then the Ferrari is not needed

Is not the sole purpose of the equipment in question, in both the professional and amateur setups, to get the radio/TV show from a to b ?

Can a digital switch, as the manufacturers and 'reviewers' say it can, improve audio and video streams passing through it. ?

Yes it can. Don't know about video, but audio, yes. The rationale is simple:  It is all about some form of noise (usually either voltage noise or phase noise) hitching a ride along with the digital data (the bits) and getting into the DAC. This causes distortions in the analog signal which somehow affects the human perceptual system. THAT is what an "audiophile switch" attempting to accomplish: getting rid of those noise components before they reach your DAC.

So no switch for me

That was obvious with your first post. So really, not sure why you were posting here. It's not like someone could change your mind and convince you to buy a switch, is it? Besides, why don't you try a switch for yourself? Is it so hard to do?

I am pretty sure you are one of those people from audio "science" forums claiming that all DACs sound the same, and a $50 DAC from China would provide the same SQ as any SOTA DAC. Heck... someone told me there that a DAC is not even part of the audio signal / chain !!

@david_uk_22

But I don't think that your Ferrari/Kia comparison works.

If the sole purpose is to get from a to b and the Kia will do that, then the Ferrari is not needed

Of course the Kia/Ferrari analogy works. If you care about audio you don’t just want to hear music come out (i.e. getting you from point A to B), whether it’s from phono or 192 stream, you want it to present with the least amount of noise layered on top of it. My point is that regardless if whether the digital signal is perfect, it is susceptible to RF/EM noise riding along or being created by power supplies and any gear (including switches) that pass electric current. If another switch can keep this noise out then you can potentially recognize better sound. This isnt about 1s and 0s getting through or not.