Final Piece of the Puzzle is Here! - Ethernet Audio Video Review Series

[Michaels HiFi]

OK guys - just arrived from Taiwan this morning - in a KFC outer shipping box to protect the inner "real" box. LOL

PPA QUAD Switch.

It has four switches in one heavy (maybe 15 pounds or so?) solid chassis that I can use via bridging cables to use 1, 2, 3, or all 4 switches in line.

Fit and finish is very good with large heat fins.

I'm letting it come up to room temp (it's a bit chilly here in DFW today) before I add it to the burn-in chain.

Can't wait to try it out!

 

[Michaels HiFi]

It's been very cold in the mornings here in DFW the last couple of days - ~38 degrees. So when I received this yesterday the unit was very cold from being in the truck. I decided to unbox it yesterday and let the unit come up to room temperature before hooking it up today.

Here is a pic of a 'normal' 8 port switch vs the PPA one, and a pic of the back with the quad internal switches hooked up.

 

[JCS123]

Michael, I'm curious - what are the cables between the A, B, C and D switches accomplishing?

 

[Michaels HiFi]

Michael, I'm curious - what are the cables between the A, B, C and D switches accomplishing?

Good question.

It has 4 switches built in (quad switch), but I don't need to use all 4 at once if I don't want to. So those are jumpers it comes with that tie the different switches together to cascade them. I can chooses to use 1, 2, 3, or all 4 switches depending on what sounds best on my system.

The jumpers is came with seem to be very high quality and are directional and even have the connectors on each end opposite the other end so they easily plug in without any twisting needed.

The company said 100 hours burn in and 3+ weeks to let is "settle" from shake up from shipping. I'm going to finish up the testing of my normal inexpensive mass market switches today, and then try the high end switch later this week.

My plan is to find the best combination of 2 or 3 cascaded switches by the wall, then run the long cable to the quad switch by the streamer, then try the gigFoil to see how that may or may not help by the streamer with a quad switch. I' curious if the gigafoil will add any benefit nor have been a waste of money with all these switches.

My hypothesis is this: EVERYONE will benefit with several inexpensive cascaded switches by the wall (I am determining which are the crap sounding ones and which are better as so far I get the best sound my MIXING brands and never using all the same switches). The sound difference of several switches is NOT subtle. The questions are 1) which switches yield the best sound by the wall, and; 2) will this provide any additional benefit to those with a high end switch already by their streamer?

I am also comparing general ethernet cables to more expensive ones to understand the benefits of better cables when you have so many switches.

 

[CPP]

So what router are you using ?

 

[Michaels HiFi]

So what router are you using ?

It's the one that came with our internet service provider so to be honest I'm not even sure what it is. LOL

It is on the second floor and plugs into the wall which runs the cables into the other rooms and floors in the house.

I use wifi for everything (including the TV's) except the streaming which is through ethernet.

 

[CPP]

It's the one that came with our internet service provider so to be honest I'm not even sure what it is. LOL

It is on the second floor and plugs into the wall which runs the cables into the other rooms and floors in the house.

I use wifi for everything (including the TV's) except the streaming which is through ethernet.

Oh man , kinda figured you would be using some Audiophile router like
Introducing AirStream, Audiophile Wireless Router from Fidelizer Audio | Fidelizer.Audio
or The Linear Solution - OXCO AUDIOPHILE ROUTER

and does 2.4GHz, sound better than 5GHz

Just wondering and no I don't have a Audiophile router. We have been using a TP-Link Archer AX11000 hooked up to Spectrum's ARRIS SURFboard SB8200 modem with 500mpbs. A grand total of 21" from a direct Ethernet connection to the modem and 30" from the router to my streamer via Ethernet. NO switches at all.

 

[Michaels HiFi]

Oh man , kinda figured you would be using some Audiophile router like
Introducing AirStream, Audiophile Wireless Router from Fidelizer Audio | Fidelizer.Audio
or The Linear Solution - OXCO AUDIOPHILE ROUTER

and does 2.4GHz, sound better than 5GHz

Just wondering and no I don't have a Audiophile router. We have been using a TP-Link Archer AX11000 hooked up to Spectrum's ARRIS SURFboard SB8200 modem with 500mpbs. A grand total of 21" from a direct Ethernet connection to the modem and 30" from the router to my streamer via Ethernet. NO switches at all.

Yeah - mine is branded the same as the internet provider which is why I don't know. I'm sure it's a NetGear or TP Link or something like that.

I tried NO switch initially and the right inexpensive switch, and then two inexpensive switches (when matched correctly) sounds much better than no switch in my house.

I will say though if you use only one switch, and it is the wrong one, it will sound worse.

I am still surprised at the differences between the common switches.

The results I talk about coming up in the next video I'll film and release this week will cover more scenarios tried and you will be able to get a substantial improvement to your sound for ~$100.

In fact so far the winning switch(which I haven't revealed yet) sounds BETTER with its crappy factory power supply than the other switches running upgraded linear power supplies!

 

[jadedavid]

Michael
Thanks for all your hard work.
This is a subject that many of us less knowledgeable concerning switches/ethernet cables etc are interested in
Furtermore you are experimenting at a price point that is affordable for the "average" audiophile.
Keep up the great work.

 

[Puma Cat]

In fact so far the winning switch(which I haven't revealed yet) sounds BETTER with its crappy factory power supply than the other switches running upgraded linear power supplies!

It's an interesting finding for that specific switch and power supply combination, but folks should not assume from that finding with sample N=1 (which has no statistical power) that this applies to all switches and all power supplies, because that is absolutely NOT the case. Remember components/devices interact, they do not function solely "unto themselves".

For example, the Keces P3 power linear power supply is a well-regarded LPS (that i use for my SOtM SMS-200UltraNeo network bridge), but it does NOT sound as good powering EtherREGEN as the UpTone LPS-1.2 linear power supply powering ER does.

I tried NO switch initially and the right inexpensive switch, and then two inexpensive switches (when matched correctly) sounds much better than no switch in my house.

This is because of "stacking clocks" (using mutlple switches together) reduces phase noise. Folks found similar but more significant results when stacking EtherREGENs together because the Crystek CCHD-575 clocks in EtherREGENs is a signficantly better clock than the POS crap clocks in consumer-grade devices.

 

[Michaels HiFi]

Michael
Thanks for all your hard work.
This is a subject that many of us less knowledgeable concerning switches/ethernet cables etc are interested in
Furtermore you are experimenting at a price point that is affordable for the "average" audiophile.
Keep up the great work.

Thank you for the kind words.

I think it audio it's always easier to spend a lot of money to get something great, but more exciting to find performance bargains.

I also think for those who have bought more expensive switches, and I do have one I've bought and is burning in, that these inexpensive switches will still make a significant positive difference for us all.

To Puma Cat -

Absolutely each switch and external PS will have better or worse synergy. I don't have the funds nor the time to try the limitless combinations (I know you are not suggesting that I do). I also think on average people are more likely to not buy a $35 switch and a $600 or $800 external PS even though in many instances this will give you better performance than a $1,000 "audiophile" switch.

I will say so far of the DOZENS of combinations I have tried I have found two things to be constant:

- Plugging the switches in the wall into my unused Audio Quest Power Conditioner 3 (~$299) made a much bigger sound difference than an upgraded PS on the switches plugged into the wall; (plugging the switch by my streamer into my Audio Quest 1200 made the biggest difference and a minimal improvement when an upgraded PS was added to that switch);

- The other is cascaded switches (when you have the right combo of them) plugged into the wall sounded better than a single switch with an upgraded PS.

Guys - here is the major disclaimer I also mention in my videos: this is what sounds best on my system, with my gear, in my room, with my electrical grid, with my internet over my in wall ethernet cable to my ears. It is highly likely you will have different results.

 

[Puma Cat]

To Puma Cat -

Absolutely each switch and external PS will have better or worse synergy. I don't have the funds nor the time to try the limitless combinations (I know you are not suggesting that I do). I also think on average people are more likely to not buy a $35 switch and a $600 or $800 external PS even though in many instances this will give you better performance than a $1,000 "audiophile" switch.

I will say so far of the DOZENS of combinations I have tried I have found two things to be constant:

- Plugging the switches in the wall into my unused Audio Quest Power Conditioner 3 (~$299) made a much bigger sound difference than an upgraded PS on the switches plugged into the wall; (plugging the switch by my streamer into my Audio Quest 1200 made the biggest difference and a minimal improvement when an upgraded PS was added to that switch);

- The other is cascaded switches (when you have the right combo of them) plugged into the wall sounded better than a single switch with an upgraded PS.

Guys - here is the major disclaimer I also mention in my videos: this is what sounds best on my system, with my gear, in my room, with my electrical grid, with my internet over my in wall ethernet cable to my ears. It is highly likely you will have different results.

Yep, agreed, Michael. We all appreciate the hard work you're putting to help codify this for folks. My post was merely that folks shouldn't "generalize' that the stock SMPS that comes with a particular switch will be the optimal power supply because in most cases, it won't be. As I've mentioned before folks that want to dabble in this area with consumer-grade Ethernet switches can pick up a Jameco Reliapro wall-wart power supply that is proper linear power supply for about twelve bucks, and these WILL make an improvement.

Not at all surprised that powering the Ethernet switches using a good power conditioner makes for a notable improvement because there's a sh*t-ton of noise on consumer-grade Ethernet switches: low- and high-source impedance leakage current, threshold jitter, common-mode noise, and phase noise. The latter is why "cascading switches" sounds better than a single switch with an upgraded PS because the upgraded PS doesn't eliminate phase noise.

Thanks again for all your work on this, it will help inform folks understanding. Cheers.

 

[Puma Cat]

Good question.

It has 4 switches built in (quad switch), but I don't need to use all 4 at once if I don't want to. So those are jumpers it comes with that tie the different switches together to cascade them. I can chooses to use 1, 2, 3, or all 4 switches depending on what sounds best on my system.

The jumpers is came with seem to be very high quality and are directional and even have the connectors on each end opposite the other end so they easily plug in without any twisting needed.

The company said 100 hours burn in and 3+ weeks to let is "settle" from shake up from shipping. I'm going to finish up the testing of my normal inexpensive mass market switches today, and then try the high end switch later this week.

My plan is to find the best combination of 2 or 3 cascaded switches by the wall, then run the long cable to the quad switch by the streamer, then try the gigFoil to see how that may or may not help by the streamer with a quad switch. I' curious if the gigafoil will add any benefit nor have been a waste of money with all these switches.

My hypothesis is this: EVERYONE will benefit with several inexpensive cascaded switches by the wall (I am determining which are the crap sounding ones and which are better as so far I get the best sound my MIXING brands and never using all the same switches). The sound difference of several switches is NOT subtle. The questions are 1) which switches yield the best sound by the wall, and; 2) will this provide any additional benefit to those with a high end switch already by their streamer?

I am also comparing general ethernet cables to more expensive ones to understand the benefits of better cables when you have so many switches.

Another recommendation would be to connect that ground terminal on the back of the Paul Peng switch to the ground input of the power receptacle it's plugged with a ground cable. I can show you the inexpensive bits you need to do this, if you're interested. It'll cost just a couple of bucks to make up the ground cable.

Here's pic using an RCA plug at the component end. Instead the RCA plug, install a spade on the component end, and attached it to the ground post on the Paul Peng switch.

 

[Michaels HiFi]

Another recommendation would be to connect that ground terminal on the back of the Paul Peng switch to the ground input of the power receptacle it's plugged with a ground cable. I can show you the inexpensive bits you need to do this, if you're interested. It'll cost just a couple of bucks to make up the ground cable.

Here's pic using an RCA plug at the component end. Instead the RCA plug, install a spade on the component end, and attached it to the ground post on the Paul Peng switch.

Yes - thank you. I would LOVE to find a way to ground the PPA switch.

 

[Puma Cat]

Yes - thank you. I would LOVE to find a way to ground the PPA switch.

Yep, it's really easy. Get some 14 AWG copper wire (e.g. with the green insulation), a copper spade connector*, and one of the AC plugs shown above from hardware store. These plugs open up and you can simply screw the ground wire to the (earth) ground screw inside. Plug this into a receptacle in the wall or the AQ PD.

*-Amazon.com

 

[Michaels HiFi]

Pretty exciting news guys.

A MAJOR player in the high end switch game has reached out to us about their switch and will be sending us one for review. Stay tuned for a video review of it when we receive it.

I've got another 30-40 switch combo tests to run today and should have another video posted this week. Video format will be a bit different than the last one. I realized my tests are producing TOO much info to share without overwhelming the audience, and frankly me trying to articulate it all. I've been pondering how to deal with that and I think the next video will talk about the test high level and I will only go into details on the top three set ups to make it more digestible and will detail them in the notes section below the video.

Thanks to those who have taken the time to share constructive criticism on how to make the videos better. It's always appreciated.

 

[Michaels HiFi]

OK - after 4 more hours today I've finished testing the dozens of different hook up configurations with the 15 switches I purchased (not counting the expensive one I bought). We have our clear winners.

As someone who came into this test as a switch skeptic, I was proven really, really wrong.

Will be posting more results on the channel later this week with video 2 and then results with the high end switch in video 3 next week.

 

[brad225]

Thanks Michael, the vast majority of us don't have the thought process or the patience to undertake this process.

 

[mep]

Thanks Michael, the vast majority of us don't have the thought process or the patience to undertake this process.

I'm not sure he does either. How do you test 30-40 switches in one day and extrapolate meaningful conclusions?

 

[jadedavid]

I'm not sure he does either. How do you test 30-40 switches in one day and extrapolate meaningful conclusions?

Perhaps I have misread his post.
I've read that he has approx 15 switches and did approx 30-40 switch combos. (cables / power supplies etc?)
I wasn't aware that he had 30-40 switches.
WOW that would be a lot.
With that many, perhaps you could give him some assistance.