Is a "better" Ethernet switch justified

A

AVphile

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A couple of months ago, I purchased a Lumin U2 to go with my Bricasti M21 DAC; they are connected by a good USB cable. Thanks to the U2, the improvement in the music I am streaming is noteworthy. Without question, the U2 is worth its price. This got me to thinking that maybe I could obtain further improvement by employing an "audiophile" quality switch between my router and my U2 instead of the Luxul switch I currently use.

I am interested in the thoughts of others about this. I certainly don't want to spend thousands on a switch, but the $700 English Electric8 is within my affordability range. Would I be wasting money if I were to purchase it or any other bargain "audiophile" Ethernet switch?
 
AVphile said:
A couple of months ago, I purchased a Lumin U2 to go with my Bricasti M21 DAC; they are connected by a good USB cable. Thanks to the U2, the improvement in the music I am streaming is noteworthy. Without question, the U2 is worth its price. This got me to thinking that maybe I could obtain further improvement by employing an "audiophile" quality switch between my router and my U2 instead of the Luxul switch I currently use.

I am interested in the thoughts of others about this. I certainly don't want to spend thousands on a switch, but the $700 English Electric8 is within my affordability range. Would I be wasting money if I were to purchase it or any other bargain "audiophile" Ethernet switch?
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Some people say yes.

Some people say no.

I got tired of reading people arguing about it online who had never tried it themselves so I went out and bought a bunch of different switches at different price points to try myself. On my system there was a noticeable difference.

It's highly dependent on your network and what's in your street, in your walls, etc. etc. No one can give you a definitive answer if they are being honest.
 
AVphile said:
A couple of months ago, I purchased a Lumin U2 to go with my Bricasti M21 DAC; they are connected by a good USB cable. Thanks to the U2, the improvement in the music I am streaming is noteworthy. Without question, the U2 is worth its price. This got me to thinking that maybe I could obtain further improvement by employing an "audiophile" quality switch between my router and my U2 instead of the Luxul switch I currently use.

I am interested in the thoughts of others about this. I certainly don't want to spend thousands on a switch, but the $700 English Electric8 is within my affordability range. Would I be wasting money if I were to purchase it or any other bargain "audiophile" Ethernet switch?
Click to expand...

Do you have a router close to your Lumin and Briscati? If so, you may want to try an experiment that basically costs very little or nothing if you have some ethernet cables laying around.

Remove the USB that connects the Lumin to the Briscati. Plug both your Briscati and Lumin into the same router via ethernet cables and your off to the races. Both devices will communicate with each other through the router instead of a USB cable.

I've been doing this for years with my Roon Nucleus+ and two different DACs (PS Audio DSJ and my current HIfi Rose 150B) and it sounds great in my room. If you think the USB cable sounds better after you have tried the experiment, it's fast and easy to go back to using the USB cable. Then if you still have the switch itch, you can buy a switch and try it out.
 
AVphile said:
….

I am interested in the thoughts of others about this. I certainly don't want to spend thousands on a switch, but the $700 English Electric8 is within my affordability range. Would I be wasting money if I were to purchase it or any other bargain "audiophile" Ethernet switch?
Click to expand...

Since you asking, here is a review of several Ethernet switches:

archimago.blogspot.com

2.5Gbps Ethernet in the Sound Room... (D-Link DMS-106XT & GigaPlus S25-0802 2.5G Smart Switch). And a quick peek in the Headphone Bar & Red Cat Records.

A blog for audiophiles about more objective topics. Measurements of audio gear. Reasonable, realistic, no snakeoil assessment of sound, and equipment.
archimago.blogspot.com archimago.blogspot.com

TL;DR? You can save lots of money.

Ultimately you will make a decision that you are happy with. That is all that matters.
 
Wow - the guy who runs that site has an interesting perspective on things:

He demands others be "marginalized" and "go away" because he may not agree with their viewpoints.

Screenshot 2024-12-24 at 5.59.43 PM.png
 
Looks like he labels anyone who uses their ears as "anti-measurers".

And in others he talks about the "duplicity" of people pushing personal opinions on sound that he disagrees with.

And he calls himself an audiophile yet he uses.....Fosi?

This guys opinion pieces read like a manifesto.

Screenshot 2024-12-24 at 7.08.29 PM.png
 
I heard a difference with switches. My buddy Jerry brought over his SR switch and we compared it to a Netgear and the Qnet. They both beat the net gear by bringing greater clarity and depth. The Qnet jumped over the SR when we added the linear power supply to the Qnet. We both heard the same things and both agreed on the improvements.

🤷‍♂️
 
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Michaels HiFi said:
Looks like he labels anyone who uses their ears as "anti-measurers".

And in others he talks about the "duplicity" of people pushing personal opinions on sound that he disagrees with.

And he calls himself an audiophile yet he uses.....Fosi?

This guys opinion pieces read like a manifesto.
….
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This well known audiophile believes that network switches make no difference… 👇

 
nicoff said:
This well known audiophile believes that network switches make no difference… 👇

Click to expand...

Sorry if my post was confusing.

I though by posting screen shots it would be easy to follow.

I was not talking about Paul nor switches.
 
audio.bill said:
Since the Lumin U2 supports a "Fiber network connection which provides complete isolation from network digital noise", you may want to consider a switch with an appropriate SFP slot. Lumin provides details on potential fiber network connections with their devices: https://www.luminmusic.com/support-fibre.html
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Fiber is really the way to go, here. When I wrote my review for the Lumin U2, I used my fiber connection from my music server in the “remote server room”, and for my normal installation, I use LC/LC fiber for connection to my Lumin P1.
 
Michaels HiFi said:
Sorry if my post was confusing.

I though by posting screen shots it would be easy to follow.

I was not talking about Paul nor switches.
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Well… the subject of the thread was network switches so now you know how Paul feels about that.
 
nicoff said:
Well… the subject of the thread was network switches so now you know how Paul feels about that.
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I guess we have a different approach. That's cool.

I'm not into needing to rely on others tell me what to think about sound so I listen for myself and make up my own mind. It's much more rewarding for me personally that way.

Especially after hearing the nightmare stories Mike has had with Paul's gear he's not exactly someone I'd look up to - much like the crazy nut job linked to earlier who wants to "marginalize" anyone he disagrees with as he listens to his "audiophile" Fosi stuff.

Not exactly the beacon of light for an opinion on anything audio related.
 
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Yes. This is the direct and genuine answer to you query. How you get there?

Well, there are many different paths. The path you take can lead you many different ways and yield many differing results.

Tom
 
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