The Ethernet cables, Switches and Network related sound thread. Share your listening experience only.

[OCC7N]

@OCC7N, your cords aren’t even close to being messy enough.

How about now?

 

[camrector]

Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! $599.00 5％ Off | LHY brand new SW6-SFP audio HIFI fever switch fully linear DC powered OCXO constant temperature crystal oscillator
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPLroGK

LHY with a new SFP switch with a clock “upgrade”

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Nice find Cam! Its like a revised SW-8...more practical, use and pricewise IMO.

 

[Jake2]

Nice find Cam! Its like a revised SW-8...more practical, use and pricewise IMO.

I think @camrector may be being a little tongue in cheek on this one, but little does he know that I already have four in series and my soundstage is now four dimensional.

 

[OCC7N]

.

 

[OCC7N]

Nice find Cam! Its like a revised SW-8...more practical, use and pricewise IMO.

Its their own custom design. Its not based on any other boards like SW8/10

The clock is atleast as good as SW8, which has been placed closer to the chip on SW6.

 

[camrector]

I think @camrector may be being a little tongue in cheek on this one, but little does he know that I already have four in series and my soundstage is now four dimensional.

it seems to be one of the more useful products made my LHY.
We won’t get any clock numbers because LHY is shady like that’s. Then the price seems steep too.
Gustard has a 4port plus fiber switch coming out that’s in the $350-$400.
Very well built fiber switches and fiber routers can be had on Amazon in the $75-$200 range as well.

 

[Jake2]

@camrector I agree its feature combo looks like the sweet spot of their switches to date. Pricing via AliX though far from cheap is not high in absolute terms in the world of audiophile switches - not that that’s a particularly high or great bar to be fair. Re phase noise specs, I’d agree it’s industry standard for external clocks to which LHY are the exception for reasons that have been thoroughly covered, but IIRC I’ve not yet come across any switches at any price or even any DACs (apart from maybe one or two exotic exceptions) that publish PN in their specs. All a moot point for me as my network budget is tapped out and I have all I need for the foreseeable.

@OCC7N interesting re bespoke design.

 

[Ufanco]

Took awhile to fully burn in but the linkup cat 8 cable as a budget option was well worth the cost. Can recommend it for someone looking for a quality cable without spending too much money on. Cable is well built and have noticed an improvement in sound quality.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWL4WHG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[bluenight]

Noob question: Why do you use a switcher between the router and the streamer? Isn’t connecting straight to the router fastest and most direct connection without any extra cabling/power supplies?

A switch will isolate the routers noisy nature from the streamer.

 

[Jake2]

A switch will isolate the routers noisy nature from the streamer.

Agree, switches do this - they reclock/regenerate the ethernet signal. I found two switches worked better then one after the router doing this, but inserting some cheap fibre optic media convertors between the switches were better still. They introduce 100% galvanic isolation. And btw the FMCs did not render the first switch, the one closest to the router, redundant, they sound better with the Netgear switch prior. System sound better still with an Ifi LAN iSilencer after the FMCs - a warmer, fuller more expansive sound. Lots of counterintuitive stuff.. no substitute for experimentation.

 

[OCC7N]

Agree, switches do this - they reclock/regenerate the ethernet signal. I found two switches worked better then one after the router doing this, but inserting some cheap fibre optic media convertors between the switches were better still. They introduce 100% galvanic isolation. And btw the FMCs did not render the first switch, the one closest to the router, redundant, they sound better with the Netgear switch prior. System sound better still with an Ifi LAN iSilencer after the FMCs - a warmer, fuller more expansive sound. Lots of counterintuitive stuff.. no substitute for experimentation.

I tried the cheap set from audiophonics
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/ethe...net-optical-fiber-converter-pair-p-13759.html

With some cheap psu and did not like it. I will try again and see. Thanks for reminding me I still have them

 

[Jake2]

I tried the cheap set from audiophonics
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/ethe...net-optical-fiber-converter-pair-p-13759.html

With some cheap psu and did not like it. I will try again and see. Thanks for reminding me I still have them

Mine are even cheaper than yours.. about half the price from AliX, but very sensitive to power supply quality. Like, well, everything is.

 

[sajunky]

And btw the FMCs did not render the first switch, the one closest to the router, redundant, they sound better with the Netgear switch

Yes, switch remove some traffic not addresssed to this device, FMC would transfer every frame without verification of a destignation address. Better, if switch has a simple management facility. It can be used for prioritisation (sort of QoS), packets will be traveling in more regular intervals, not exposing the receiver power supply to a burst stress. Benefits depend on physical topology of a home network, specifically source of the audio stream (Internet or a local).

Even better if a switch has VLAN capability, it will isolate this segment from broadcasting frames, it is like having a dedicated physical link for audio transfers. Such setup require some networking experience.

If you want to use these features, TP-Link SG108E has everything you need.

Added: Network traffic isolation is even more important when using a pair of WiFi extenders for getting rid of ground loops.

 

[vhild]

Thanks, will investigate and experiment! I just got the Ifi silencer and put it straight into the router. Regarding power supplies, Ifi is the most obvious choice, but how about these ”medical grade” power supplies?

https://www.bicker.de/en/products/medical-power-supplies/desktop-adapter