Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Ethernet switches

Sorry, but I can't believe that this is about timing. I don't see how the data packets, which are buffered, can impact DAC timing*.

I'm not saying that it's impossible that there is another cause.


* I am convinced by the science behind data-based jittering, but assuming an accurate data stream (which ethernet assures under relevant circumstances), no switch or router would be changing the data as it arrives at the interface, other than the most minor header info, so that can't be a cause here either.

Has anyone tried these switches with Meridian DSPs and found a worthwhile benefit or are the benefits perceived in other kit revealing sub standard design?

You don't use a switch to connect a DSP.

You do on the network for Roon or Sooloos

Ogri is a big fan of the Cisco 2960. Given the costs, it seems a no-brainer to give it a go.

Cheers
Greg

Hi Chris
Agreed for multiple Zones.
Switches should ideally feature galvanic isolation between ports.
Level of screening of cables should also be considered.
Hector

Some of the Cisco 2960 units are in the same 'ballpark' price range as the EE one from Chord Cables.

Brian

I just thought of a mechanism by which different switches could effect audio quality:

- If one switch's power supply is injecting more noise back into the residence's electrical circuits, it's possible that the noise impacts the audio components.

That said, this would be trivial to address with a simple ferrite core on the power cord of the switch. 2$ U.S. and the problem goes away. Nothing fancier needed since we are not concerned with filtering the power to the switch, only filtering the high frequency coming back out of its power supply.

I bet you could run a switch off a battery for long enough to determine whether mains noise was contributing to things. Wouldn't surprise me if batteries for powering some audio equipment become the norm again.

Noise on the network seems the most likely candidate for issues here, IMO, although I have no evidence for that hunch except the effort Meridian put into reducing/eliminating it between ID40 and ID41.

I'm not personally taking the Audiosciencereview article to mean that there can be no audible difference using a better/'audiophile' switch, merely that that particular design appeared to achieve nothing under those test conditions. However, e.g., maybe there wasn't anything sufficiently noisy on that particular test setup to mitigate, or maybe that particular design is rubbish, etc., etc. If ears are hearing improvements, particularly if the type of improvement is consistent between those reporting it, I'd tend to assume that the ear is picking something real up and that further investigation is required as to what the cause might be.

Since my streaming setup sounds so good, I tend to assume ID41 does it's job in isolating, but I wouldn't be averse to trying out a better switch if/when funds allow which can't be better spent upgrading an actual component. In that scenario, I'd probably be more likely to try the System Optique for complete noise isolation from the rest of the network and in the hope that the optical/ethernet adaptor Sonore build wouldn't inject noise afterwards, or cause other issues...

Now that whole house batteries are becoming more affordable, maybe we’ll see people dedicate them to audio only circuits. I can just imagine taking that to the local planning office and trying to explain it for building permits!

I believe part of the answer is that a varying clock signal introduces varying voltages into the ground (and, quite possibly, the +Ve power) plane. I suspect that the PLL having to continually adjust to keep the lock on this varying frequency is a possible culprit.

Meridian also discovered some time ago that noise entering the 818 through the ethernet cable had a significant impact on sound quality which led, ultimately, to them designing the ID41 to eliminate some of this noise. A more thorough answer is likely to be found within the EtherRegen designer's detailed posts: John Swenson.

Whatever the reasons, on a high-end system, there is a clear difference between different ethernet switches (I can easily hear the difference in the depth of the soundstage between the SotM switch and the second Antipodes CX ethernet output).