More Snake Oil - low-noise network switch

I love the cartoon above.

 

Well, not taking issue with your views (or most of the others in this thread), but audio over ethernet or USB (if that is what we are referring to in this thread context) is generally transferred via isochronous protocols, so requires a bandwidth allocation and must be done at fixed intervals with data packet contents based on sample rate. There isn't any error correction, though provisions are made in the protocol for asynchronous modes, in which the DAC has the master clock and can provide feedback on how much data is in each packet to control the rate. So it's not really the same as transferring a Word document file, though one would hope that it could still be done without noticeable degradation in the analog conversion. There are a lot of clocks at work in the receiver end to sync the stream and run the audio codec, so there are potential opportunities to degrade the sample clock.

 

Thanks for that...

FWIW my comment about Word Documents was partly in jest.

I do find something distinctly fishy about all these reviews that say stuff like:-

"I replaced the ISP router with the £2000 Audiophile router and instantly got a reduction in noise...

...the background was suddenly inky black etc etc".

 

Yea, that's fine, skepticism is healthy, my intent wasn't to make a counterpoint, only to point out that, while these digital interfaces may seem simple, the actual design steps needed to keep multi-clock domain audio devices quiet from a clock jitter perspective can be complex, and may require isolation techniques that aren't often employed.

 

Actually, when I read a word doc on my laptop, getting internet through a switch, it has a lot of typos that are not there in the original doc.

 

I wonder if using this switch while working from home will auto-magically leverage its added audio realism and enable me to manifest a presence at the office to hand sign documents, sort through my paper mail and do other stuff that requires a physical attendance. It should be a nice trick if it can do that and I, for one, will buy one immediately.

 

Your comment is correct with regards to USB, but the ethernet protocols used in network switches and network audio players is the same TCP protocol used to move word files, i.e. it uses checksums & error correction and is bit perfect. There's no way a network switch or any ethernet gear could affect sound. Your comment is also correct regarding audio over ethernet, but that is not the protocol used in network audio interfaces.

 

Are you quite sure alcohol wasn't involved?

 

most won’t watch. Half of them will comment anyway and 20% of them will lie and say they watched it. 21st century schizoid man.

oh and others will say he’s an idiot.

everything matters to varying degrees.

 

Are you asking people to watch the video you posted?
You're a bit obscure with a 17 minute video and then your comments that predict responders.
And the first minute or two of the video is very boring. It may be informative, but you gave a lousy introduction to it.