272 + CSCO 2960 router

Just wondering if anyone has positive experiences on 272 + CSCO 2960 router or with other Naim streamer that can be shared ? thanks a lot in advance.

I have an NDS/SN2 and feed it with a Cisco 2960. I read a lot of good reviews here on it, and it seemed to improve the SQ over the $15 TP Link I was using before. The Cisco’s are also quite cheap these days.
I have all Blue Jeans Cat6 ethernet cables.

Cisco 2960 has many different types. Could you please tell me which specific one are you using ? Does it matter which type or as long as it is Cisco 2960 is good ?

Thanks a lot.

Apodidae OCXO and N8 are also quite popular on this side of the world.

I can’t remember the exactlt model number right now, but I’ll look it up in the morning and post it. Mine is a 24 port model. I don’t think it matters much though which model you use.

It effectively doesn’t matter no… yes there are configuration settings one can apply, after all it is a managed switch, to enable it to assist audio applications, but that is beyond the scope of most on this forum.
Best focus on smaller devices that have no fan so will be silent, such as 8 or 10 port devices.

In the extreme one can use PoE (PD) switches that are remotely powered by a PoE power source… this can have the benefit of keeping potentially noisy mains away from your switch… I did this for a while with my old NDX.

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Netgear gs108 works very well for me

There is this current thread about current models:

Of course, a forum search for Cisco 2960 will find lots

I use a 272 and a Cisco 2960… And a very good combination it is.

Only really significant recommendation I would make is to go for an 8 port fanless model (although the suggestion of powering one through PoE also makes a lot of sense, it’s likely to be a relatively minor benefit - the power supply in the mains powered version is already of good quality and is internally shielded).

Does the switch provide any benefit over direct cable into the router?

Yes.

It can do, it very much depends on the router and whether basic or advanced. For example the advanced BT Smart Hub 2 router provides many of the same benefits… (IGMP snooping and querier capability) so benefits are likely to be minimal.

Yes, best to get a 12 port 2960 without the fan. I can hear the fan slightly in my 24 port, but I muffle it with acoustic foam.
BTW Simon, I only use the line in, and 2 lines out, of the 26 connections. Do you think I require the fan? I was thinking of opening it up and removing the fan. I would think that the fan is for when the unit is used to the maximum, like in an office environment.
I’d appreciate your advice on this. Thanks.

Dave

Yes, I tried removing the fan from another type of Cisco switch with only two connections, and after a while it malfunctioned…
Obviously you can try to remove, but probably not worth the risk… best get a fanless model.

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Thanks for the info. Best to leave it alone, I guess. It’s a very soft sound with the foam in place, anyway. I’ll be relocating in a while, and I’ll buy the appropriate cable so that I can stick it in a corner behind something, and I won’t be able to hear it at all.

After reading these forums I got an 8 port Cisco out of the cupboard and connected NAS and 272 to it on 100Mb interfaces. Gigabit port uplinks to BT hub providing SSH management access to the Cisco and outbound route from NAS to Superuniti (WIFI) and cloud backup. Bit of CLI later and the Cisco is providing a direct connection NAS to 272. IGMP snooping, ACLs and port security basically mean not a single packet hits the 272 interface unless audio traffic, and very few (if any) unnecessary packets flow across the Cisco audio VLAN.

272 and NAS were previously cabled into BT hub.

I’d totally expected this to be snake oil but I was surprised to find, even with bog standard Ethernet cables, that there were slight improvements. Treble has more snap/sparkle. I’ve decided to keep things this way and today bought a couple of Melco ethernet cables to replace the old cables I was using, one of which came out if a data centre in 2002!

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Yes, that’s what I found. Not a huge difference, but a noticable improvement.

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