I put a 2960 in my setup and this did nothing.
Probably because the old switch wasn’t already in the same mains as the Naim setup.
I think it’s sounds better because of the great power supply inside the switch.
Every switch have special chips with coils inside to galvanic separation between different connections. There is one thing to say. I have a 1gbit fiber connection and my Mac mini as windows pc both get to 980mbps up/down speeds.
So it is a very good switch.
You’ll do much better losing the laptop as source than switching to a 2960 imo. But listen to it for awhile - that ‘sparkle’ you heard before could actually be ‘noise.’ Is it more or less fatiguing to listen for a long period before or after the intro of the 2960?
The cisco isn’t likely the problem in your setup. That said, the CG is a GB switch and I found it less appealing to the fast internet models. And the PD versions using POE were the best. I’ll ditto the comment to get rid of the laptop as a source. And I definitely wouldn’t plug your Qute into the router. You want to put some distance b/c the router and the streamer.
I had invested a fortune in my home network including a $1,000 switch, Ansuz cables, etc. I decided the best network was no network so I connected both my Gen 2 Mu-So and ND555 directly to my Apple router with new Nordost Heimdall Ethernet cables. A short one to the Mu-So and a 7 meter to the ND555.
I was right, the best network is no network.
I can’t speak to other routers or other components but this worked for me.
Well that’s interesting b/c I found my airport extreme noisy when directly connected. I got noticeable noise floor reduction with the old blue ciscos more with a white CG and even more with cascading PD with POE. And of course BJC. Being on the Airport and using Audioquest Cinnamons were the killer of enjoyment.
Hi yes they can sound better because they have better clock circuitry, electro magnetic compliance and twisted pair transmission line termination compared to some other devices because of the environments they can be used in, and the high data transmission quality and reliability they offer. These Catalyst devices also implement IGMP snooping by default, which depending on home network and connected applications can improve streamer SQ as it removes irrelevant data and processing overhead from the streamer. Less processing and work tends to lead to better SQ.
Ultimately it’s the switch’s interaction with the directly connected device or streamer that counts.
This is from default… there are other things you can do to optimise SQ, especially first gen Naim streamers if you programme them.
However with all these removal and changing of electronic noise, it can make the sound ‘purer’ but it is not always preferable, especially if you have grown accustomed to the added noise shaping effects of previous devices/switches.
I think Charlesphoto above made a similar observation.
Finally there are different 2960 Catalyst variant each with the option of producing subtly different SQ in some streamers.
The best network is one that works optimally for the connected devices including sending only relevant data for the connected devices … the Catalyst switches are a step in that direction with group data management.
used switch. the most likely part of it being used up …
I had connected the router to the first port and the qute to the fourth port.
i just switched the router connection to the second port and the sizzle was back!!!
so the first port was probably faulty.
so if ur router is used, you should probably experiment with the the ports to make sure you have the best sound out of them.
But there is still a tinge of harshness in the sound. Wonder if it is due to the switch being hooked up to a furman pst 8D - which also hosts connections to the tv, router, printer, computer etc.
Rather than going from the router to a switch and then to the streamer, NAS and Mu-So, I’m using the Router as a switch. It’s connected directly to the various end points.