Come on, the very first CD players did sound really bad!
I believe that S-I-S did test / demonstrate this back in the day with the first generation streamers, which led to his endorsement of the Cisco 2960 that then got popular on the forums. But for later generation streamers i don’t think this relationship was established to the same degree yes…
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Yes, because of DAC. Not because of digital demons that could be exorcised by painting the edge with magic marker
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I stand corrected if that’s the case about RF noise. However Chord are making other claims like jitter, as far as they are saying anything at all, and claims of jitter in a TCP network is asking for more explanation
Jitter IS digital noise - it’s noise in the time domain rather than noise the amplitude domain.
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Incidentally I have designed audio amps and (like anyone who has studied analogue amplifiers) I am well aware of how RFI interacts with amplifiers - it’s not just a mythical boogeyman.
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Yes in protocols like SPDIF but not in TCP where every packet has a sequence number, the protocol guarantees correct ordering, and anyway is buffered every step of the way, and finally buffered and reclocked inside the streamer
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Of course RFI can interact, question is if the Ethernet levels have the effects that are claimed.
Anyways, not saying RFI things are impossible. I was just interested about the reason why some Naim people did not keep the EE. “Did nothing” vs “had an effect I didn’t like” are quite different
And there was me convinced that work had already started on the Statement switch 
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Well, not speaking for others (their call) but in the context of the cost of my system the EE8 isn’t expensive. But any eval that either makes no difference or makes it worse likely won’t be getting my money 
Thanks for your honesty and openness Clare 
It’s a pity more manufacturers don’t offer similar guidance.
Is there a network switch you and your colleagues would recommend?
The one that best suits your set-up! That may sound obtuse, but there are plenty of options depending on the scope of your network; how many devices you run; what types of devices etc.
Once you’ve established what you need, read the reviews - professional and customer - to narrow down your options and then try and get a home demo.
You could end up with something fairly mainstream from a networking specialist; you could decide an ‘audiophile’ product works best for you. As noted above, networks can vary so much, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ recommendation!
The only definitive advice we’d give is to ensure you invest in the best possible broadband connection before you even begin to think about upgrades to your networking equipment. Source first 
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Are you talking about the router here? Or your internet provider?
Literally the quality of the connection coming into your house. Eg high-speed fibre to home.
Amazes me that people will often skimp on that aspect when they’ve invested so much on hardware inside their home; monthly streaming services etc.
Then you need to ensure that connection is robust inside your home, of course. But even the best routers, switches, cables etc are for nothing if you’ve got a poor connection coming into your house.
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Ok, with you. Pity there’s only a poor overhead copper connection that barely manages 3Mbps here in a rural area on the West Coast of Scotland. Mind you, I’m mainly streaming local files. Yes, legacy user, I know 
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I suppose that’s the problem with a lot of these things is that the only proof is subjective rather than evidence based. It’s the same with the Ground Aray marketing. They appear to make a difference to those who have tried them but as Chord say…
The GroundARAY is a next-generation high-frequency-noise-reduction device that connects to unused sockets on hi-fi and/or audiovisual equipment providing a low-impedance route for HF noise to pass through, directly improving the noise floor of the ‘host’ product.
Then they must have been able to identify and characterise the ‘noise’ they wanted to reduce and measure it to give a baseline to work from during its development. If not then how do they know it’s actually doing what they claim it’s supposed to do 
(I suspect I know the answer)
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Yes, that’s sadly still so common here in UK - our digital infrastructure requires major investment. Maybe 5G will be the answer for many…
I was referring more to people whom have the option for a higher-quality connection, but instead go for a cheaper option. It’s a false economy if you’re really serious about streaming (music or AV)
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Clare,
What about a little hint? 
Plenty of hints elsewhere on this Forum, if you look hard enough
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The thing is it really depends on the environment, and how the noise floor was in the first place. If you start with an inherent noise floor of -120dB, then there is no real point bringing it down to -130dB since your starting point is already under human hearing level. If you start with -100dB then there might be a small audible advantage when bringing it down to -110dB.
So like Clare mentioned, having a solid base environment is generally more beneficial than using (expensive) gadgets and tweaks trying to fix existing problems.
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