I for one would welcome it.
Even your proposed headlines (and those of one or two contributors today) are helping to bring a degree of focus to the subject.
There is quite a lot of information in the thread, but much of it has been clouded during the extensive discussion.
The newer 2960 CG model I have was much more quiet than the blue 2960 8TC L it replaced. I have a new PD model downstream from the CG and the noise floor is the best Iāve had in my cisco experiments. Iām hunting for a new POE switch to send POE to the PD and will report how that goes when I get it.
I will try a different set up with my cascade Ciscos tomorrow.
Router > BJ cat 6a > Cisco 8tc > vodka > Cisco 8tt > Diamond > melco n1h2 > Diamond > nds
Tomorrow : Router > vodka > Cisco > Diamond > Cisco > BJ cat 6a > Melco > Diamond > nds.
I feel I will not prefer that set up. But want to try. DB prefers his direct cable ( 3 euros / m) between melco and switch vs vodka.
So who knows ? I will do it blindly with my cat, lizard and pig. 
Well, after around 10 days non-stop operation from receipt of the 2 x Etherregens, which had stabilised and become more relaxed and with greater texture in voices, I tried going back to the 2 x PD Catalyst 2960 switches.
As soon as I installed the Etherregens I recognised they were quieter and timed well, but had various reservations as they burnt in initially. They were encouraging, but didnāt wow me.
So going back to the Ciscos was a bit of a shock. The Etherregens are that much better in my system.
Itās not really a question of soundstage, although this is both wider, deeper and more composed in an unobtrusive ānaturalā way, nor of noise floor, which is much lower, increasing clarity. Nor is it just a question of detail, although there is more across the board. Whatās really impressing me is that all of this is presented in an integrated, unforced way. Which brings me to the above all: the thing really excels in textural detail and subtle timing variations and interplay, doing a fantastically moving job of conveying the interpretative spirit of my favourite performances.
Double bass and cello textural detail is outstanding. Vocal textures are wonderful. Piano is, well, pianoā¦ from growling percussion to bell and all the rest. And itās not just hammer and strings. I finally feel my digital connections are doing the ND555 justice.
So I like them 
On the pratting around front I also came to the following conclusions (none difficult to reach):
1 Etherregen sounds better than 2 Ciscos and also better than 1 Cisco + Etherregen
2 Etherregens sound better than one. The difference is not as big as moving from 1 Cisco to 2 Ciscos, although the effect in terms of composure, delicacy, texture, noise floor, timing, space and soundstage is not dissimilar. Interestingly, there is, however, very little difference if you connect from the A side of the first Etherregen to the second Etherregen, testifying to the effectiveness of the design. Connect from the B side (as recommended).
I also found that things worked better with the Nucleus connected to the 1st switch as with the dual Ciscos, though the improvement was less marked (again testifying to the design of the Etherregen).
In conclusion, I certainly recommend people try this Etherregen. Buying two is a bit over the top, but worth it for me. Iāll be getting a Sean Jacobs power supply for them as soon as he can find the time to make one for me.
On the cable front, I still prefer the DesignaCable bonded Belden CatSnake Cat5e in my system. The BJC Cat6a have a lower noise floor and more prominent treble detail, but less texture and a less integrated sound.
Iāve got Adam at DesignaCable to make me up some cables using Belden Cat6a CatSnake which differ from the BJC in not being bonded, having stranded rather than solid conductors and having the CatSnake sheaths. Iām hoping these give me a combination of what I like in both the above cables. The new ones will effectively be the same as the Ghent Audio Ethernet cables only not with the Metz RJ45 plugs, which I find irritating and have a known issue plugging into the Roon Nucleus. Theyāll be arriving in a few days, then I can finally stop faffing. Roll on 2020!
Hi Rich, I will be contacting Sean for a dual rail regulated DC3 with Mundorfs for the 2 Etherregens I have and am keeping. I will discuss whether or not there can be an adjustable option. As far as I am aware the DC3 for my Nucleus is not adjustable. Do you find the Etherregen is working better with 10V and if so is it running appreciably hotter?
Iād like to go for 12V in some ways, since this would offer greater future versatility when some other all singing and dancing peripheral comes outā¦
MTIA
Mike
Hi Michaelb.
As far as I know they are all adjustable, I have 6 altogether and all are.
I am now trying at 12v and it seems very good, whether or not itās better I donāt know but itās no hotter.
Cheers
Rich
Iām going to take the plunge and get another Allied Telesis or two, now that Iāve heard how much quieter and natural it is. My plan is to swap out the Netgear switch in the media room that feeds my Nova and Core, and add a Allied Telesis at the IP router to bypass the signal from the Core to the NDX2 (via its Allied Telesis) which currently passes through the router between rooms. I just need to sort out switch positions and cable lengths to see if I need 1 16 port switch or 2 8 port switches.
Sounds tweaky to me! 
There was a post that informed the benefit of extra switches diminishes after 42, be great if you can confirm Mikeš
A little refinement is always a good thingā¦
Itās a numbers game. The office/media room has two Macs, a smart TV, Bluray player, Apple TV, Nova and Core, so thatās 7 ports needed plus one to connect to the router and one to feed the line upstairs to the lounge. Inconveniently, thatās 9 ports and I was hoping to get away with 8.
Yes snd the larger ones often have a noisy fan, unless they can be hidden elsewhere. My second switch a HP procurve 408 is on its wayā¦so have the bug as well.
You could however test the Cisco, if you like the Naim sound. It really has a boogie factor and visceral grip.
But perhaps your Alesis is better. Who knows. The test would cost you 70 dollars.
As for a16 or 2X 8 , I would choose 2X8, because more you have ports, more noisy is the switch. From what I feel to have understoodā¦
I agree, Iāll go 2 x 8, which will much easier to swap in anyway. I think Iām happy that these commercial grade switches that are well made deal with the noise issues, so not keen to go trying lots of variations. Interestingly, the Allied Telesis are marketed as āno noiseā switches and they are build like a Naim box to.
I understand. Not real fun to try indefinitely allā¦
Can I thow a spanner in the worksā¦
Router > (happens to be AQ Cinnamon) > Cisco 2960G (it has a fiber out) > fiber > Melco S100 (it has fiber inputs) > AQ Diamond > NDX2 (555ps)
The grandchildren came round today and put Kerrang Radios MP3 44.1KHZ 112kb/s stream on, it sounds amazing, clear and open with depth and detail almost like a FLAC stream, in a way that MP3 should nāt. The fiber element realy helps the stream in a way two x 2960PDs did nāt!
The N10 (by AQ Diamond) is also on the S100 nicely isolated from the noise of a domestic network.
We did fiber to death on the old forum but his is much better as it is integrated no powered tplinks to make the fiber connection adding noise of their own. Makes you want to try a LuminX1, will the nex gen Naims have fiber connection!?!
Update: I have a configuration with a single 8 port that will work. Iāll run the computers from the router ports with another router port running to an 8 port Allied Telesis switch. The AT will feed all the hi-fi and video in the media room and also feed the second AT in the lounge for the NDX2 and TV stuff there. A bit tidier I feel, as it puts the computers on a seperate switch to the music and video.
Yes, Iām worried that Iāll try a Cisco (which i need to source from overseas) and then think about an E-G. Where does it end? I like what my old Allied Telesis has done for noise reduction, so will just refine around that then call it a day for the network side of things.
Thanks. John Swenson of Uptone posted:
" An EtherREGEN runs nicely at 12V, there is almost no difference heat wise from 7v to 12V so I would go with 12V it will pull less current from the supply, reducing any voltage drop across the DC cable from the supply."
I saw that there are Allied Telesis POE switches. Perhaps still betterā¦
It never ends. 