After years of not paying attention to ethernet switches, I finally did install a managed business switch (not the Cisco one, but a linksys LGS310C, and to my ears it does make my system sound better. It seems to be a better build (than the standard consumer plastic unmanaged switch I used before)
The switch is next to the fiber internet home router where it serves the wall sockets though the distribution box
The question I have have is that I have a Wiim Pro streamer plugged into the wall, would it make any difference if I have another switch into the wall and then into the Wiim Pro
The Wiim Pro feeds my Chord Mscaler/Dave though optical so it is already isolating from the DAC.
I guess there is one way to find out, but it does sound quite good like thisā¦
In a properly functioning network setup such errors are a rarity, so this is as expected. Useful for diagnosing faults on the odd occasion, but you wouldnāt normally expect to see errors.
Streamers always buffer the incoming data otherwise they just wouldnāt work reliably. Naim were caught out by having a very small buffer on their 1st gen streamers as when they added web streaming services with more latency it was too small to reliably stream 16/44.1 music. This was addressed in the design of the 2nd gen streamers which have a buffer capable of holding about 3 minutes of 16/44.1 music.
So I have changed the settings on the Linksys
Managed switch to IGMP snooping enabled strangely it is not default enabled unlike Netgear or Cisco
But no real difference in sound quality yet, the Apple TV is connected to a net gear switch which has IGMP snooping already enabled?
I guess the streamer is isolated from the DAC through optical cable ?
Or there isnt enough multicast streaming to make a big difference with the setting enabled
I do have some security cameras 2 Apple TV and the WiiM streamers, the TVs ā¦ not sure this would cause enough multicast traffic to make a big sonic difference
On a good streamer you shouldnāt hear the benefit of multicast group management through IGMP snooping - as network stack processing should be well isolated - but we do see that some do hear actual network noise (as opposed to electrical noise carried through ethernet cables).
The IGMP snooping simply filters out the multicast traffic that is not intended for your streamer thereby reducing the redundant processing on your streamerā¦ and will depend on how multicast groups you have on your home network. The Naim streamer uses at least mDNS, SSDP and Roon multicast groupsā¦ though mDNS should not be filtered, SSDP is used for uPNP discovery and Roon speaks for itself.
You might find IGMP snooping of more SQ benefit with the first gen streamers and those with very revealing systems on newer streamers. We have seen with the recent firwamre update - that some are very sensitive to noise profiles on Naim streamers
You are not going to gain any audio SQ improvement by enabling IGMP Snooping, itās not really anything to do with thatā¦Itās a setting protocol to all devices (ie switches, router) to ālistenā out for multicast packets on the LAN and direct them to receiving devices in a more efficient pathā¦.You may gain some responsiveness benefits with you control device/App, but really itās mostly under the bonnet stuff allowing your network to perform more efficientlyā¦.I really donāt think thereās any SQ gains to be experienced.
Of course, Iām not as audio knowledgable as Simon when it comes to networks, so he may say otherwise, though I wouldnāt think soā¦!
So do I stand to benefit by purchasing a Cisco 2960 switch?
I doubt it but maybe there something else I am missing
I am also doubtful about the usual audiophile switches?
Since thereās no errors and the audio and video are buffered ā¦ not sure if I need even an audiophile branded Ethernet cable also ? Will try one and report back though !
Prefer to spend the money on something else my AV amp is 20 years old and giving some sound quality issues. Maybe it needs a recapping
What are you looking to achieve over your Linksys.
If itās a commercial grade switch and mains powered - instead of DC tethered - I suspect itās going to be good enough.
The Linksys switch is powered by a switch mode wall wart PSU 12v
I had an inadvertent loop (I accidentally plugged an extra Ethernet cable into 2 switches ie 2 Ethernet cables between 2 switches) which created a loop I think. Once I realized my mistake and corrected it sound quality improved but otherwise everything worked fine ?
Iām not tempted with a Cisco 2960 I agree with you @Simon-in-Suffolk that the Linksys is good enough ā¦ and the audiophile priced switches I donāt have cash for those
I suggest the key thing is to make sure the switch is earthed. If the wall wart is earthed through to the switch - then all good. If not I suggest look for an earthed switch - or a PoE powered switch sourced by an earthed PoE switch
Earthing is important in my opinion to help mitigate common mode noise circulating though ethernet leads into streamers etc.
Also a single 12 volt DC supply suggests there may be potentially several noisy DC to DC converters in the switch. For non hi-fi use that is fine, but in an environment where we try and reduce electrical noise - not so good.
But first - check the earth pin pin the wall wart has conductivity through to the switch caseā¦ if not get a different switch I suggest, or strap the chassis of the switch to mains earthā¦ some switches have a little tag specifically for this that are directly DC powered
If you didnāt have a Aggregated Trunk (LAG) or other measures set up between the switches then yes you would have created a loopā¦But, if your Linksys is a reasonable level managed switch it almost will have RSTP (or older STP) function on it which is there to help prevent such a situation ā basically it will block one of the relevant ports to prevent the loopā¦.
With a wall wart 12v you may well be introducing noise into your mains system that could effect your audio system, it really depends what your set up isā¦and, how far you want to chase and eliminate thingsā¦
Simon will have more advice on electrical noise and how to optimise the switchā¦
looping can take down a switch as it can overload itā¦ many commercial grade switch have loop detection on a port to prevent network shutdownā¦ which can be seriously impactful on a commercial LAN. The Cisco 2960 and its later counterparts have loop detection on as defaultā¦ that is why it take a little time for the port to become active on power up. You can switch this off if required of course.
As SC says you may want to have concurrent layer 2 paths - such as link aggregation - or a resilience loop - but you need to speficially enable spanning tree protocols or link aggregation. I suggest not relevant for most home networksā¦ with the possible exception of link aggregation.
Iāve seen SMPS that have an earth on the mains power supply, but as far as Iām aware they still only have a 2 core DC cable connecting the device with no separate earth cable. Presumably the power supply itself is then earthed, but the actual device wouldnāt be?
there is no reason why the zero volts on the DC could not be ground earthed. If the Wallwart is floating - and double insulated then this wonāt be the case
