Hi all have just taken punt on this little switch…when it lands I will report back…
https://youtu.be/DGtsVVmQECs
https://youtu.be/DGtsVVmQECs
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Looks interesting Rich, keep us posted.
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Looked at this one when we were considering switches.
Nice milled aluminium chassis, basically a linksys board with upgraded PSU and clock I think.
Reviews well, similar to Silent Angel Bonn N8 etc.
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It has landed and is a real thing of beauty…extremely well made…I will link it in and report back…asap…
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Would someone be kind enough to explain, please, what it is and what it does, for those of us (such as me) who are having a WTF moment.
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It’s the heart of home networking (or an office etc) where you join up all the computers etc so they can talk to each other. If the switch is connected to the internet via a router then you get internet connection as well.
I have a mix of these in the house from 5 way to the main 16 way one, from linksys and netgear. The most I’ve spent on a switch is circa £50.
Most routers have a built in 4 port switch.
Its a 25 quid network switch in a really nice case.
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This switch has 3 linear power supplies…one to a special high grade clock, and 2 to the what is essentially a Linksys switch. This is pretty darn good…I have had extremely excellent results…from just adding a single hi grade psu to a switch…but this does not eliminate the nasty little dc to dc buck converters…on the switch motherboard. Its all about keeping the noise floor as low as possible…
For all those who say a switch is a switch…that is not quite true…not when its connected to a dac… Anyway…I will be testing it out…whatch the youtube video I posted…
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Thanks very much. I have watched the video. Interesting gay and product. I am curious about your listening experience. My be this is an interesting alternative to the new generation of expensive switches like Innuos, Melco or Ansuz.
Thank you for that. That’s still going straight over my head, but I shan’t be dashing out to buy one anyway.
Well a switch is simply a way to add more ethernet sockets to your network if you have more devices that need them. Companies have realised us audiophiles will buy anything, so now we have audiophile switches.
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Well Richie, what are your thoughts on the LHY, I for one am waiting with baited breath?
Sorry guys have been really busy - have not had chance to play with it yet…I will see if I get time later this week…I will substitue the Aqvox SE first…together with my dedicated high performance LPS. Then I will try it on the end of the Aqvox … just infront of the ND555 … to see if that makes a difference…there is allot of wire changing to be done 
It appears beautifully made … the case is milled from one solid chunk of aluminium. I have it switched on pressently to just condition it a little…
Basic network switches are rather standard affairs these days, but there is no denying if you have it on show near your hifi you want it to look aesthetically pleasing - however there are some features that really help at reducing the propensity for issues with home audio - especially if the streamer is susceptible to ethernet and data related noise.
Have you got the technical specs - as those are probably more relevant. In particular for current home audio protocols on a contemporary home network you are looking for IGMP snooping and honouring DSCP prioritisation if present and supporting 802.3az (this keeps power used on the ethernet links to a minimum within bands - important for reducing switching noise on ethernet.)
I was looking to see the DC supply - as it needs to be balanced positive and negative - otherwise you need to use current pumps - which are DC equivalent of SMPS - ie can be quite electrically noisy… however in your picture it appears there are four wires from the PSU to the main board - so they may be balanced - which would be a good thing.
Wow Simon…a little techno for me…I do use a big cisco 3750G to transport ethernet around the house…I have just configured it to act as an unmanged switch…so it may be possible to configure the ports I use to minamise noise… The new power supply I added to my Aqvox has made a huge difference in sound quality…with more detail, texture, better tighter bass… the ND555 seems to really want the quietest ethernet supply…I am not talking about protocals I am sure thats fine - no I am talking about the noise the DAC sees
What I don’t know is whether this is unique to my system - I suspect not. What I can tell you is … the low level detail seems excellent now - how notes decay reminds me of top end analogue…
Hi - well the 3750 is an aging Catalyst series of models like the 2960 and I have found them to be rather beneficial. By the way they are always managed switches - its just you have them setup such as not to monitor them - which is fine.
The 3750 (at least some of the models) supports Energy Efficient Ethernet - Cisco’s EnergyWise - which is a variant of 802.3az - subject to setup
The 3750 supports IGMP snooping by default I believe
The 3750 supports 802.1p (DSCP based QoS - if setup)
I am afraid I don’t know whether they use current pumps or balanced voltages off its SMPS power supply module - but as several of the models run off 12VDC I suspect they do use internal current pumps (DC Switch Mode Power Supplies) as any ethernet switch would need to with a simple DC powersupply.
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A switch allows devices to talk to each other on an Ethernet network in both directions concurrently.
A router allows one network to talk to another network; such as your home network to the internet
A consumer or SOHO ‘home hub’ type device typically has a router, switch and wifi access point integrated into a single product.
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I suspect they do use local step down buck regulators…this new switch…does away with those which should in theory be a good thing…as they are horrid little things…which are far too handy!
its not the step down I am thinking of with standard regulators - its the polarity reversal that likely requires the current pumps. Remember Ethernet is balanced with +/- voltages around 0v, therefore if you are feeding +12 Volts DC then you need to transform the voltages.
I suspect in many low cost units these functions are built into the controller chip.
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Good point…anyway I am not keen on buck converters…buzzy little things. This switch is built around a Linksys…unit.