I wonder if the “hifi network switches” before the dCS dac really make a sonic difference? Many claim the cleaner sound, wider stage ,etc. from the audiophile-grade network switches from Cisco, Ansuz, Qnet, etc.
Franckly, I tried one and felt the additional switch made no difference or worse the sound became rather dull.
Maybe my cable setting are wrong?
As with everything you will get mixed results and answers.
For me it did make a difference and actually run 2.
I have the PhoenixNet in my rack doing just the hifi bit, and near my router is an ee8 switch with everything else for the house plugged into it.
I tried to remove the PhoenixNet switch last year to sell it after getting full fibre, but i removed it and soon put it back in again.
So i guess what we all need to do is try one if you feel like doing just that. But if you do then obviously you need to do it right to give it a fare go.
I would try a cheap cisco switch first secondhand for less then £50 and if you like what it does, then maybe try a more hifi bassed item.
But for the record i have tried quite a few.
All did something, with the worse being the melco, this made my rossini at the time sound a bit less dynamic, boring if you like. Even with a better power supply it still sounded the same.
So mixed results are definitely going to happen.
Cheers dunc
I use the Qnet with the Qsource and it was a big improvement over the standard network. The power supply did the most difference. Much black ground, better detail and the sound just seem more correct.