Quote:
Originally Posted by Masterlu
Here is something else worthy of sharing. Hearing is very personal, and subjective. When I replaced my standard Ethernet switch, and upgraded the last end of my Ethernet 1.0M cables feeding my (4) Kaleidescape Movie Servers, I was dumbfounded.
How in the world can such a seemingly worthless upgrade change the image so profoundly on my 12” screen.
I don’t have any answer, but when you can see and hear the difference; I’m sold!
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It's because, unlike applications that are sending a file to a printer, streaming music or video is a
completely different application with different requirements and as such, different
functionality is required. Functionality is mediated by transfer functions; the simplest way to express this is Y=f(x). And transfer functions, in the
real world, where we all live, are susceptible to the influence of
noise factors.
In science and engineering, a noise factor is anything that "shifts the mean" (or other appropriate measure of central tendency), adds variance, or both, to a functional response.
The quality of content "streamed" from a servier (e.g., a music or video file) is very susceptible to a number of noise factors, including low- and high-source impedance leakage current, threshold jitter, deterministic jitter, common-mode noise, ground-plane noise and last but not, least, phase noise.
It's almost important to know that noise does not "reside" down low at the "baseline" of the signal, it rides ON TOP of signal, as shown in this graphic of
phase noise.
All of these factors are percievable by our brains, which BTW, can distinguish timing errors in the
picosecond domain, and this is the reason high-quality digital music devices require
femtoclocks.
Regading the importance of audio-quality Ethernet switches, Hans Beekhuyzen has a very informative video linked here in his review of the SOtM Ethernet switch:
https://youtu.be/48oepwZgYRw
He also has an accurate and informative review on the sound of switches here:
https://youtu.be/BbRF8z8dQFU
Why is why Ivan's comment, highlighted in bold above, is correct.