I also have an English Electric 8 switch. Not sure I ever heard any improvement with it. It can stay though.
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Melco S100 + Plixir LPS + ADOT optical kit. Effective.
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to be honest EE 8switch is a copy of a cheap Chinese switch. but with another brand logo on it. you can find pictures on audiophilestyle forum. the same switch is also selling under Silent Angel, Bonn, etc brands.
I used had it for a few months and when I heard Uptone EtherRegen (the same price range) I was really happy to sell EE 8switch asap. it was a day-night difference. I recommend you switch to Uptone.
also, it will be really hard to get sonic improvements if using AQ Vodka (try Diamond at least) and Bridge 2.
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I have the same. Optical into Melco, optical out to Sonore, ethernet to rest. With the Sonore, it already had optical isolation so I did not notice a whole bunch. But I had plans for Airlens, which then was told probably does not need it. It does feed all equipment in the room so its HT gets use of it too. Streaming etc…
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You don’t need another streamer for sure!
Yeah I really dont. the more the Airlens is late the more I think that. My unique situation is that I got the sonore for such a good deal (2200) and I could sell for profit. Plus the banked money for MK1 trade in. So it would be sort of a flip from one to another. Is the Airlens better? same? worse? That is my only quesiton. would l like a matching set of streamer dac, yeah all sliver would look nice, but sound is first. For that reason I would do the 30 day trial and see how it goes. I could then simplify and remove optical stuff from setup. But needed, no.
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I like the new LHY-SW8 switch from Jay Audio, but I have not had another switch to compare. It made a significant improvement to my streaming chain. The price is very reasonable too.
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Modem——cat8——cisco 2960——optic——cisco meraki——cat8——Mac mini m1——USB——matrix——hdmi——DS lundhall
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Yes, I learned about this while doing my research.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I did look at the EtherRegen. The problem was that it’s not available for purchase due to global parts issues; the web site says that the new version 2 will be out this year, perhaps in April. Given the price, I may take a listen to this when I can. I do like having 8 ports, though.
The Vodka sounded better than the cheap cables I used previously; clearly audible even with the Bridge! For better or worse, the Bridge will come out when my DS Mk II arrives. I’m still working on what I will use instead.
I looked at this one also. It’s not possible to use an external power supply, which I wanted to do since I already had the HD Plex.
The Vodka made an appreciable difference for me from the wall socket into Innuos Zen. No switches or routers in the listening room.
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Update to my post #59 above: last night I listed again to the tracks I used after I installed the 8switch. I had several hours on the switch at that point, which I thought was probably enough for a simple device (we’re not talking a DS DAC here, with its famously long break-in period). After four more days, all the tracks were smoother and more subtle; not a huge difference, but noticeable and helpful. Moral: never rush break-in for any component. 
My experience with Ethernet switch
After conversation with a forum member, I removed my audiophile fiber connection and replaced it with copper UTP.
His theory was that fiber converters throw more interference on the network.
My theory was the optical isolation.
I replaced it with 2 managed switches in serie with each their own DIY LPS and grounded both switch housing.
I was shocked about the increased sound quality.
Switching back to fiber was a disaster.
How have I been able to listen to this for so long.
My reference in SQ is playing from the SSD (in streamer) with no Ethernet connection.
But i need the ethernet for control.
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Having tried both LHY SW-8 and SW-10, I must say these audiophile switches really make quite an improvement. I used to think it did not matter in my system because I only have a short 2M ethernet connection between the satellite and the streamer, and I kept the line away from other power cords. I was wrong! SW-8 made an improvement, and SW-10 brought the SQ to another level.
When I first got the SW-10, I tried its fiber optic output with a converter. From the converter I used a Inakustik Ref. ethernet to Euphony Summus2 streamer. I reached the same conclusion that the SQ was better with ethernet cable alone. I believed the converter was the culprit, not the F.O. cable itself.
With the Lumin U2, I can use a direct fiber optic link between the switch and the streamer without any converter. Yeap! The SQ from F.O. without converters is better again.
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When you say converter, you mean the ethernet to fiber right? so where does your fiber originate from?
The link was a 2M ethernet from the satellite to SW-10 switch, from the SW-10 fiber optic output I used a multi-mode F.O. cable to a basic FO/ethernet converter (from Amazon), and from it was another ethernet cable to Summus2 streamer.
Lumin U2 has an F.O. input so the converter was not needed anymore.
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I used fiber for a time with both inexpensive Ethernet to fiber converters and the the expensive Small Green Computer devices. I don’t use any of it anymore. Some folks like it, I don’t mind not using it anymore.
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Having installed Donald’s SW-8 I concur with his asessment, the ethernet switch makes a positive improvement. A bit more detail, as conveyed by greater image depth, width, and longer decay.
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I’ll offer a small counterpoint. First though: I’m streaming via Grimm’s MU1 and my broadband is Spectrum business cable. I have to use their supplied router, but that has WiFi disabled, then feeds into my firewall (a Watchguard product), and from there to my Unifi switch.
After Luca raved about the Innuos Pheonix ethernet switch in his system, I auditioned one. It clearly had an effect, smoothing out the playback in an interesting way, but after living with that for a few days and removing it, I quickly found I preferred my system without it in the loop. Yes it was smoother, but that came at a huge cost: lost detail and air.
Having read about a product called the Fiberbox II on another forum, I decided to dig a little deeper. The manufacturer is a small operation, an engineer, and the company goes by the name Ediscreation.
Edison is the principal and he quickly responded to my questions, though he’s based in the far east - Hong Kong, I think. I decided to try his Extreme version which has a few improvements over the standard, and since I have only the one audio ethernet connection of any importance, I only went for the Fiberbox II (not ordering his ethernet switch.)
Oh - the FBII also includes an OXCO reclocking function, so it’s not merely a chunk of network hardware.
What the FBII does is connect via ethernet to your switch via standard copper cables, converts internally to fiber, does its OCXO reclocking, then converts back to output to copper. It basically provides all the reputed fiber benefits in a single box, and it’s optimized by the developer for audio.
There isn’t a U.S. importer. You can’t audition it, but if you’re in So Cal let me know and perhaps you can borrow mine for a short period to see if it works well in your system. (The effect is not subtle in my system, but everyone’s system, room, hearing and preferences vary so… YMMV.)
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Interesting product. Where do you buy it? How much?