Cisco 2940 switch set up - help needed

[CN211276]

I also have a long length of ethernet cable between my switch and the Eno which connects with the streamer. It is Farnells Cat 8 which is low cost. The short length of cable included with the Eno connecting to the streamer is a lot more costly and better specifiedm Cat 8. Have doubts about a second switch and short length of audiophile ethernet cable connecting it to the Eno bringing about a significant improvement. I think shielding is important in my set up because of the close proximity of the ethernet cable to the speaker cable.

Following Savvy's post I had a look at the connections to my switch. The streamer and NAS ones were not adjacent to the router one, but could have been further apart. I rearranged them so the router connection is at one end with five vacant ports before the NAS and streamer connections. There seems to be a subtle improvement in SQ, but I am not in the best position to judge at the moment with my head still a bit muzzy after the Covid jab.

I bought the second switch on the advice of Rich at Network Acoustics - the guy who makes your ENO filter.

He said to me "the more switches the better" as long as their power supply is decent. He reckons the built-in supplies in the Ciscos are 'very decent'.

I have pulled the trgger on a second switch. Can't go wrong at £19.

[Bencat57]

Okay while I would like to investigate at some stage seeing if I could fit a fibre system at the current time I doubt it would be possible so next best thing is to get the wiring right in the important areas. I will take a chance on your Blue Jean Cable advice and get three leads to go from my Router to the Cisco switch that deals with my music server , the one from the media server to the switch and one from the switch to my Powerline main plug . Will use Cat6e for the router to switch and Cat 5 for the others . Once it arrives I will give it a go . really not expecting any change in sound quality or anything else to be honest but doing it anyway because the cable will at least be guaranteed to be to the right specification .

Will come back after fitting them but may well be just to say they work and I have peace of mind .

[Bencat57]

@Slinger - Sorry not used Blue Jeans before and the site i went on was a .co.uk one . I see though that they are based in the US are these cables importing from the US ? If so will i be getting a nasty surprise bill of VAT and Duty when they arrive ? As the site was supposed to be a UK based one i presumed that this would be supplied from the UK have I been a bit stupid ?

[slinger]

@Slinger - Sorry not used Blue Jeans before and the site i went on was a .co.uk one . I see though that they are based in the US are these cables importing from the US ? If so will i be getting a nasty surprise bill of VAT and Duty when they arrive ? As the site was supposed to be a UK based one i presumed that this would be supplied from the UK have I been a bit stupid ?

Yes, they come from the US via DHL, if I remember correctly, but there were no nasty surprises when mine were delivered.

From their front page:

Although Blue Jeans Cable is located in Seattle, Washington, USA, this site is designed to make purchasing in the UK as seamless as if we were a UK supplier. We are VAT-registered in the UK; our prices on this site are VAT-inclusive; and we use fast shipping methods to make sure things will get to you promptly. Additionally, we have set things up with our shipping companies to ensure that when you order from this site for UK delivery, you will not owe any customs duty or VAT upon delivery, regardless of the size of the order.

Although they are sent from the States, once they're built and packaged up they arrived pretty quickly as well.

[Bencat57]

Thanks for that update I should spent a bit more time reading , they seem to be using fedex as the current courier and once they have them made they go via Air so 2/3 days to delivery . Wish more companies would take this sort of stance for things as it makes things so much easier for buying with a confidence over the costs.

[slinger]

My bad, it was FedEx, not DHL who delivered mine. DOH!

[CN211276]

DHL are fine but Fedex are not. I have been stung with nasty bills which were covered when I made the initial purchase. I refused to pay and they gave up after handing the matter to a debt collector and a lot of threats. On one occassion they got hold of my email a by some means without authorisation. I informed them that they were in breach of data protection and threatened to report them to the Police if they continued harrassing me.

[CN211276]

Got the second switch wired in but the Micro Rendu won't then attach to the network.

Tried various rebooting routines but no dice.

Took the second switch out the loop but put it in place of the first switch and all is ok, so I'm assuming it's something about the Micro Rendu.

It's always been a fussy little twat!

[CN211276]

Got the second switch wired in but the Micro Rendu won't then attach to the network.

Tried various rebooting routines but no dice.

Took the second switch out the loop but put it in place of the first switch and all is ok, so I'm assuming it's something about the Micro Rendu.

It's always been a fussy little twat!

Had intermitent problems when I got my first switch. They were resolved when I connected the Sky Q box directly to the Sky router and not the switch. Not sure if it is the Micro Rendu to blame, the Sky set up or both. Could have some fun and games when the second switch arrives.

[savvypaul]

It's a strange one.

Just had a go at setting it up again.

On the second switch, I get a green light above the plug that is connected from it to the MR.

BUT no light (orange or green) above the plug that is coming from the first switch.

Yet, when I go to a one switch set up, and swap the 'new' switch for the original one (and connect direct to the MR) then everything works fine.