***Update***I had to improvise a little. The Amped Wireless Athena EX WiFi range extender uses a 12V/3A switch mode power supply and I do not have a compatible
linear power supply in house. I configured an old Amped Wireless SR10000 range extender to function as a five port unmanaged Ethernet switch by removing
the antennas and turning off the wireless functions.
I did not perceive a difference in sound quality or tactile sensation between the BDP-3 and DS718+ connected to the Athena EX (with its stock SMPS) and
the the BDP-3 and DS718+ connected to the SR10000 (with its stock SMPS).
The SR10000 runs on a 12V/1A SMPS, therefore I could compare its stock SMPS to the 12V/1.8A iPower SMPS and the TeraDak 12V/2A DC-30 LPS.
The most noticeable improvement was in the bass, with improved clarity, articulation, and tactile sensation. There was no difference in the size
and placement of images within the sound stage. There were also improvements in overall clarity and detail and a lowering of the noise floor as
evidenced by the music sounding apparently louder.
The iPower SMPS provided a little bit of improvement. The TeraDak LPS provided a moderate amount of improvement. The improvement with the TeraDak
LPS was similar to upgrading to a more resolving DAC.
Figure 1. Proof of concept: Better sound was obtained from the SR10000 with better power supplies.
Top, left to right: Amped Wireless Athena EX WiFi range extender, Amped Wireless SR10000 range extender,
TeraDak DC-30 linear power supply. The SR10000 was plugged into one of the Athena EX's Ethernet ports with a Cable Matters Cat6 cable. The BDP-3 digital player
and DS718+ NAS were plugged into the two of the SR10000's Ethernet ports with Bluejeans certified Cat6a cables.
My digital front end consists of a Bryston BDP-3 digital player, Synology DS718+ NAS, dCS Debussy DAC, and dCS Puccini
word clock.
Figure 2. Left to right: SR10000's stock SMPS, iPower SMPS, TeraDak DC-30 LPS.I have been keeping an eye on the development of Uptone Audio's EtherRegen low noise Ethernet switch. Unlike the current crop of stock Ethernet switches
that have been extensively modified for low noise computer audio applications, the EtherRegen switch was designed from the ground up for computer audio applications.
In the meantime, I have ordered a Cisco SG110D-08NA 8-port Ethernet switch ($36) to connect the BDP-3 digital player and DS718+ NAS. The SG110D comes with a
12V/1A SMPS. No other devices will be plugged into the SD110D switch other than the BDP-3 and DS718+.