Kevin, I have not done extensive A/B with various permutations of the TP-link/Taiko Router/Taiko Switch/Taiko DCD/power supplies to Taiko stack since I added the full TP link set up. Based on my quick smoke listening tests, I felt the Taiko stack was still bringing goodness to my set up, even with the TPlink fully pimped out + the ferrited ethernet cable
I have a lot more experimentation to do here, and hope to get to it over the holiday break. If I learn anything, I will of course share
The technical hypothesis that I've read is that the wifi isolation and power isolation with the battery pack basically significantly reduces common mode noise on the ethernet line (basically, the ethernet source for your audio system is electrically isolated when on the TP link + battery pack)
The Taiko router + switch + DCD are all doing their own magic to clean up the ethernet link (from a SQ perspective). Some of that is certainly different/additive to the TP link, some may be going after common mode noise as well (who knows, I'm not privy to the magic Emile built into his networking components, I'm just delighted with the results).
The interesting thing for me is that the measurements on the TP link do seem convincing that common mode noise on ethernet is something that is clearly audible, and that changes to reduce or filter than noise have a positive SQ impact. Given our collective various experiences with stacked switches, ethernet cables with different shielding, power supply hacks on networking equipment, etc over the years, it is very interesting to have a theory of what we may have been impacting all that time, with an opportunity to do active engineering vs "try and see if it sounds better"
I will say that with the TPLink, I have dismantled my more complex home audio network, replaced it with a plain vanilla Ubiquity router and WiFi mesh network using PoE to the access points, and couldn't hear the difference with the TP link in place. I am focusing my attention on things between the TP link and NIC now, and once I figure out how to squeeze more out of that, I may go back upstream of my WiFi access points to see if there is any juice to be had there.
For most folks though, a less than $100 investment in a TP link and battery pack is a very accessible experiment to see if this sort of set up actually has audible impact in your chain. If it does (and it is appreciable), then there is a lot more to do. If not, you may not have much of a common noise problem on your ethernet that you need to manage.
All the above are my personal experiences in my room, and my working theories. No claims to expertise or innovation or discovery from me, just a person having fun with network hacks to make my music listening more enjoyable. Always happy to share my experiences, but even more happy to hear what others are hearing and learn from their experiences as well
