"Audiophile Grade" Ethernet Switches - The new generation

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You're right. Uptone are making a claim therefore the onus of proof is on them. So far they have provided no proof of their own but they have released the product and users are reporting their experiences. Those experiences are positive and that is evidence of something. Whether or not those listening reports can be verified in a replicable way has not been demonstrated but they can't simply be ignored or dismissed out of hand on principle. They do need to be acknowledged and tested.

If we're trying to find out whether the ER does something objectively "real", listening reports are not evidence unless they are carried out under controlled conditions and are repeatable to some pre-defined degree of statistical significance.  Otherwise they are insignificant (to that particular question) especially as most (all?) of them so far come from a group that is self-selected for a bias towards expecting a sonic improvement.

As you say...

In order to show that the ER does something positive, Uptone need to provide a replicable listening test which shows that listeners do hear a difference and prefer the Uptone product. That is the only test which will show whether it works or not. What measurements showing a difference between the ER and other switches will show is where and how the ER makes a difference.

Agreed, with the above provisos about the quality of the listening test.

Can we put this to rest for now?

Yes, of course.