Rean. Used them for years, zero problems.
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Samson S-Patch. I have 2 and they’re solid. Plus the settings for routing of each io pair is on the front with switches.
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Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong, but expecting something as simple and passive as a patchbay to add any noise whatsoever is as silly as expecting a cheap cable to add noise, isn’t it?
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The price is exactly what i dreamed of.
I read that it’s stereo, that mean each jack in/out must be stereo. If it’s the case, i must use Y cables for most of my gear (mainly stereo with two mono out), is that right ?
So that mean i cannot send the right in a specific direction, and the left else where ?
Sorry for such newbee questions.
Thanks for input
Seems logical, thanks for input.
All patch bays out there should be sporting TRS jacks, which means you could put a stereo signal through them, or balanced mono signals. Or unbalanced, for that matter. Most of my gear outputs separate unbalanced L and R jacks and I do not use a Y cable to combine them into one jack in my patch bay, I keep them separate. My advice is to keep every port mono for simplicity. Combining them to a single stereo jack seems like it would only be useful for saving on ports used, and if you need more it would almost be as inexpensive to just get a second patch bay instead of buying a bunch of Y cables/adapters. Certainly less messy. It can also make it easier to match the numbers on the patch bay inputs with the channel numbers on your mixer/interface.
On a related note, I found this software pretty useful for designing and printing labels. It has templates for what seems like every patch bay in existence. https://www.patchcad.com/
And on the topic of switching. I’ve never found a need to use anything but Normal. Plug in all your gear in a way that serves as a workable default routing. Top row is outputs, bottom row is inputs. Patch to override.
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More expensive than Near, but the switch on the front would be interesting, saving screwing to change modes… is that justify the price difference ? I suppose yes, if changing modes is frequent. I have to see more videos to understand the use of modes i will have.
Thanks for input
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That sounds like wisdom and experimented advice. Evidence that i will save money if not buying bunch of Y cables. Ok for the second patch bay too.
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Thanks to you fellows for efficient answers.
Save me lot of time 
Funnily enough, I too watched the video you cited not long ago, and was seriously toying with the idea of acquiring a patch bay for easy cable switching…
Thanks for asking the question, and others for the input.
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+3 for Samson S-Patch. Having those switches on the front vs having to reconfig any other way is worth it. And while Switchcrafts are alluring with TT cables and more patch points, I just use Hosa TRS 1/4 patch cables for everything and never had any issues. No noise and the price is right.
To be honest I used to view Samson on a similar level as Behringer, but after having 3 D-1500’s come through the years and these patch bays, they are a solid company with solid gear. Their stuff is built well and so far no issues to report.
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Do you use these switches often?
What’s the point? I was thinking half-normal was the most convenient way of using this… What did I overlooked?
Why does it cost twice as much as the Neutrik / Rean?
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Whilst the switches are convenient I have had a few go bad, so that is why I stick with the Reans now (ironically I had those first, then decided to swap them out for switched, put them in the loft) When I had a couple of switches fail I got the old Reans back out and swapped back. Had 3 of them for over 20 years, good quality jack sockets because that is what they specialise in.
I found that once you know which you want split and which you want normalled you don’t need to change them very often. At least in my case.
A label printer is recommended too, makes it neater and easier.
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What’s your usage for split vs normalled?
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I mostly use normalled for common connections, for example OT is my main sampler, so monitor mix is normalled to inputs AB, then if I want to sample from monitor mix to Deluge just plug from Deluge inputs to monitor mix. Also for mixer channels where I don’t always use the instrument connected to a channel I have those normalled, then I can simply borrow that channel. For other mixer channels where the same gear is used I don’t bring those to the patchbay, I have 3 mixers + a sub mixer, the sub mixer can route any instrument connected to any of the mixers to the monitor mix for sampling via the patchbay.
I use split/isolated signals for stuff I don’t always use, like extra outputs from Rytm etc, this means that anything is available on a socket for sampling, fx or whatever.
Finally I have 8 “link” sockets on each patchbay, these link the patchbays on each side of the room, so for example if I want to send a signal from 1 side of the room, to an effect on the other side then back again, comes in very handy!
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The switches are convenient cause you don’t have to pull the patch bay out to reconfig it. My studio is always in flux so I find it convenient. Normalled stuff is always connected so you don’t have to patch from the front. I set everything to thru for now since things are always changing, but I have enough cables to deal with it. If I needed more cables I could flip to normal and free up cables. I haven’t had a need for mults yet, but that will come in handy later with an interface and or a mixer with individual out etc.
As for cost IDK why it’s more, but the prices have gone up probably because of import duties. I paid $100 each for the first 2 years ago and $120 for the 3rd. Now they are $140.
Whichever way you go, I definitely recommend getting any patch bay if you have more than a few pieces in your studio. It’s a gamechanger.
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Yes I do need one: I have a big mixer / interface but it’s full and I frequently have people home for jamming. Plus some gear is not permanently affected. Totally need one.
I see now why I would definitely need the little switches 
Thank you!
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Thanks for asking further xplanation
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I got some behringer patchbays secondhand as part of a job lot and am finding them fine, even though I wouldn’t usually go down that route. They have the switching on top, which isn’t as easy to access as the Samsons, but I have always thought that, realistically, once things are stable, I wouldn’t need the switching - as it turns out, I only have things normalled at the moment.
I’d always use separate L & R as mentioned above.
Cabling costs are increased but, for devices that have multi IO or are close together, cable snakes can be a lot neater than individual lines.
You probably won’t want a bantam patchbay in this context - just make sure you don’t order one by mistake.
As well as being able to more flexibly route things:
I prefer the peace of mind that they are more sacrificial that the ports they are replicating.
I like the fact they are forward-facing - I can easily and quickly patch a “guest” piece of kit to my interface without fumbling around at the back.
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+1 for the Rean, I bought a couple off Craigslist nearly 20 years ago and they’re still kicking.
@darenager, is there a way to tell how the channel is set up by looking at it? There doesn’t seem to be any markings that I can tell.