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Does connecting a streamer to Ethernet make much difference compared to wifi?

What I always like about people who spend so much money on cables is that they have to have them on display. Lolz
 
Fourlegs said:
For me the process is to optimse the equipment chain and then having done that I leave it alone and enjoy the music, albeit possibly with a higher level of enjoyment having optimised the equipment chain.

That track I mentioned definitely sounds better in a well sorted system but why not have a listen. Several people I have suggested to have a listen really liked the whole album. But try the track Spiral Stairs where differences in the system can make the differenece as to how prominent the background instruments are compoared to the lovely saxaphone notes.
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This sounds very much like over analysis rather than cables/switches etc.
How do you know how the engineer intended the track to sound?
Many audiophiles bang on about these enhancements only coming from revealing enough systems.
Maybe that’s the issue in the first place?
Personally I just want to listen to music & not the paraphernalia
 
tuga said:
Power consumption spikes can create noise (e.g. USB packet noise link).

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That video was eight years ago and the link five years ago mind you. Things have moved on. Clearly with analogue audio out of a PC you could hear the whiz and the click of the coggs, many years ago. With the proliferation of USB audio connections these days, if the noise was still a problem then there would be many more websites and videos about it, not ones from moons ago.
 
Jubal said:
Are you serious?!
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I did wonder.

Phyztech said:
Sure, ethernets are performing more or less like other digital cables when you need 1k+ for the source to really shine. Obviously there’re some bargains as usual with a very good price/performance ratio, for me it’s AQ Carbon for example, but there is a huge sq potential in the higher price segments. As for the question about interconnects, I’ve tried about 20 different options from £30 till £2,5k, again there‘re bargains like DNM or Linn Silver but truly strong performance comes around 1k for the used cable.
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...but it's pretty obvious that he's taking the p*ss now.
 
chiily said:
That video was eight years ago and the link five years ago mind you. Things have moved on. Clearly with analogue audio out of a PC you could hear the whiz and the click of the coggs, many years ago. With the proliferation of USB audio connections these days, if the noise was still a problem then there would be many more websites and videos about it, not ones from moons ago.
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I can hear very low level noise out of my speakers the second I connect my desktop PC to my DAC with a USB cable, even if the DAC is not the selected source.

This doesn't happen with any laptop I have tried. I'm guessing the USB is providing a second path to ground for the power amp.

Pretty sure it's via the HDMI cables and the monitor earths, but haven't bothered testing this as I am reluctant to live with lifted ground monitor power cables, which would be the likely fix.
 
foxwelljsly said:
I can hear very low level noise out of my speakers the second I connect my desktop PC to my DAC with a USB cable, even if the DAC is not the selected source.

This doesn't happen with any laptop I have tried. I'm guessing the USB is providing a second path to ground for the power amp.

Pretty sure it's via the HDMI cables and the monitor earths, but haven't bothered testing this as I am reluctant to live with lifted ground monitor power cables, which would be the likely fix.
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Hmm...that's interesting. I would guess it would be through the GND and/or power lines. I should have been more specific, by PC I meant laptop :) I have a PC pretty close to my miniDSP, so I'll try that.

I don't hear anything with a PI4 connected via USB to the miniDSP...something to try over the weekend.
 
narabdela said:
it's pretty obvious that he's taking the p*ss now.
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Let’s take Naim as an example - Super Lumina is £2,3k, at least one is very favourable in a good system between the source and the amp, and it’s still not the best interconnect in the world at all…
 
paulfromcamden said:
I don't think this is quite right.

You can upgrade your ethernet cable to audiophile grade cryogenically frozen plutonium with diamond encrusted quantum connectors but wi-fi is stuck with the lame sounding consumer-grade air in your house.

Something to think about.
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I find a listening room with no air the best for wifi signals, though strangely I get no sound out the speakers....
 
Phyztech said:
Sure, ethernets are performing more or less like other digital cables when you need 1k+ for the source to really shine. Obviously there’re some bargains as usual with a very good price/performance ratio, for me it’s AQ Carbon for example, but there is a huge sq potential in the higher price segments. As for the question about interconnects, I’ve tried about 20 different options from £30 till £2,5k, again there‘re bargains like DNM or Linn Silver but truly strong performance comes around 1k for the used cable.
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We need pics of your system and cables! Hard to believe you’re not yanking my chain now.
 
Jubal said:
We need pics of your system and cables! Hard to believe you’re not yanking my chain now.
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As we are supposed to discuss ethernet things here let me show how to properly power ethernet stuff, 2 cables here, one for the router, another for the switch, combined retail is around 4k, a bit of overkill but quite big upgrade sonically vs the cables under 1k:

 
This is how to do cabling properly

IMG-5690.jpg
 
Phyztech said:
As we are supposed to discuss ethernet things here let me show how to properly power ethernet stuff, 2 cables here, one for the router, another for the switch, combined retail is around 4k, a bit of overkill but quite big upgrade sonically vs the cables under 1k:

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You digress. It’s the Ethernet cable itself we were discussing. I spent a long time in networking, supplying £m networks. I find it very hard to believe you can hear a difference. The tech doesn’t work like that, it’s packets of data, chopped up, fired across and reconstructed. If it can’t be rebuilt perfectly then it’s retransmitted. 0s and 1s.

I still have a hand in it tangentially. Wanna buy some “special” audio grade GBICs or SFPs?
 
Jubal said:
It’s the Ethernet cable itself we were discussing. I spent a long time in networking, supplying £m networks. I find it very hard to believe you can hear a difference. The tech doesn’t work like that, it’s packets of data, chopped up, fired across and reconstructed. If it can’t be rebuilt perfectly then it’s retransmitted. 0s and 1s.
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I’m running Network Acoustics Eno currently. The fact that you have a good experience for networks doesn’t mean you know how a good streaming system can sound. 0s and 1s are just voltages, they’re disturbed with an associated noise as any other signals.
 
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