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Ethernet and coaxial cables

M

Martin 52

pfm Member
I currently run a node2 into a chord 2 qute DAC which goes to my marantz model 30 amp . Do any of you use a higher quality ethernet cable currently just a basic Amazon cable. Coaxial is a qed silver reference cable . Just wondering f making a change is worthwhile
 
All threads like this open a can of worms I appreciate this . It's just my mate had chord clearway RCA cables from DAC to amp . We tried the epic RCA cables and there was a big jump in sound quality. So was just wondering about the rest of the cables ethernet and coaxial
 
The ‘big jump’ is probably just a slightly louder sound. And whenever you try something new you tend to do that, push the volume a bit. Add expectation bias to that and you have the recipe to the ‘big jump’.
Classic.
 
Martin 52 said:
All threads like this open a can of worms I appreciate this . It's just my mate had chord clearway RCA cables from DAC to amp . We tried the epic RCA cables and there was a big jump in sound quality. So was just wondering about the rest of the cables ethernet and coaxial
Click to expand...
I think coaxial cables make a considerable difference...
 
Haha, I've had a few now, so I'll take a hit for you too.
Yes, I think they can make a difference, even a big one at times.
I changed from a reasonably basic ethernets supplied with my steamers, to a pure silver one (or at least claimed to be, jury is out), I tried to like the silver one for lots of hours. It now does a great job of streaming, looking at PFM and google, etc. but will not be back on my system. Maybe it would sound good in a different system, but not for me. I have since purchased other modest ethernet cables and have been happy with them, so not a total unbeliever. In summary I developed the view that they can indeed make a difference, just not always the way we might think it should be.
 
I went full audiophile with a cheap CAT7 cable to my streamer. Sounded a bit cleaner, bit blacker background but i did go from a grey to a black cable. Not the best but also not the worst €10 i ever spent.
 
I was recently looking at electric fields around ethernet and coaxial cables on the basis that what goes on inside is just 0s and 1s - there can also be differences in the way grounding is handled of course . Comparing a generic cat 6 to a chord c-stream ethernet cable , both came out at about 50 to 60 v/m . On the other hand comparing a naim dc1 coaxial to a good quality generic coaxial , the naim came in at 15 V/m and the generic 25 V/m which is tantalisingly better in favour of the higher end cable . Different systems are likely to have different susceptibility to stray electric fields and there is no guarantee that electric field strength is either the cause of or a marker for the cause of noise in a system but I thought it was interesting that there can be measurable differences in this parameter .
 
Threads like this are a waste of time.

My advice to the OP? Find a supplier with a good returns policy and try for yourself.

Ignore any other opinions, as they don't matter. It's your system and musical enjoyment, nobody else's.
 
My view on coax is that unless it's 75 Ohm BNC at both ends there's not much point worrying about the cable in between.
 
I have a number of ethernet different cables of different spec/quality, but I don't believe they sound different from each other (or even different from no cable at all with the music playing from the buffer).
 
Martin 52 said:
I currently run a node2 into a chord 2 qute DAC which goes to my marantz model 30 amp . Do any of you use a higher quality ethernet cable currently just a basic Amazon cable. Coaxial is a qed silver reference cable . Just wondering f making a change is worthwhile
Click to expand...

I recently upgraded my stock basics ethernet cable to a mid priced Atlas Hyper and the difference was very noticeable, a definite upgrade, i know people have different opinions and findings but fwiw it worked for me.
 
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