I was conscious of chasing my tail recently in pursuit of the ultimate in hi-fidelity. Having a clear-out this weekend I came across my old Cisco 2960 and box of discarded ethernet cables under the bed. So, on Saturday I thought I’d disconnect the EE8 and recently acquired Shunyata Gamma and connect up the Cisco with a ‘full loom’ of Designacable Cat6a (floating).
I’ll give it a week, but I’m very much enjoying what I’m hearing and haven’t noticed any down-sides yet.
It does make me wonder, beyond a certain level, how much we kid ourselves with our ‘audio frou-frou’ ‘upgrades’.
Many upgrades are not necessarily better, but just different. It’s probably a good idea to reverse a change after some time to determine what your ears and emotions are telling you. I sometimes do this and than change my mind and stick with the old. It’s hard labor this hobby
Go take a look at the ethernet cable shoot out thread if you want to see how bad the nonsense can get. A great study in group think and confirmation bias. Still running Ciscos and BJC here.
A great topic and one that interests me greatly when there are so many posts regarding seeking perfection and the hifi ideal.
The post that placed some weeks ago about “loosing interest” sort of ties up with same idea that something isn’t right that causes the need to investigate, change or seek advice to improve or determine what the issues are, real or possibly created. Foremost, music interest and a genuine need for it emotionally should be the driving force, I found myself just over two years ago listening to the same safe music through my system which parts of required servicing, pre-amp and power supply being the last to be serviced and funds allowed this to take place. On return and allowing for the initial underwhelming reaction to wear off I found that I started listening longer an deeper without realizing it. Then my search for extra unknown music genres started asa need to push the system to justify the cost of all the component service costs,if that makes sense.
To bring this back to the original posting point I took out the jumper leads, the expensive mains block, the brass equipment isolator feet etc… and sat back and enjoyed the music. My latest upgrade…a new listening chair the more time spent listening has facilitated some better support… No spikes!!!
I bought an EE8 a few years ago. After a while, I took it out, thought I heard no difference and sold it. After a little while I found I wasn’t enjoying the music as much, so bought another EE8 and the enjoyment was back.
I have Chord Shawline ethernet cables between my switch and streamer, and between switch and NAS. I have Chord Clearway between the router and the switch.
A few weeks ago I took out all the Chords and replaced them with BJCs that I had lying around. Initially I thought the sound was more lively and engaging, but the next day thought it sounded rough around the edges. So I put all the Chords back and it sounded great again.
It’s easy to get caught in groupthink and be influenced by others. It goes both ways - the desire for betterment and buying the latest must-have, and the thought that it’s all got too much and the frou-frou is a waste of time.
The truth is that it matters not one jot what others do or what others think. All that matters is that our music at home is enjoyable. Of course, that’s easier said than done when others are buying fun new toys and waxing lyrical about how marvellous they are.
The search for perfection can be never ending. I will be getting the Naim 300 series and I am sure it will be a big upgrade from my existing system. I already have Sarun T cables for connecting the streamer to the 332 and my Naim CDP to the 332 as well. For connecting the 332 to the 250, I will use the standard Naim cables. I will also use the standard Naim cables to connect the NCV TT. I want to hear how the standard cables sound before replacing them with Chord. I thought about better Ethernet cable. However the length needed, as the steamer and the router are at opposite ends of the apartment, would make the cost prohibitively expensive. Sometimes one has to stop at some point.
In that thread, our choice of UTP cables was viewed with skepticism, even though for us, in our environment screened cables have consistently worked less well.
Apparantly that’s because we haven’t spent £1000’s on them from suppliers with a “Brand” name.
I remain skeptical about the value of upscale Ethernet cables unless one has a VERY UNUSUAL environment. There are all manner of things that can affect data quality on a network, but type of Ethernet cable is unlikely, unless there are significant environmental structural issues that need to be addressed in some way. WiFi is a whole other matter.
The late George Carlin said something like if you nail two pieces of wood together that have never been nailed together before—-some fool will buy them.
Exactly what i’ve done Graham. I was glad to get shot of it all. Now in wifi mode. Cisco 2960 PD & full loom MeiChords are always on stand-by though, incase i’m in flipflop mode, which i do every now and then. To be honest, there’s no downsides either configuration. What really lifted things for me recently was purchasing another brand new HiLine. A real leap forward, over my fifthly repaired one.
Most upgrades go toward an objective, analytical presentation to show as much details as it can, so to quantify, and let you justify the big investment. Eventually it becomes a game of fault picking instead of music. The amount of silly money is big enough to pay for review sites to make you believe sterile, bland sound is ultimate goal of hifi. Better listen by the ears and to your heart what kind of presentation makes you moved, and it’s your own HiFi instead of being told to do so.
One of the things with expensive Ethernet cables, the manufacturers have to call them streaming cables as they may not meet the necessary Ethernet cable standards.
Whereas, BJC and CatSnake are tested and certified to the relevant standards.
I have found previously that the Chord Clearway, Epic and Signature X did not sound any better than the CatSnake after experimenting with them.
Some (not so long) time ago I half jokingly posted somewhere here about the surreal idea of future audiophile Ethernet cables. I thought I was crossing the line of humorous sensibility. Now posh Ethernet cables are common.
My friend audio dealer has a Nordost Ethernet switch, costing just €3000. I rejoyce every time some of us rediscover cheap stuff working.
)