Good question, this would require an honest answer from someone who is not influenced by some HIFI magazines/reviewers or who is not impacted by placebo effects.
I purchased a Blue Jeans Ethernet cable from the USA to use with the MXN10
I tried it out and it sounds fine but I’ve not carried on with it because Wi-Fi sounds just as good to me
Apparently there are some people that think Wi-Fi sounds better than a cable but I can’t comment on that
If I have any issues with the Wi-Fi I’ll simply plug in the Blue Jeans cable instead
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From an actual digital networking perspective then yes, some of the marketing descriptions have been fanciful.. I am being polite.
However these cables are carrying high frequency analogue voltages and also operate as non ideal transmission lines. These means they can generate and convey analogue RF reflections. These will interact and couple with the sender circuitry in the send side of the streamer Ethernet … and can modulate ground and powerlines to small extents. Where internal decoupling is limited in the streamer such as this may phase modulate clocks, or inbuilt DACs this likely will be audible in some way.
The key takeaway here is:
1 This noise will be streamer and environment dependent including to what you are connecting the streamer to. This relevant noise is analogue and not ‘digital’.
2. This can be noticeable with different Ethernet cable constructions irrespective of cost. In other words the effects are equally noticeable on a high price consumer audiophile cable type as with a low price commercial grade cable for a given setup.
This question has come up frequent,y over the years and I have pointed to design and engineering guides to design patterns mitigating the RF noise effects in hosts using Fast Ethernet over twisted pair cables.
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is there then benefit from “FULL FIBRE” ISP provision to a FOPP in domestic connection/position, then running FO direct to streamer with FO Input ?
From lightning surge protection yes, otherwise no for broadband access.
Within your LAN using optical Ethernet leads to the optical Ethernet input of a streamer, then yes these electrical noise related issues including any common mode are avoided.
In the limit serialisation news is apparent with optical Ethernet, so using quality Ethernet devices like commercial grade switches is still beneficial.
FO is immune to electrical RFI compared to Ethernet 4 twisted pair, thus why not better to run FO direct to streamer if possible ?
You might be getting mixed up. Not sure what you are trying to describe with ‘FO’.
Broadband is a shared WAN access to the internet.
LANis your network which uses wireless or ethernet. Ethernet segments can be twisted pair or optical.
Broadband WAN access can be coax, twisted pair or optical or radio ( mobile or satellite or microwave link).
Streamers connect to a routed LAN, not to the WAN directly, using WiFi or Ethernet.
FO; Fibre Optic; There are streamers now available with SFP / SMFO [small-form-factor / single mode fibre optic] connections.
I can get Fibre Optic [FO] into the house direct, then I can run FO from FOPP [fibre optic patch panel] to SFP port on streamer to avoid and electrical / RFI interference for “purity” of signal as you have confirmed RFI / Noise may become apparent on ethernet copper twisted pairs.
As I said four messages back. In your LAN you can use OM1 through OM5 Ethernet fibre if your streamer has a suitable fibre Ethernet interface.
BTW SFP doesn’t mean fibre..it’s a modular interface standard and can be used for twisted pair as well as fibre transceivers.
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thanks for confirming what I had suspected. additionally, I do suspect more streamers will be provided with SFP in future.
Yes a few years back I suggested to Naim at a factory visit that they might want to use SFP interfaces in the future for Ethernet. This allows the consumer to select twisted pair or fibre transceivers on that SFP interface to suit.
Hello Simon, currently I live in a 7 story apartment building and I did my best to keep Switching power supplies and power cables away from source cables. How far can RFI, or noise travel normally? Not sure if that is even what you call it?
Would the wall between my apartment and my neighbours apartment block these things? I have no idea what they might have on the other side of the wall, in other words.
Might I be wasting my time isolating things with all these neighbours surrounding me spewing who knows what through my walls?
Hi, many variables there. I guess in hifi circles most people are referring to electrically conducted noise. This can be typically common mode noise in cables or mains borne noise which can be differential and common. Here my suggestion is use quality main earthed equipment and that usually helps minimise common mode noise. None earthed and double insulated products can be notorious common mode noise generators.
Ferrite clamps on cables can be effective at helping reduce common mode noise. Just be mindful if the cable is shielded only the shield will be affected.. the noise will still remain in the internal cables.
How far conducted noise travels hugely varies… I have and measured RF mains noise over a third of a mile along overhead wires. I’d be surprised if a neighbour’s electrical noise would be too troublesome, although powerline adapters, which are slowly becoming obsolete luckily, are often horrendous and can pass between houses and flats.
If the noise is radio/electro magnetic .. then this is harder to handle. Most if not all commercial products have to bus designed to withstand and not emit a certain level of electro magnetic noise. Here the only true effective mitigation is metal shielding of rooms etc which for most is not practical, or luckily necessary. Radio noise near field field strength exponentially falls away with distance. Far field are radio waves.
With cables such as speaker cables if you suffer radio breakthrough then changing the orientation or shape of the cables can help.
Can I assume that should say a third of a mile?
Thanks for the reply, seems like a minefield out there. I guess all I can really worry about is what is in my own apartment.
Yes and yes.
If a close neighbour uses powerline adapters you might want to recommend the benefits of modern WiFi instead…..
An AM short wave radio is a good test for troublesome issues. If tuned away from a station and you hear a loud rasping sound across a range of frequencies, this might powerline adapter or similar emitted noise.
I don’t own an AM radio unfortunately. Each apartment has its own fuse box, but the wiring from my neighbours might even crisscross mine, for all I know…ugh!This forum always makes me over think these things.
Thanks for your input Simon.
@Edmund-of-Essex can enlighten you.
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Hi T-elmi,
FR has alerted me to your question.
I believe there are several forum users who either own or have tried the Naim CI-102. For your information I undertook a highly technical assessment of the Naim CI-102 in Autumn last year. There are several links that may work:-
Introduction as to why I borrowed the Naim CI-102.
Main discussion of technical assessment of Naim CI-102.
@frenchrooster has also created a specific thread, following an online magazine assessment of the Naim CI-102 later in 2025. That thread starts here.
If you try the search function you should also find more links and posts (in excess of 50) including some posts by forum member(s) who have actually bought the Naim CI-102?
If you get one for yourself, please do add to the information about it here by reporting your experiences.
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Thanks for him Edmund.
@Blacknote tested it also.
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What I have noticed is a slight improvement in sound quality using WiFi rather than the pretty good Ethernet cable I purchased (Blue Jeans from USA)
I know the Blue Jeans cable isn’t considered the best but it had reasonable reviews on this forum which is why I purchased it
I just think removing the cable completely and using WiFi instead sounds slightly better. Luckily our WiFi is good and strong
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