The dot end should be closest to the source, in your case that will be the wireless bridge.
But (IMO) this direction thing is just something Chord are advocating & I doubt you will hear any difference.
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Surely âclosest to the sourceâ would mean âinto the Innuosâ rather than the bridge or are you talking about the router effectively being the source?
The source as far as the streaming device is concerned is where it gets its signal(s) from, the router supplies an internet feed.
If you had a ânormalâ streamer player such as NDX, the source would again be the router supplying internet, plus local streaming via a media server such as a NAS or similar.
In all cases the non-dotted end goes into the streaming device.
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Doh. Completely forgot that my female to male connector for the bridge is attached to the existing cheapo 5m of ethernet. Need to order a female to female one thatâs entirely separate. Can anyone recommend any good quality ones or does it make no difference?
Mike - Iâd not worry too much. Most online retailers should be able to sort you out with a suitable female to female couplerâŚ
Another consideration is that some of these connectors have metal sockets which will carry the connection between shielded cables. Others are plastic and will break this connection. Just choose whichever type suits your cables if this is relevant.
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Thatâs the one Iâd spotted on The River. On it now.
Forgive me for having literally no idea whether itâs relevant Chris. Iâll go with the above option and see what happens.
Nothing will explode if you get it âwrongâ!
If you use shielded cables there is a school of thought that you want the shield decoupled from the streamer and connected at the other end via your LAN.
Most audiophile streaming cables seem to be shielded as the shielding is something manufacturers can make fancy claims about regarding the use of exotic materials. In this case you might consider the use of a connector that carries this shield away from the streamer.
Are you able to point me in the direction of one? Literally no idea what Iâm looking at or why?
Couplers like the one in Jamesâs image are usually sold as either shielded or unshielded.
If you use unshielded cables either will do.
If you use shielded cables you would want the shield not to be connected to the socket in your streamer as this could carry unwanted electrical interference into it. At the other end of the cable you would want a shielded cable to connect to a shielded socket which can âdrainâ the shield. So for continuity you would want any coupler to be shielded.
I think the idea is to connect the ethernet screen to either the streamer or another shrouded RJ45. The objective is to have one single earth/ground on the network.
Installation regs ensure that is the case in industrial installs.
UTP or fully floating screen makes a lot of sense in domestic installs.
Thanks for your time on this Chris. I of course have no clue as to whether the Chord is shielded. The box suggests it is âTwin AL foilâ.
So, for a massive ÂŁ2.85 I will be shelling out for something described on The River as âEthernet Extender Splitter RJ45 Coupler Shielded Female to Female Adapter Joiner Connector For Cat6 Cat5e Cat5 8P8C Network Ethernet LAN Flat Round Cable Extension Connection End Plugâ which is quite a mouthful but which appears to be the correct item and coincidentally match the picture from @james_n above.
I assume this would be what youâre referring to?
Amusingly in the meantime I now need to go figure out why the Innuos Sense app has just decided to stop seeing the streamer despite the latter being clearly visible on the network. Feel free to laugh and tell me this is the exact consequence of âunwanted electrical interferenceâ 
Afraid that means nothing to me.
The allegedly shielded Chord C-Stream will be inserted into the streamer. The other end of the Chord C-Stream, black dot and all, will be inserted into the shielded female to female adapter, which enables connection to the small run of ethernet protruding from the cheap Vonets wireless bridge. Iâve no idea whether that small run from the bridge is shielded.
As helpful as this discussion is for me it does give one a useful pause for thought as to why many continue to steer clear of streaming.
Chord C-Stream uses shielded cable, but they do not say whether or not that shield is connected to the plugs at each end. I guess a continuity test might help.
If one subscribes to the idea that the shield might best be decoupled at the streamer end and connected at the other end, that might be a reason behind Chordâs claim of directionality.
Whether or not any of this makes an audible difference is another matter, and is probably different in every unique system and its electrical environment. I suppose trial and error is easy enough if you have the patience.
Itâs connected both ends Chris. I checked my C stream just before it went to its new owner (along with the EE8 switch) as I wondered what the significance was of the âdotâ
Mike, Hopefully your coupler will arrive today and you can have a play. You could always try an unshielded coupler later, but this may not be necessary (as already mentioned) depending on the construction of the Vonnets Ethernet flying lead.
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Yes I can see your point about this kind of stuff putting people off. But in this case, it really is nothing to be concerned about, information overload, too much attention to detail, over egging the pudding.
As I said in a lot of my previous posts, screened ethernet is really not required in domestic installs, the RF & EM environment that screened cable is needed for does not exist in our homes.
OK some may claim a screen gives better SQ, but I suspect its more that the cable companies up-sell the higher performance that a screen brings when in reality all streamers need is 100MHz
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Any idea if Chord C-Line actually has floating screen design?
I donât believe the C-Stream screen is floating. Its connected to the RJ45 plug shrouds & continuity is end to end.
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After reading this thread, decided to go and dig out my English Electric network switch box. Inside I found that freebie cable (Chord C-stream) they gave you, with the switch. Unplugged Audioquest Vodka and fitted Chord between Atom and switch. First impressions are, that it is not try one track and put Vodka back in. The ATCâs seem to like it, they seems to be more boogie factor to the music and harsh recordings do not sound as harsh. Just for the record, the cable between router and switch is BJC (our friends in Seattle). I can hear what @mikehughescq and @GraemeH are getting at. Would be interesting to hear effect of running with a full C-stream loom. At least the sale of Vodka, would pay for lengths between router/switch and switch/Core.
Time will tell.
Maybe a typo here @NoNaim as Iâm not sure if you are liking the C-Stream or not? You are right that I also swapped out my BJC 6a between router & switch and NAS and switch for the C-Stream. The sale of the Chord Epic more than covered the cost, and in my system, was an improvement.
G