Sorry guys, quick question.
Does a network cable need burning in?
I got a chord C stream for Father’s Day and to be quite honest…. It sounds flipping awful! Far too bright, clipped…. Just awful!
Plugged the 2 pound cat 6 back in and it sounded so much better….
Dont know, but if you have the receipt…
Oh it’s so going back!!!
Still amazed by the difference it made!!
I Was gonna buy an English switch, but it’s put me right off…
It does surprise me that there is such a difference in any direction. Just a thought, have you tried reversing the cable? Not that its directional, but in case there is a problem with the connection on one end which the NDX2 might be more fussy about. Also worth setting internet radio playing all night with volume off, and rechecking tomorrow
I bought a 10 meter C-Stream cable around 1 year ago. If I’m right, it changed over time and got better, considering that it’s a cheap cable I’m happy with it so far. At the beginning it was brighter for sure, now it feels more rounded and organic, at least to me. I’m using it with a NDX 2. Let me know your thoughts.
I am sure you will convince yourself, personally, a standard Cat6 cable seems to do it for me. USB cables, I am not so sure about yet! Try a standard Cat6 cable if you have one, tell me hear a difference?
It is according to Chord. They don’t explain how or why, and they sometimes forget to add the direction markers, but that’s what they claim.
These brand names are terribly confusing, but it would be best to not refer to them as Chord but as The Chord Company, which is their proper name.
They are a different company than Chord Electronics, which we all know and respect for their DACs and amplifiers.
Chord C-Stream is an outstanding “value” cable. I find it highly musical. Allow time to run-in and make sure the direction is correct.
And the EE Switch is amazing… Give it a shot.
When I first started wiring streamers to my LAN I used a number of C-Stream cables and comparing them to regular certified Cat5e cables, and they made not one jot of difference. On those that had a direction marker, connecting them in the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ direction likewise made no difference either. That was with an NDX, Superuniti, Unitiserve and a variety of switches.
Perhaps with different hardware or a different environment there could be some differences, but for me there were not.
Yes the darker dot should be on the switch side.
I can only agree! It was my impression as well, even though I didn’t have the opportunity to compare many ethernet cables.
Hello GadgetMan,the Chord c-stream is directional.
we live and learn 
And so it is!
Yeah it’s directional… The black dot apparently need to a be nx to the router. I tried them round both ways but it still sounds bad…
I still think that the Chord C-stream (with the EE8 switch) is the best ethernet cable I’ve heard so far. Maybe you need the EE switch to hear it at its full potential?
I think that 5e sounds abysmal…if the C-Stream sounds no better, than that tells the story.
G
Not sure what to make of that statement. Abysmal compared to what? If your system sounds abysmal I would suspect that you have a faulty cable, a poor electrical environment with interference affecting the cable, or even some defective hardware somewhere.