@flame_rose Just try them in your system. This argument will rumble on for evermore, so its best to hear for yourself. Some do hear a difference and therefore post accordingly and others don’t hear a difference. Which camp will you end up in? Give it a try 
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I don’t see any harm in trying. I think Nigel’s argument that bits are bits can be put to the test by streaming the same song from the NAS and then playing it from a USB stick directly into the NDX2. The first time the music is traveling through 50 meters of cat6 cable and 3 switches while the second time it is just direct into the player.
If there is a clear difference then this would be a testament that ethernet cables make a difference.
I am leaning towards the though that one should optimize his black boxes and speakers first before “fine tuning” the sound with cable mods.
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Well, assuming we are talking electrical noise here (on signal links and power provisioning; impacting the DAC and further analog stages up to the output), of course USB would create a separate pattern than the Ethernet port; as the WLAN/WiFi causes different interference (and active circuits, power consumption, …) than the Ethernet port as well.
Maybe even not plugging in anything would be a separate pattern! 
If you want to compare Ethernet cables, you should do exactly that. (I, for my part, won’t.)
(That the bits arrive safely in the (large) buffer before the DAC should be ensured in most scenarios; significant faults here would be audible or cause hiccups with the playback as such.)
Nope
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This is almost as soul destroying as finding out that “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” is on the TV again on Christmas day.
I’ve always thought a pair of jeans and a Vodka are a superb combination, really exciting and full of life, miles better than the full loom Wranglers… 
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Methinks we might all be a bit jaded with this conversation!
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7K posts before it was humanely put down
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Damn, what a waste buying the BluRay!
The logical ‘bits is bits’ argument is very persuasive.
However they can sound different for better or worse. Best you can do is borrow some from a dealer and try them yourself.
I tried several Chord ethernet cables - the Epic was very good but not worth £400 more than a basic cable.
I don’t pretend to understand how or why but they can sound different - only you can make a more objective decision by comparing in your system and considering what else money could be spent on.
I think the reality with hi-fi is that there’s an eager market for cables/tweaks which might be expensive but only 5-10% of a black box upgrade.
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This. There’s a logical market to exploit and it finds the highest prices that it will bear: You have just completed the boxes or bought all new ones, you’re not going to start over right away. However, you are still addicted to perceiving improvements, so how is this scratched? By being willing to spend a few percent on stuff. Some of it actual working tweaks, some of it snake oil. At least subsequently the improvement addiction can be satisfied by hearing the cables burn in for free - though maybe someone will come up with a subscription model for that
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Some knowledgeable folks like @Simon-in-Suffolk has been saying that copper ethernet cables can impact SQ negatively because they carry electrical noises, so time to think about the optical ethernet cables?
I know that some high-end DAC makers (like Naim) are still sitting on the fence about optical ethernet as a DAC input, but some have already switched to optical like Lumin, Linn.
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That almost came in well…
As SiS also points out, optical is not without its disadvantages
A bit jaded!!! Pun of the week! 
Any details?
I think that this thread seems to be more of a case of members waiting for a car crash to come along, so no point in keeping it open.
To the OP, best read through this thread here (if you can) as it probably answers your question, and much more too…
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