I’ll get shot for this but yes i have… I put back the chord c stream between router and ee8, leaving the AQ(1.5m) between ee8 and innuos (Roon core) and it’s a nice blend of heft and the detail and immediacy the Aq offers. The shorter Aq is now feeding the tv Netflix etc… I’ll likely have another go but it’s put me off getting another cinnamon for the final leg to my network bridge, which is currently cat snake 6a (floating shield at both ends)
Ps thanks for not taking the pxxs!
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Cut the long one in half and then plug both ends in - it really lowers the noise floor to nothing!
But seriously, out of the mid to lower priced ethernet cables tried the Cinnamon had nice detail but was always the leanest of the bunch. I ended up with a full loom of Blue Jeans Cat 6 as the most neutral.
Now we’re moving to a new house in a couple of months, so all the topology I’ve so carefully crafted for my audio here (dedicated line, network, etc) is off at the new place, and not a top priority. So it goes…
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To be fair this has been discussed ad nauseam on the forum before… the clue is RF stub loading…and noise shaping… there has even been a Texas Instruments engineering white paper describing why and how that I must have posted at least half a dozen times over the years.
Hint… this is nothing to do with Ethernet frames or digital data… and Ethernet twisted pairs are far from perfect transmission lines.(that part is really important)
Further you might find a £1.99 Ethernet cable from eBay or Amazon sounds better still… or not… as the case may be.
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The Cinnamon is what prompted me to follow the conversations here about streaming cables and I’m glad I did. I hadn’t considered that streaming cables would influence the SQ so much. I was pretty meh on the SU with the AQ cable. Tried the BJC 6 and had a revelation of improvement. Tried the 6a and it got even better. I’m blown away by how good the SU is when you have your network dialed in. The forum comes through again.
Yeah, it’s actually BJC 6a that I’m using, not 6.
ok for the nay sayers I’m gonna throw a cat in the pigeon coop. I have two lengths of chord Clearway streaming on trial (sale or return so no expectation bias ) being as the C-stream restored balance and its very positive. The AQ can’t compete with the bigger bass, richer midrange and just more niceness!, and I’m finding myself wanting to sit a listen while working instead of it just being on in the background, and that’s just radio 2 via roon. I will l eave them for a week and swap the AQ back but…
I dont know about the earthing or the technical bits n bobs but it just sounds more relaxed and musical so that will do for me!
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Cinnamon always highlighted a brittle edge to my ears. Chord C-Streams and a Clearway on the last leg works for me.
G
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good point - i meant clearway! gonna change the last leg to clearway too when in stock.
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Dare I mention the ‘black dot’ and ‘directionality’?
Runs for cover.
G
Mines blue!
I thought you were saving-up for your second 555PSDR?
G
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Accepted.
G
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Agreed. I’ve now ditched the Vodkas’ for good and gone back to the MeiCords - they are just so much better in every single way. Once i had introduced ‘all’ PowerLines to my system the Vodkas revealed themselves as sounding very forward and glassy, too much for my delicate ears. I put the Opals back in and it was like a shot in the arm of relief. Life has now finally gone back to normal. Phew!
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A ‘U’ turn? They seem all the rage these days.
As I increased the transparency of my system, the Vodkas became more and more edgy, to the point that they has to be replaced by something smoother - CatSnake 6a (floating) in my case.
Stephen, glad you have landed in a better place.
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Thanks NigelB.
Yes that has been my experience now i have upgraded to all PowerLines in my system. Now the Opals are in things are really glorious now. I know some here will scoff more & more popcorn but that’s me finished with all this network cable malarkey. Done. Kaput. 
%
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The only way i can explain here is the ‘full’ Vodka cables leave me feeling a little analytical, cold, on-edge and tired. The MeiCords have my foot tapping with the flaps of my trousers swinging in time to the beat of the music and moving some air, and not analysing any part(s) of the presentation, just feeling connected. For me, that’s progress.
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That, Stephen, is a very good description of how Vodka eventually sounded in my system, once I had passed a certain threshold of transparency in my system.
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Yes. I suspect that @Hifi-dog is experiencing the same thing with his Cinnamon cables. It all started (after adding all the PowerLines) with my wife, kept on asking me to keep the volume down, even though it wasn’t really that loud. Something was irritating me also. I thought about things, changed the cables over and ‘bingo’ there it is, feet started tapping again. Our beloved music is back with us again.
Not once have i been asked to turn things down since the swap. In a revealing system the Vodkas can tip the system over into a ultra high sonic fatiguing edge. I even started to point my finger at my ageing n-SATs at one point, but no, a cable swap is all it took to get things right again. Luckily i can sell the Vodkas’ on for pretty much what i paid for them, so no hard feelings there as it were.