Ethernet cables - YOUR LISTENING Shooutout Summary

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Enjoy the thread, hope useful too!

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Qed to chord c stream via Cisco 2960. The chord sounds more natural with slightly better bass

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5 metres of chord c stream from router to tp link switch then 1.5 metres of Audioquest vodka to Melco n100 Then 0.75 metre Melco own to my nd5xs2. Sounds good to me! Most recent addition was the chord c stream as the distance from router to hi fi is greater since room rearranging, it replaced an ordinary cable and it lifted t the sound just a little bit more.

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:small_blue_diamond:@PatM,ā€¦Excellent,.OP takes the helm :+1:t2:.

Hope it works this time.
Really looking forward to reading about all the REAL ACTUAL LISTENING REVIEWS/EXPERIENCE,.which you write in your simple rules.

Here We Goā€¦
/Peder :stuck_out_tongue:

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Iā€™m a bit different as most of my music is stored on an internal 1TB M2 SSD in my NUC so almost all my streaming is video and audio combined but I have tried to optimise this the best I can.
What I use is 3m Supra Cat 8 with Telegartner plugs to connect my NUC straight to my Virgin Superhub 1 with IFI psu. Iā€™ve tried a lot of combinations but this is what gives me the most realistic sound :scream:
I was bitten by the switch bug and have now tried cheap TP link, netgear and cisco ones and two Cisco 2960ā€™s. All the switches have made my system sound harsher and more fatiguing so have been removed.
I have not tried two Cisco 2960ā€™s together as some seem to prefer. The first 2960 was chucked in the bin as it actually made my system sound worse so I thought it was faulty. Then purchased another new old stock one and it sounded excactly the same :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:
On the cable front, in various combinations with and without switches Iā€™ve tried generic CAT5E, CAT6, Supra CAT8 with Telegartner plugs, Designacable Catsnake and Supra CAT8 with Supra plugs. The Supra CAT 8 with Telegartner plugs gives me the most full bodied sound so has stayed.
Iā€™ve given up messing with my setup for over 6 months and now dread the day I have to replace my Superhub as might have to go through all this again :sob:
To me there appears to be no one size fits all solution that suits everybody and itā€™s all system dependant.

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Iā€™ll give this thread one week before implosion!

Good luck Pat, I hope it survives.

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@andreweverard is going to sum this up by the sound of it in the latest Hifi Critic magazine. :+1:t2:

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Iā€™m just one cog in the wheel of what is a pretty extensive piece in the subject.

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Maybe 3 daysā€¦

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Your findings maybe my next purchase, itā€™s on your head! No pressure! :crazy_face::joy:

No seriously, I am looking forward to your findings.
:+1:t2:

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I plan on trying a Shunyata Ethernet cable soon. Impressed with some of their other stuff I have.

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Cat6a BJC Cisco 2690. Better that no-name cable into net gear switch. Itā€™s been said before, but itā€™s better.

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I hope your proof reading ensures everyone on the forum is happyā€¦best of luck AndrewšŸ˜‰

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Itā€™s going to be worded like Boris Johnsonā€™s statementā€¦

Itā€™s better, itā€™s not better,
It shouldnā€™t be but it is,
Itā€™s maybe but depends,
Itā€™s not but it most definitely is! :rofl:

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My preferences for cables Iā€™ve tried at home are below.

Switches: HP ProCurve, transports: Mac mini & Sonore microRendu, electronics: Chord Blu2>DAVE>Etude on Naim Fraim, speakers: Magnepan.

  1. Blue Jeans Cables Cat 5e
  2. BT Connectix Cat 6a (aka Magic Patch Lead)
  3. Supra Cat 8
  4. Duronic Cat 6a
  5. Audioquest Vodka

No apparent difference between BJC Ca5e & BT Connectix Cat 6a. Supra & Duronic were also fine, but didnā€™t like terminators so was uneasy with them. Didnā€™t like AQ Vodka. .

(Attended comparison of Chord Company streaming cables at HiFi show & preferred C-Stream to more expensive offerings; it was hard to hear differences & demo system was too bright for my taste).

My final choice is to use BT Connectix Cat 6a for my LAN and BJC Cat 5e patch leads to connect HiFi to LAN.

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The OP has written what rules apply,and they are easy to understand.

But interesting that it was different results in soundquality,.with the same cable,but with different contacts.
This I think was never tested in the longā€¦
ā€œEthernet Switch and Cables Maniaā€-thread.

/PederšŸ™‚

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Interesting how few people so far have followed the request to give full informationā€¦ I have nothing to contribute myself as I havenā€™t compared cables - but then my only serious playing is from my own store which is in the same box as the renderer, so not going across a network at all.

However, if the OP would accept an additional suggestion, it would be good to know if any experiences have been confirmed blind in any way, to give objectivity.

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So far 14 out of 18 posts broke the OPs rules (including this one).

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But that will become 14 out of 17 when Tibeerio deletes his post.

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Well, thereā€™s a challenge and a half :wink:

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