I am too old for these new things, like internet or what it is called
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I think you manage internet pretty fine based on your activity here 
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The Neotech has been slowly cooking (for the last few days) constantly playing Radio Paradise quietly (while the wife is around) and more loudly when sheās not. The Neotech has definitely lost a lot of the initial congestion and now sounds much more balanced and open. Iāve listened to it on both SMPS and LPS and, very much like the Sigma, it prefers the LPS, which to me means thereās a level of transparency (the Catsnake misses) that is shown up by the Neotech and the Sigma.
The wife is away for a couple of days, so I thought a quick A/B would be good just to get a reference of where everything is. I started by using the track called Corniche Kennedy by Benjamin Faugloire. This has a really driving bass line that can overwhelm a lot a detail if things arenāt quite right.
First up was the Neet 1008. I have to say I was quite surprised by just how good the bass line was reproduced - very deep with plenty of shape and pace. High frequency detail is still a bit on the dark side and lacking dynamics but it has potential. Midrange is warm and quite captivating, so all in all pretty impressed.
A quick switch to the Sigma playing the same track. Bass was not quite as deep as the Neet but it was maybe a touch more solid and real. What struck me first is that the Sigma was revealing much more of the deep subtle detail surrounding the bass line and locking it solidly in its own space and drawing your attention. Itās difficult to describe but itās like instrument pitch is more constant and stable with Sigma. As is instrument tone. Image width seems much wider with sounds popping out of the air way left and right of the speakers. For me the most obvious difference between the two at the moment is the emotional connection they create. Listening to the end of the track and there is a real musical build. At the moment the Neotech kind of misses this, where as the Sigma makes it into a real drama.
The Neotech is already better than my memory of Vodka, so not a bad performer. Iāve not listened to Diamond, so canāt really judge it against that but itās certainly sounds to me pretty good for a Ā£250 ethernet cable.
Of the two the SR Sigma is still the more āmusically and emotionallyā believable but is damned expensive! However, I shall continue with the burn-in and compare again in a week or so with a much wider range of music.
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Thank you for sharing. Very nicely put and an interesting read. Am looking forward to what will come next.
Yep, I guess it is. And the Neotech brings a lot to the table for the money. Iād personally love it for the Neotech to beat the Sigma as itād save me a stack load of cash. Trouble is Iāve had some really special evenings with Sigma that have taken the system well beyond what I thought capable. If I donāt buy the Sigma I know I will be constantly wondering what this song would sound like with the Sigma in the loop. Iām already thinking what my EE8 and Sigma might sound like with a Sean Jacobs hot rodded DC3!
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Neotech from Router to D2 switch could be interesting. I need 4m though.
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Same here - from experience I would say, even if neo is better your mind will trick you into sigma memory
And sigma will not cost you full price I think, if you get it from your mate
Neotech coming in my mind for server ā> PN
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Yes, itās really refreshing isnāt it?
Thatās because of all these guys have very good systems that can make the most of Improvements in the network.
Some jokingly call this fiddling, but I think itās really done to improve sound quality and isnāt fiddling at all.
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One manās fiddle is the other manās profit (phrase machine on)
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See I do this 180 degrees differently; it takes 2 to do a āblindedā comparison. I make the switches and she listens not knowing which piece of hardware sheās listening to. I try my best to be unbiased, but sheās truly āblindedā and thus only has the music to influence her.
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I must admit I never thought Iād get my system to this level of enjoyment. I think everyone appreciates those rare but special evenings when their system seems to be on another level but what Iāve learnt (from the likes of Blackmorec and others) is that, with vary careful attention, you can reproduce this much more frequently than you think. Iāve said it before but I think I have a half-reasonable turntable set-up but in many ways it canāt compete with some of the sounds Iām getting from digital at the moment. The likes of Sigma, LPSās, switches, ground arrays, good system isolation etc. has just pushed things beyond the limitations of a hifi system and connected me directly with the music. I was listening to bass notes earlier this evening (with Sigma) that were just simply jaw-dropping. One of those moments where you want to invite people off the street in to come and hear them because you know they wonāt believe they are coming from a stereo system!
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I get it but for me itās about āmyā emotional connection to the music and not hers!
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So nicely writtenā¦ these are the moments when I am talking to an imaginary friend sitting on the sofa listening with me - please do not call the cops 
It was warm last week and I was a bit stressed with several things and recovering from a flu.
I missed these moments - but right now (new feist album) is such Moment. I am still practicing to reproduce these moments.
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Thatās what lasts - emotional connection.
With sigma I have less āwowā moments as with diamond (diamond is more turbo). But with sigma there is a dive into the music itself which can not easily be described. Overall it connects to the music so much - Perfect
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There is new album? Canāt find it on Tidal.
Sounds like D2 and Sigma would enjoy partnership 
I think Iām beginning to see that there are clusters of ethernet cables that can enhance performance. Some possibly through noise shaping and/or through genuine noise reduction.
These are just my thoughts but the starting cluster might be the standard patch lead bought for a few quid from most shops moving onto the likes of BJC, Belden Catsnake, Chord C-stream etc. In the middle cluster comes the more expensive Chord leads, Audioquest Vodka, Diamond and the Neotech. In the top cluster you might group something like Chord Music, Shunyata Sigma/Omega, Entreq Olympus and Synergistic Research Galileo.
There is certainly a cost pyramid with these leads but there also appears to be a performance curve associated with the cost. There are of course the odd outliers like Neotech that, for some reason, jump a performance level over cost, just as sure as there a probably others that Iāve missed.
Itās this last cluster that seem to be really interesting! The one Iāve tried just take everything to that next level, which is what Iām looking for. Admittedly, you have to have the system to exploit these leads but if you have their cost (whilst expensive) actually appears relatively good in comparison to the musical jump you can get. Do please excuse my ramblings as this is probably my way to justify spending a large wedge of cash on some Shunyata Sigma!
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