Ethernet Switch and Cables Mania

Thats the one and a good price for it too!

Not sure this thread is ever going to dieā€¦!

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It will. Bit by bitā€¦ :upside_down_face:

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ā€¦and that was the path I followed - liking some aspects of the new cable - then it run-in and moved away from what I likedā€¦and on!

Presently Iā€™ve decided the ā€˜one truthā€™ approach does not cut it for me and Iā€™m achieving (for me) better results doing this all differently.

So I donā€™t buy into the idea that you get the one best switch and then use the one best Ethernet cable full-loom everywhere.

Iā€™ve achieved far better results mixing and matching different High-End cables like Vodka with ā€˜low-endā€™ commercial cables and find that switches matter a lot - and Iā€™ve also found that two work better for me than just the one.

I tried just the 2960 last night fed from my Router and in turn feeding Melco which in turn feeds ND555.
It sounded really good - but was nowhere near as good as:

Inserting my old 2940 switch between the 2960 and the Router feed. Then optimizing all cables to get what I wanted.

This very much reminds me (but in a different way) of the sonic benefits of inserting empty fraim levels into racks - a degree of extra freedom in the sound and more expressive openness and natural presentation.

So I presently have my BT Router that does Internet access too - Cat5e long run - Cisco 2940 - AQ Cinnamon 1.5m - Cisco 2960 - Cat6 1.5m - Melco - Vodka 1.5m - ND555 as my signal chain.

Iā€™m rather amazed it all sounds so good!

The extra switch insertion gave a smoother response and removed some ā€˜impressiveā€™ edge I could do without as much of in my system.
The bass really opened-out more and especially deep low bass articulation - and top-end more easy 3D spacious but natural and not sounding artificially etched-out.

ā€¦not the last word on this at all for me, but I want to enjoy the switch and cable mania resulting in better music, so this is all great fun right now. :slightly_smiling_face:

DB.

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Will those Melco chaps be able to temp you with their new Ā£2 k switchā€¦due soon?

Iā€™ll have a listen to it ahead at some point - a lot of money compared to the order of magnitude less spent on items Iā€™m enjoying the results from now, so it would have to impress me a lot.

My approach to all things HiFi is once you have spent the big money - get the best out of what you have purchased, so this is all it is for me.

DB.

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Now thatā€™s interesting I do something slightly similar but for reasons to do with mechanical layout.

My NAS and streamer connect to the Cisco 2960, which is then connected to a Netgear GS105.
These connections are Connectix Cat 6 UTP.

The Netgear connects
my PC (3m Cat 6a SFTP)
the Router (1m Cat6 UTP)
the WAP (1m Cat6 UTP)
and a DLink router (10m Cat6a SFTP)

The DLink connects my PVR and my Blue-Ray player.

Oddly it did seem to sound better than a direct connection from the 2960 to the router - I thought I was going nuts - well I still may be, but apparently this isnā€™t an indicator of that!

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:small_blue_diamond:Wow,.this sounds interesting.

I know that someone talked about double switches on the old forum.
But then it was for having one dedicated to the music-system,.and one to the rest,that solution has many.
But this,.having two switches to the music-system,I have never tried.

This I have to test,.I have an extra Cisco 2960 lying,so this will be interesting.

:small_orange_diamond:@Darkebear, @Xanthe,.how did you get the idea to try this solution.
I like it,.this is ā€œAttention To Detailā€ :smiley:.

/PederšŸ™‚

In my case it was convenient for the layout, and it made most sense to separate out the switch connected to the streamer from the connections to the noisy / higher energy components like the router and the WAP. I could have done everything wired to the Cisco, but I tried it this way and as I had the other switch any way, and it didnā€™t sound worse (it actually seemed to make a small improvement), so I left it. It also allows better positioning of the WAP.

Because of their location, the PVR and Blue-Ray either need two longer cables or a switch and one longer cable - the latter is much neater.

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:small_blue_diamond:@Music_Lover,.You have also two Cisco 2960.
This solution that @Darkebear and @Xanthe presents,.you must also test and report on here.

/PederšŸ™‚

I listened to the Anzus supreme powerswitch ( 14k). The dealer said : you should better try two. Hahaha, 28 k of switches would be a crazy system. :grinning::face_with_hand_over_mouth:

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:small_blue_diamond:@Xanthe,ā€¦You never stop being surprised in this interest,.and often you discover things by chance.
It has happened to me many times.

ā€¢ But it doesnā€™t matter how obsessed I am,.so I had never thought of having double switches to the music-system
Soon there will be a shortage of old Ciscoā€™s,.if everyone should buy two pieces :grin:.

:small_orange_diamond:Ps: My Cableoholic-friend has also an extra Cisco 2960,.weā€™ll be there on Wednesday and listen to a prototype (more on that later).

Then weā€™ll test this in his system as well.
Report is coming.

/PederšŸ™‚

My other switch is only a consumer grade Netgear, I do have access to another Cisco 2960G, so someday I may find the time to try that!

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Perhaps Iā€™ll add even more! :laughing:

But I find the extra switch allowed me to ā€˜tuneā€™ the result from my system more to my liking.
The Cat 6 was just a commercial non-special cheap one and it allowed a nice harmonic structure and naturalness that the Cat7 types did not give me - but the latter do give better detail in timing and vocal insight I like.

Perhaps it acts like a multiple-stage filtering operation - my internet ā€˜line rejectionā€™ is done by my old 2940 and that provides a somewhat cleaner signal to the 2960 - which I use Cat6 non-screened to feed the Melco-ND555 chain which I still prefer the Vodka cable between Melco-ND555.

DB.

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Pretty much the same description/theory I posted way back in post #482 but using a FMC instead of another switch.

:small_blue_diamond:@raym55,ā€¦I have read your post No.482 again,.your results are also incredibly interesting.

/PederšŸ™‚

I have been using the Paul Pang double switch for a while with great effect. I have been experimenting with cables and currently using a mix and match like DB. (our systems are very similar, so there maybe a common thread). Currently using 2 Vodkas and a BJC 6, been running in for 4 days in place of the belden cat5

see http://ppaproduct.blogspot.com/2015/07/audio-grade-switcher.html

scroll down half way

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If that works, then presumably 3 switches must be amazing.

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Four play even better Iā€™m told.

G

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Promised to also write the test I executed with a friend. We selected first four songs we used to play on all cables and evaluate on. Later on we added a fifth song to check the lastest details.

So checked song where:
Sohn, Tremors, The Wheel 24/96
Hoff Ensemble, Polarity - an acoustic jazz project, Innocence 24/352.8
Ferenc Schnetberger, Titok, Cou Cou 24/96
Jessye Norman, Straus Four Last Songs, FrĆ¼hling 16/44.1

The additional song was for the nice pushing bass drum soundā€¦
The Kenny Clarke Francy Bolland Big Band, All Smiles, Letā€™s Face the Music and Dance 24/192

We tested. the following cablesā€¦
ViaBlue Cat 6A
AQ Vodka
AQ Diamond
Chord Music

All at 92 centimeters or 1 meter.

The ViaBlue a Cable of 70 euros. Not bad but a couple of things which made it last in ranking. First remarkable thing was that the volume was lower than with all the other cables. While during the test we didnā€™t change anything about the volume. A bit raw, less defined in the high, less bass, tonality in general ok, but less natural. But in principle a good all round cable.

The Vodka was a clear step up and very close to the Diamond. Not overall but because certain aspects of the Vodka are worse but overall itā€™s doing a great job and is in principle a bit less fatigueing than the Diamond. Overall a nice performer but lacking the final level of detail and the soundstage as compared to the Diamond and the Chord Music. It was more focused than the Chord Music while also the Diamond also is more focused than the Chord Music.

The Diamond is a step up from the Vodka. More dynamics, more bass, more clear, even much more focusedā€¦, but at the price of being a bit more difficult to listen to a whole evening ā€¦, is much more analytical than the Vodka. Is less forgiving ā€¦, but offers more detail than the Vodka ā€¦

Between the Music the Lion King and the Diamond, we went a couple of times back and forth. To understand where the specific difference was. The main difference with the Diamond is the musicality of the Music. Reflected in the combination of ease to listen to, timing, tonal accuracyā€¦, especially for more difficult instruments. If you first hear the Diamond you might think because of itā€™s more analytical approach thatā€™s itā€™s potentially superior. But the music also has all those details and gives you more ease of enjoying. Especially the big band was soundin so much better on the music. The bass drum where more round, more extended than on the Diamond. If itā€™s worth 5 times the price of the Diamond will be something everybody needs to decide for the selves but for me itā€™s a clear win in increased musicality that I will definitely go for the music provided I can arrange the funds short or medium term.

I think everybody who is willing to spend that much of money - assuming you only need a meter, should give the music a try for a longer period in their systems and give it a try. Right now I am enjoying the improvements of the Diamond over the Vodka. Even while a bit more than double the price of the Vodkaā€¦worth the priceā€¦

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