I have tried 3 different ethernet cables between the switch and my ND5 XS. The AQ Forest, Nordost Blue Heaven and Shunyata Alpha ethernet.
If the Shunyata is a 10 for sound quality, the Nordost is an 8 and the AQ a 6. I definitely hear differences between cables in my system.
Today, I ordered the new Uptone EtherRegen switch. It will be eplacing my Netgear GS 105. I will report back when I have it (late November).
could you buy ( and return after) a refurbished cisco 2960 8tcl ( around 50 dollars) and compare to the Etherregen? You would make a great favor to the forum. A lot of us have the cisco and many of us wonder how this Uptone switch can sound.
No just relating government recordsā¦ I am not judging. and certainly no vendetta just observing. I did look up companies such as Connectix who do quality make cables network in the UK , and it states manufacturer of specific telecommunication equipment as well as wholesaler.
Not judging just observingā¦ but I like to call out something as it is rather than perhaps inferred through marketingā¦ but ultimately itās a personal choice to buy from a wholesale distributor or a manufacturerā¦ nothing wrong with that.
I think the original comment came from how much is spent in research and development in cable development, which needed to be recovered in the prices charged. Iāll let others decide.
I am sure that would be a nice comparison, but I donāt feel like fiddling with gear that much! I will compare it to my Netgear GS 105.
There is a discussion thread on Audiophile style about the EtherRegen. Most likely someone there will compare it to the Cisco.
FR your certainty is perhaps mis placed, I own two Chord Company cables in my odds and sods boxā¦ they are interconnects however, not streamer leadsā¦ however if I am honest I donāt use them nowā¦and yes I didnāt purchase them at full retail price.
but no dealer in Paris will have such a switch and i donāt like to invest 800 euros just to test.
i was only referring to ethernet cables in this case. Not unknown chord cables but specifically Chord Music. Did you heard chord music or not? if not, why indefinitely claiming that Blue Jeans are enough and no reason to buy such expensive cable as Music? the only way is to compare both in a same system. But i am sure you havenāt done that, as Simon also.
As I understand it, the C-Line & Shawline are bought in pukka ethernet made by an OEM.
The rest are bespoke Chord designs & are not twisted pair but bundled miniature coax, I canāt believe Chord make the actual coax but donāt know who makes the bundles. Obviously they do not comply to ethernet standards hence why Chord call them āstreamingā cable.
Well having read through this lot all I would say is, if I could make or source a cable for a 100 quid and sell it for 8k and I could find men (Let face it only men) that are willing to give me 8k for it then I would make those cables all the live long day.
I might even begin to believe what ever I said to sell it in the first place, just as long as I got to drive my fast car.
If only Naim could make a switch and Supa Lumina Ethernet cable we could all just get on with it.
Up until 2014 True Signal audio parent company in New York made at least some of the Chord cables, until they fell out.
To me the complete compliance with the cabling standards for casual home use is perhaps less of an issueā¦
However what I suggest is more important is correct interoperability with switches etc.
If you have a Cisco catalyst switch with relatively recent firmware, there is a cable tester built inā¦
Therefore if you run
test cable-diagnostics tdr interface <0/0>
Then
show cable-diagnostics tdr interface <0/0>
You will see a any cable fault info such as open circuit, close circuit, impedance mis match on the pairsā¦ I guess the last parameter is important here. If the switch reports ok, then the cable in its current setup is probably ok irrespective of its construct, although it might push the switch out if EM compliance if not a standardised cable.
Here is an example of one of my interfaces.using my regular Cat 6 cable.
Note I use Fast Ethernet switches as they are slightly lower noise than Gigabit switches as only 2 pairs are driven rather than 4ā¦ so you see the message Pair C and D ānot supportedā
And then I check the data accuracy ā¦
this is over the lifetime of the deployment (a few years) for that portā¦ and I have not had one single data error.So I say if a so called streamer or music cable yields the same or similar results, then although un orthodox, it would not actually be impacting the performance of the home data networkā¦ which after all is the purpose of the link. But if non compliant, then I think it would be hard to have peace of mind unless one actually confirmed the non compliance was not having a detrimental impact to your home network. The reason we have standards is so that we shouldnāt need to test and confirm each such implementation.
Hopefully some balance and objectivity that some might find usefulā¦ and as these Cisco 2960 seem to be very popular around these partsā¦ this is potentially measurable by those usersā¦ afterall that is part of the advantage of using a managed switch.
But I have shown that screened cables between the switch and the streamer are, in my system, detrimental to sound quality.
I recall Chord making grand claims about the screening of the Music āstreamingā cable, ergo itās simply not appropriate in my system.
It all seems very simpleā¦
Ah, so thatās why I donāt have a Chord Music cable! 
Thanks Gary. 
Iām baffled as to why itās important that a cable meets a certain standard. Surely if it sounds better thatās all that matters. I like my AudioQuest Vodka cables and would not be bothered if they were made of cheese.
I did suggest why a few posts back, but if standards arenāt met then simple measurements with the right equipment (Catalyst switch for example) can confirm that there is no detrimental impact to your home networkā¦ after all an Ethernet linkās primary aim I suggest is to carry Ethernet rather than act as a noise shaper.
But if reliability of your home network is not important to you then sure just use what ever to suit tasteā¦ my only request would be to those reporting issues with Naim app, network operability, ādiscoveryā etc etc in this forum, state whether they are using compliant home network equipment or not with their query.
Slightly tongue in cheekā¦ but the image that comes to mind is pouring chip oil into your BMW320d, it kind of still goes, but it certainly smells better.
Yes, I agree the things must actually function. Thatās a given. But if my network is ok, which it is, surely it doesnāt matter whether or not the wires are compliant with ethernet standards. If something provides demonstrable sonic improvements, itās nonsensical to be told itās no good just because it doesnāt meet a standard. Technical knowledge can sometimes make people a bit blinkered, especially in the area of ethernet cables it seems.
But then Iām non technical and donāt care. But with my background in animal behaviour I can watch orangs for hours on end while others pass by with a cursory ānice monkeyā. So perhaps itās not unexpected that some are passionate about wires!
So, are these designacable Cat 5e cat snake things properly compliant? Iām struggling to find out from their website.
I agree. For me the only thing which counts is how the respective cable sounds. Irregardless of price. The price aspects just comes in play as to if I am prepared to spent the amount of money which is required to get the performance I want - assuming of course their wouldnāt be a similar priced cable which is on a similar level of quality. At the same time I also have to mention that I am also concerned anyhow about the whole comparison process of these cables which is not without faults, also looking at my own process critically by the way.
What do I mean. First already by looking at the comparison between two cables which you have available at the same point in time. Itās not that straight forward to have a good comparison given the fact that there is a time in between the moment you listen to the one, unplug the one plug in the other and replay the piece. It relies on audio memory and this is sometimes already difficult. Then there is a second aspect which comes into play is the fact that the cables when just plugged in after each other donāt perform at their optimum. I saw t with the Chord Music as well it required two days to sound at a certain level. And I saw also a steep development in the Audioquest Diamond yesterday which I plugged in and which sounded dull at first and started to develop during the evening listening.
I still hope and assume however that I can make the right choice based on listening to for me familiar pieces and relying on my audio memory what I liked moreā¦ But I have to be honest the process around different objects of upgrade has been easier in the past because the differences have been more clear from the beginningā¦, even if the black boxes also need their time to be on full performance.
