The in-fighting.
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I think you are immune to all this cable stuff Mike, the electrons are probably going in a different direction down underš
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Yes, but in most cases the very cheap cables bundled with budget or ISP provided routers. Even a broadcast quality Cat5e is a very different proposition.
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Other than a quality ISP router like say a BT Smart Hub2 has to operate with a relatively low noise floor for its VDSL modem circuitry to be optimum, so you know itās PSU and Ethernet patch lead are going to be well behaved. From memory they are either Cat6 or Cat5e marked.
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This is interesting and I understand your arguments,.but I do not understand what this has to do with testing out for the best soundquality.?
For me and others it lacks significance,.itās ātech-specā.
The only thing that matters to me isā¦that when I install and optimize a music-system practical. Sounds it Better or Worse,.when I connect a product in the music system,in this case an ethernet/streaming cable.
Everything else lacks practical significance to me,.and everyone I know in this interest.
I do not understand that the measurement-protocol is more important for some,.than listening practical what happens,when you make changes to the music-system 
.
But we are all different.
@BertBird,.you may stop listening,.to if you are going to buy a AQ Diamond or a Chord Music.
Buy the one that measures best then you will be satisfiedā¦
According to some here 
.
/Pederš
The problem is the criteria they use for this ānoise shapingā to lower the noise floor, expand the soundstage and create an effect of greater detail. I found that the effects have consistently been negative when it comes to the spatial integrity and tonal fidelity/textural detail of voice and āacousticā instruments irrespective of whether weāre talking Ethernet cables or interconnects. Itās artifice that can sound impressive but is not hi-fi in the classic sense of the closest approach to the original sound.
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Also, while we are on the subject ā¦ as electrons have mass they must be effected by gravity so it stands to reason that they must flow faster downhill. 
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Well for me the primary function of an Ethernet patch lead is to allow the network to reliably operate, not simply act as some sort of a RF stub to shape the streamer noise floor.
So in using connected leads that are not specifically compliant to a given network specification, but are selected solely on their RF noise shaping abilities, I would at least check they are not reducing the underlying reliability of your physical network which may cause unreliabilities and funnies on things you least expectā¦ and may lead you to incorrectly assume itās a software issue or whatever.
After all if you have a 2960, and know how to basically connect to and operate the switch itās such an easy thing to do for peace of mindā¦ and removes some of the mystery about thingsā¦
I like to optimise my system so it sounds best reliablyā¦ not hit and miss and delicate like a house of cardsā¦ I donāt want to be a slave to my Hi-Fi and tread on egg shells, for me it needs to work reliably and wonderfully every time, so I donāt have to think about it and I can simply enjoy my recordingsā¦
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Oh yes I am looking forward to thatā¦ there are even more variables than twisted pair ā¦ and the one weakness of fibre in this use caseā¦ is microphonyā¦ so expect to see premium fancy clad fibre cable audiophilia with physical decoupling sheaths to reduce microphonyā¦
So we might wave goodbye to electrical noise, and say hello to physical coupling noiseā¦ let the games commenceā¦ 
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Yes, weāll it does beg the question, why take a high speed fibre optic signal into an Ethernet cable when it enters the house?
@frenchrooster, you can add me on your list.
Between my Melco and the ND555 I have tried a cheap supermarket Ethernet, a Supra, a Melco and a Vertere.
For me itās a noticeable different between these different āstreaming cablesā. For my ears itās no doubt that the Vertere gives the best musical experience.
I have a Chord Epic Tuned Aray between the Cisco and the Melco and the Epic gave a better musical experience than the previous Melco Ethernet. In my mind Tidal got with the change much closer to the audio quality the Melco server gives.
Still to do is to try the Epic between the Melco and the ND555
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Where have you guys been? Audiophile Fibre has been out there for years.
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I have a 5m AQ Forest between cable tv box and streamerā¦the photons just love itšI am sure knowing AQ there are more expensive oneās too.
My only personal experience of āaudiophileā network cables is a few entry level Chord C-Stream cables I bought when I first started streaming. I mostly use regular certified Cat5e now, but none of these have ever dropped a packet or whatever according to my switch or router. So IF there is anything to be gained from a ābetterā or differently performing cable, it seems to me that it would be down to itās shielding, grounding and RF rejection etc. rather than itās ability to transmit bits consistently with no dropouts.
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Once again Peder, you need to calm down, this point scoring & aggressive style in your posts that are aimed at anyone who disagrees with you or has upset you in the past is something for the kindergarten.
My post was in response to an observation about BJC, and the āmaniaā word I read as lighthearted & joking.
I simply pointed out BJC is not new, it/they have been around for a while & they are well regarded on the Linn & Lejonklou forums.
Now your lines with reference to Fredrik Lejonklou has lost the plot altogether, what has me referring the Lejonklou FORUM got to do with me ānot believe in the installation-method Tune-Demā
Apart from loosing the plot, your assumption that I donāt believe in Tune-Dem is completely wrong, I just donāt use it like an obsessive.
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But which Chord cables did you compare with your preferred cables in your home system?
Or did you hear Chord cables at a show and compare them in your mind to your memory of your preferred cables as they sound at your house, and tut, and announce to a stranger at the coffee stall that those Chord cables are not as good as your preferred cables?
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Just so we understand each other 
,.I talk here about the wires between the Streamer-Switch and the Switch-Nas.
Two cables that are between 0,75m up to 1,5m.
These two cables I have used for over three years without any problems,.but I have gotten significantly better soundquality.
It is also my top priority,.and as I wrote aboveā¦
My system has always worked 100% stable.
This also applies to everyone I know (many),around Sweden with better ehternet/streaming cables,.nobody has ever had any problems that you are trying to refer to.
In our group,.we have also tested the last three years,for a longer time,.between 28-29 different special ethernet/streaming cables.
Never any problems,.all work 100% stable.
So,.I do not understand what you are referring to,when you make such statements.?
Have you Really tested a larger number of these better ethernet/streaming cables for better soundquality,or,.are you just speculating.?
/Pederš
I am talking about checking any cable in your home network that is not specifically stated to conform with a network cabling standard. If using a 2960, like I think you with your Swedish associates do, itās such an easy thing to do. After all that is one of the reasons why you use a 2960.
And with respect unless you check this you donāt actually know if your network is working reliably or not. You canāt necessarily tell by how your services appear to functionā¦ that is the whole point of some of the TCP/IP protocols, ie to maintain transfer of data over potentially unreliable links.
As far as Ethernet leads , I bought several from a professional cable supplier, and evaluated which ones I preferred with my NDXā¦ true commercial grade cables donāt cost much. I also experimented with hybrid segments.
I have not revisited since I got my NDX2 with decoupled DAC as quite honestly it has very little if any bearing now.
This is what you be looking at your 2960 to confirm all is truly well for each port. This is the port to my NDX2
and over 1121320364 bytes of data sent to and 94321893 bytes received from my NDX2, I have not had one single loss or corruption of one bitā¦ I use a commercial grade Cat6 shielded cable.
Hopefully yours is the same with your streaming lead.
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Thatās why I bolted my Cisco to the ceiling directly above my hifi rack!
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This thread is becoming so funny and silly now . Iām crying 
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