LAN cables BJC or Designacable?

Streaming Audio
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:small_blue_diamond:JimDog,…:grin::grin: You’re a funny guy :wink:.

/Peder👍🏻

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It sounds like a defective switch. If it’s one of the older blue models I found it to be inconsistent compared to the newer white models.

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:small_blue_diamond:No,.read my long post above…!!!

We have tested this on Cisco’s switches,.and on Netgear GS108T,same result.
And,.as my experienced friend Music_Lover wrote earlier…

:small_orange_diamond:"Yes all ports are different good,.small but clear difference."

And if you have problems with any older blue model,.well then it’s usually because your SMPS needs a recapp…see below…

WP_20161130_21_32_35_Pro (2)
WP_20161130_21_32_35_Pro (2)2595×3958 2.27 MB

This recapp has one of our two hifi-designers,.who are part of our group performed on two of our Cisco’s,which is of the older blue model,.and who sounded worse than our other Cisco’s.
There was a clear difference to the better after this recapp.

But now we are also testing external Linear Power Supply’s for our older blue models.
And with these external LPS,.we get a even more significant increase in soundquality :smiley::+1:t2:.
But thats another story…

/Peder🙂

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I have no idea as I’ve not tried the designacable variants. The 6A was nicer than the 6 and interestingly didn’t seem to change over time.

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Thanks. Bjc 6a seems to be the one to go for. Would be great to how it compares to designacable but is seems no one has made that comparison :slight_smile:

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I will probably hook mine up with a linear supply at some point too. It seems to run off two sets of 0-12v rails so should be pretty straight forward…

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I hope to receive my BJC cat 6a tomorrow so I can hear the difference between the Atlas and AQ cables. Curious to now finally learn what all the fuss is about. :blush:

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Let us know what you think of them. The bjc cat6 loom has opened up significantly sounded more relaxed and natural now. It has become quite pleasing to listen to although i expect more to come with regards to burn in although at a slower pace.

I have my eyes on the bjc cat6a and wonder what that might bring over the bjc cat6.

Cheers to everyone and thanks for supporting this thread and giving you advice. Much appreciated :smiley:

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I have tried both and they are both good. I prefer the Catsnake Designacable 6a, as it has bedded in nicely. I also like the more flexible Belden 1303E as it seems to lay better without stressing the cable. In fact, just last night I ordered 3 more shorter ones to make my runs a bit more tidy without loops of wire hanging in the breeze, but still not bend the cables much. I also ordered the boots in various colors, so that I can see where each cable goes. No duplication of colors–no confusion about connections. (with the BJC you can get different colors and I did) I have had the longer (2m) cables installed about 6 weeks now. I think they or my ears have burned in for that entire time.

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Thanks for your recommendation on the catsnake designacable 6a. Can I ask you what you think it brings in audible advantages over the BJC 6a other than being more flexible?

Many thanks!

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It’s impossible to respond. Some prefer the Blue J, other Design A…and all cables are system dependent.
They are inexpensive, so you can try both and return the less satisfying.

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That’s my observation too. No way to know besides trying them myself in my own system.

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34

Can I ask how you spec’ed the shield: connection/floating?

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The first set,the long ones, I specified floating, but was sent connecting grounds. So they can sound very good in some systems. This time, there was a pull down menu for floating. That is what I specified this time. I will send these back if they come connected. The first time there was no pull down, but I put that request in the comments section. No issue. Just wanted to go floating this time, as that seems to be the recommendation of this forum.

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Thanks. That’s very helpful!

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Today DHL delivered the BJC cat 6a cables, which I bought less than one week ago on Amazon. Great quick shipping service from BJC cables. Both cables came with a test report. Both passed the test. :sweat_smile: I have just replaced the no name cable between Mac Mini and switch with one 1.5m BJC and also replaced the Audioquest Cinnamon between switch and Naim Atom with the other 1.5m BJC cable. Cold out of the box I am already impressed. It sounds less thin but as dynamic as with the AQ. I will now let the cables run in for a week or two before posting my final impressions. It feels like this is indeed a great cable, especially for the money (in my case 50 EUR for two 1.5m cat 6a cables including shipping from US to The Netherlands).

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I just did more or less the same with the same results. To me the BJC sound good and a great service too. Haven’t tried others aside from no name cables, but these (cat 6a) work great.

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They are very good and simply let the music sound natural without emphasising anything. I have them in various colours, which is a bit of fun and means it’s harder to get confused which is which. There is a whole world of potential pain with cables but these are just simple and well made.

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My final tweak - for now - will be to add a LAN isolator from Pink Faun. I will wait a week or two for the BJC cables to settle and then I will add the LAN isolator. Will keep you all posted… :face_with_monocle:

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Status after a good three days of burn in. Bj cat6 is bloody good! Yesterday a tested for directionality and discovered that the long run from router to switch had been installed in opposit direction. After correcting this the sound quality has taken a good step up. More air and effortless, better flow and more natural in timbre. The complaint about closed in and slightly mechanical presentation is no longer valid. I urge everyone to test for directionality! In my case the cables sound best when the text is written from recipient to source. It will probably vary from reel to reel. I speculate that some of the variability in test reports from bjc and designa and their different cats might be due to undiscovered directionality issues in the installations. In my experience from hifi cables in general, directionality first manifests efter some burn in. Two days are typically enough. Then listening to both directions will easily tell which way it should be oriented.

On my positive experience with the bj cat6 i have on trial I decided to pull the trigger on bj cat6a. I have been torn between designacable and bjc but the many positive reports on bj cat6a and my own excellent with their cat6 together with the fact that designacable seem a good bit more expensive on the short length patches persuaded me.

So lets see what cat6a brings to the party :slight_smile:

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