Mid priced streaming cables

Streaming Audio
21

Digital cables these days make similar or more difference as good analogue ones in my system. Those claiming its just 1s and 0s have either a not enough transparent system or clogged ears. or have not tried the better digital cables available out there. You need to pass the 1000 EUR mark to hear any significant differences IME but up there the good stuff exists.

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22

I suspect (from reading your previous posts) that your Vodka cables were just not right for your system (or your taste/ears) after all.

You’ve finally realised this now you’ve gone back to your old faithful Meicords.

That does not mean that expensive streaming cables are snake oil.

But glad you are happy with the end result of your experimentation.

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23

Vodka seems to be a cable you either love or hate. It stands out in performing like that IMO. I would not judge more expensive cables from having had that cable in a system. After all it’s made by Audioquest…

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24

Well, after visiting many HiFi shows and hearing for myself, i suspect that most of it is snake oil than it is not. The most humblest of gear always impresses me the most, and i very much suspect for most others is does too. Most of it is an absolute blatant rip off.

P.S. If the industry dies it will almost certainly be self-inflicted.

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25

But iirc you had vodka full loom - that can go over the edge.
I have 3 cheaper and 3 more expensive ones. Diamond and sigma most expensive (2k). Both are very much better than the standard ones.

26

Vodka is really the most dirty grooving one I heared - it should be Olive coloured. But with more revealing system it went over the top in my system.

27

I have to agree. 50%
The (most) impressive system at the latest hifi show was a small system for 3k. So involving - and I was so dump not to take a picture!
The other (really most) impressive system had a cost of 1.500.000 euro. But that’s beyond the spectrum.
It was the first time my home system did not sound better.

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28

HIFI shows must be the worst place trying to hear differences between different products. It’s just a glimpse into what products can do, often setup up in a crappy room in the wrong way with 30 old gents talking to each other at the same time about the systems they have at home. It’s easier to be impressed by small cheap systems in those circumstances since you cannot hear the difference.

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29

I disagree. A system either impresses or it doesn’t. Okay, there are exceptions, and yes things do often get in the way, but, and it’s a very big BUTT… IMHO.

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30

A digital music stream is no different than a digital data stream, right? It’s the DAC that transforms the digital data to sound. Suppose a digital data stream would degrade due to the quality of the Ethernet cable. That would be absolutely catastrophic. I do n’t see the difference between a digital data stream and a digital music stream in that sense.

Do n’t get me wrong, I believe all that say that their ears tell them that it makes a difference. I just do n’t understand how…

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31

It’s not untrue just because you don’t understand.

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32

I think the point is that ethernet cables carry more than just data, they also carry electrical noise (and can pick up electrical noise from its environment). That noise/jitter feeds into the Dac and that will typically cause negative SQ issues.

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33

You see there we are, that is what I mean by some are misled of what is carried in a patch lead. 1 and 0 are not transferred through the cable. Differentiated voltages and depending on speed, voltages and phase are carried in the cable. Ethernet patch leads carry precision analogue signals as symbols.

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34

I have no idea what you are talking about :rofl::joy:

35

Exactly… so perhaps I can humbly suggest 1 and 0s are not carried in Ethernet patch leads… but analogue voltages, like as in a telephone extension lead.

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36

Indeed.
However, before someone claims that the audio signal is carried in a digital cable… it’s NOT.
Only a digital representation of the audio signal its being carried and that is a VERY different thing.

(Try listening to the digital signal and then try to work out what piece of music it is!)

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37

Indeed, I would say it is initially a symbolised version (symbols are a set of analogue codes or a lexicon of constructs which represent patterns of binary constructs, which in turn maps to binary values which in themselves represent a digitised network frame encoding which includes an embedded encapsulated payload. Once this payload is extracted, reassembled over a period of time by combining many frames of network data it can then be processed and at this point an encoded audio data stream can be recovered by combining the payloads… which may be encoded in FLAC, AAC or WAV … and at this point in the chain we have a digitally encoded audio signal… as you can see it’s very removed from analogue voltages and phases which are physically carried in the ethernet patch lead.

Think of the old analogue data modems or faxes which sent audio codes down the telephone line to represent digital data… it’s the same principle.

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39

Agh that takes me back… that sounded like the start of Beethoven’s 5th?

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40

It is indeed :+1: :smile:

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