Yes, CatSnake throughout, except Vodka on the last leg into the 222.
@NigelB You switched back to vodka than … read in an older thread that you switched to catsnake as it was better than vodka. What brought you back?
Well remembered.
Yes, I could not get Vodka to work in my OC streamer based systems. The Vodka sounded a little harsh and unrelenting.
But as a last leg between my Melco server and the 222, the Vodka sounds superb, and that harshness (with OC streamers) now sounds full of life and energy. The rest of the Ethernet loom is still DesignerCable CatSnake 6a though.
Funny old game this…
2 Likes
I don’t find i have any harshness issues with a full loom Vodka outfit into my OC streamer. It all sounds rather amazing, fantastic. The Vodka does need lots & lots of burning-in though, as with all silver-plated cables, they take an age to come on song, but when they do? Let’s get cranking!
4 Likes
I do Not know if I can call it harshness, but it is a bit rough in some cases.
I like this roughness and think this is what comes with its „in its face“ sound.
With every upside there is always a…
Life is full of compromises 
I ordered catsnake cables for last leg and innous to PN.
Will test the last leg against vodka first … but shipping to Germany will take some time 
I am aware how long Vodka takes to burn in and I tried the Vodka in various places for years.
It may not be an issue with OC, it could equally be I saw the improvement with Vodka when I moved from a UnitiServe to a Melco server.
As I say, it’s a funny old game, this.
2 Likes
Indeed. Having tried a variety of streaming cables up to Chord Signature level, I find either the C-Stream or, even better, the Catsnake 6a, ‘just right’ as Goldilocks put it. Their flexible construction is also helpful in not protruding, or pulling my EE-8 off its feet!
G
Hi @GraemeH
why EE8 of its feet - what happened to the Phoenix net?
Here the same - with HDX there is no roughness at all. But with innous all opens up and shows you more …
The sound balance went right off with it. I couldn’t pin it down at first but I was getting too much sluggish bass. I removed the PN and it was gone. The EE-8 just works so much better - in the context of my system.
G
1 Like
I’d still be interested to hear if there’s anything substantially better than Catsnake or Vodka. I did some reading on the Shunyata offerings, which look pretty interesting. I know some like the sound of Diamond, and the Neotech NEET-1008 looks to be an absolute bargain but not seen many reviews on it from the UK with Naim kit. Any comments would be appreciated.
I Read really good reviews on Sotm cat7 cable.
Ordered catsnake - so I have something to do
Too bad… the mighty bass is what I loved a lot with PN
But when burned in it us getting more balanced.
I also kept my ee8 
1 Like
If you want something to do, as you said, why not try a better powerblock. Yours is very basic. You will have much better bass too, more air, nicer tones, nicer vocals….
1 Like
I let one pass … to bad I did it. Power Igel plus …
Good idea 
1 Like
Power igel plus is a 25 years old powerblock. A lot upgraded on it with the Music Works or recently the Chord M6. You can try these and return.
2 Likes
@GraemeH your experience with the PN echo’s those of @Geko and myself. Yes it is all system dependent and in my Classic 500 setup the PN did not provide any discernable improvement over the EE8. The bottom end was slightly overblown and the flow of the music appeared to be inhibited. This had a negative impact on the PRaT, which IMO is a cardinal sin in a Naim based system.
After a extended home demonstration period, The PN went back to dealership and joins the Melco N1A, Audioquest Vodka Ethernet cable and Chord Music DIN Interconnect in the ‘failed to impress’ category.
Meanwhile, the EE8, Naim Core, DesignaCable CatSnake and Naim Superlumina have not only perform brilliantly, but saved a big chunk of change.
I have pulled the trigger on a Shunyata Research Sigma ethernet cable. It will be the final link in the chain from EE8 to Streamer. It will be very interesting to undertake a comparison against the AQ Diamond and Neotech NEET-1008 Silver. Although the AQ and Neotech are shorter cables and will be connected via a Chord EE1.
I am expecting great things from the Sigma but then it may not justify it’s cost compared to the excellent and very reasonably priced CatSnake. @Peder has been very impressed with the Neotech NEET-1008, which as you mention, is also reasonably priced for a cable with such a high build quality.
Anyway its going to be interesting, and we will see if I can manage to squeeze anymore pips out of my system.
1 Like
I am considering a SL din-din interconnect but s/h, so it would be a gamble over the Sarum Super Aray. I read such mixed views about SL that I’m unsure of the gamble.
G
I await your findings with eager anticipation!
Just for your info I’ve been playing with another LPS on my EE8. It’s not a branded supply but seems to have been assembled by someone who knows what they are doing. It definitely comes down to some subtle stuff!
The standard EE8 supply, in my system, is extremely fast and has pinpoint timing. Its focus is towards upper-mid and high frequency detail, which is truly superb. It has a lovely delicate almost ‘papery’ sound that imbues great tonal accuracy when it comes to guitar strings and cymbals. It always sounds very musical.
By contrast the LPS is a bit syrupy and almost mono-tone by comparison. It may, in fact, sound a bit more 3D (depth/width wise) but you seem to lose the engagement with the music after a while. On some recording it can sound spectacular, on others a bit underwhelming.
It’s a strange old hobby!