Ethernet cables

I found the wire in the ethernet cables matter. Bits are bits but the high frequency internet data transmission rates behave like an analog wave. The Signal to Noise ratio of digital is superior to analog but it is still not impervious to noise. My theory is that the 5-80 MHz ethernet signal is affected by the skin effect of wire. Therefore, silver plated ethernet wires might be sufficient for improved sound vs. full silver wire. The required thickness of silver plating for the skin effect can be calculated based on the frequency of the ethernet signal. My theory could be all wet but it seems to work in practice. Pangea ethernet cables are relatively inexpensive- about 8 times the cost of a basic budget cable. For the money however, you get silver plated cardas wire and good, robust connectors. I found them effective at improving the sound with my NUC based music server, but as I said, they are not marked but are directional.

Another good experiment that was discussed in these forums a few years back is to have someone disconnect the ethernet cable from your music server while listening to the music. Since the music is delivered in packets and buffered, it will continue to play for several seconds. Many of us noted an improvement in the sound for those few seconds of disconnected playing. Interesting, especially since that last packet of music was already downloaded. That implies the ethernet cables are carrying in noise that affects the server and DAC. It would seem that my NUC based music server that I had at the time had no isolation. So I added a fiber optic link to my ethernet to disconnect my music server galvanically- or electrically. The sound improved. Next I tried the Pangea silver plated ethernet cables and found more improvement. And finally I did the big step and bought an audio grade network switch. I didn’t expect much but found it a good step up in sound. I also found it performed better without the fiber optic link.

To summarize: The ethernet behaves like an analog wave. It’s not analog but the high frequencies have characteristics that mimic analog.

Streaming music files behave differently than downloaded music files.

Line noise/EMI is a factor in streaming music.

Silver conductors seem to work better with high frequencies- i.e. above the audible range. Maybe.

The better servers, streamers and DACs are moving towards isolation and reclocking. My new DAC and Music server/streamer have double isolation and reclocking. They sound fantastic but the downside is that I cannot turn them off. Otherwise it takes a couple of days for the clocks to stabilize for optimum sound. Hard for me to reconcile since I grew up in the midwest with a Dad who didn’t allow lights to be left on in a room unattended. And another thing, it took me about 20 years to stop eating all of the food on my plate.  So maybe in a few years I'll get over having to leave half of my stereo on all the time.

@tonywinga 

"high frequency internet data transmission rates behave like an analog wave"

"To summarize: The ethernet behaves like an analog wave. It’s not analog but the high frequencies have characteristics that mimic analog."

I am far from a digital or IT specialist but you lost me on this one.  It is my understanding analog signals are continuous electrical signals while ethernet cables carry non-continuous electrical pulses to transmit digital data.  Isn't that inherently two different things?

The tendency is to compare digital signal transmission to a telegraph.  After all, the dot-dash DC circuit of the telegraph is similar to the 0-1 of digital.  And like the DC circuit of a telegraph the voltage of a digital signal is either 0 or 5 Volts.  We tend to imagine an analog wave form as something like a +/- sine wave or combination of sine waves overlapping.  Digital signals are waves too.  They do not cross zero but they have a bias of 2.5 Volts.  ie. over time the average voltage of a square wave of a digital signal will be something around 2.5 Volts.  That means the digital square wave "zero crossing" is at 2.5 Volts.  Given that these square waves are propagating at 5 MHz and higher, they share many properties of analog waveforms.  They can experience phase shift due to capacitance or inductance and they can pick up distortion although their tolerance for distortion is much higher than analog.  On the other hand, digital signals for streaming are less tolerant to phase shift or timing.

 Ethernet and USB cables have an impact on the sound of streaming music that many claim is impossible.  Meanwhile, audio hobbyists may not fully understand why or how but find ways to improve and move forward the state of the art.

Maybe I'm talking out of my hat here but much of what we experience with streaming hifi manifests itself more as a wave than not.

Just buy regular CAT6 cables you will never know the difference and for get that. Communications companies use CAT6 and 5 at high speeds in Data Centers without errors or issues. Spend your money else where.

Im of the belief that everything that you do in your system has the potential for making a difference.  Whether that difference can be heard or not depends on the resolution of your system.  Whether that difference can be heard and is worth the additional money is another story.  Every little improvement also adds up usually.  So adding a few extremely minor improvements can add up to a cumulative positive effect.  I use a 50ft run Supra CAT 8 Ethernet cable from my music server direct to my MSB DAC. Was it a major leap forward over my CAT 5e cable? Nope.  A very minor but audible improvement. But I also have a Tripp-lite isolation transformer, two Puron Power filters, and a GigaFoil v4 in the system.  Each made a difference, but cumulatively, It was a big improvement, say 15-20%. FYI, off-topic, but I found the Purons (my last tweak added) to make a startlingly significant improvement!