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Most Important, Unloved Cable...

Ethernet. I used to say the power cord was the most unloved, but important cable. Now, I update that assessment to the Ethernet cable. Review work forthcoming. 

I can't wait to invite my newer friend who is an engineer who was involved with the construction of Fermilab, the National Accelerator Lab, to hear this! Previously he was an overt mocker; no longer. He decided to try comparing cables and had his mind changed. That's not uncommon, as many of you former skeptics know. :)

I had my biggest doubts about the Ethernet cable. But, I was wrong - SO wrong! I'm so happy I made the decision years ago that I would try things rather than simply flip a coin mentally and decide without experience. It has made all the difference in quality of systems and my enjoyment of them. Reminder; I settled the matter of efficacy of cables years before becoming a reviewer and with my own money, so my enthusiasm for them does not spring from reviewing. Reviewing has allowed me to more fully explore their potential.  

I find fascinating the cognitive dissonance that exists between the skeptical mind in regard to cables and the real world results which can be obtained with them. I'm still shaking my head at this result... profoundly unexpected results way beyond expectation. Anyone who would need an ABX for this should exit the hobby and take up gun shooting, because your hearing would be for crap.  
douglas_schroeder
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Azbrd and Dynaquest4, note that the effects (or at least the potential effects) that I described in my previous post have absolutely nothing to do with proper or improper communication of 1s and 0s.

May I suggest a simple experiment that you may find to be informative: Tune a portable battery powered AM radio to an unused frequency, with the volume control set at a position that you would normally use. Bring it close to an unshielded ethernet cable on your LAN, while the cable is conducting traffic. You may be surprised at what you hear. Then please re-read my previous post.

If you have seen many of my posts in other threads at this forum, you will realize that I am with you in believing that benefits allegedly provided by **some** controversial tweaks or other products are likely the result of either expectation bias, experimental methodology that is not adequately thorough, or failure to recognize and control extraneous variables. Not in this case, however.

Regards,
-- Al

douglas_schroeder OP
3,281 posts
 

Al, my experience shows very obviously otherwise; the Ethernet cables do not change their character based on the rest of the system. I have changed speakers and amps, and they still confer the same benefit, or in some cases lack of benefit, and with the same characteristics, as they did in the previous system.

What these others are reporting about is not BS. If you get the right cable the difference is profound. Not just, ok, but profound.

Now, in the end I will have perhaps 7 or 8 Ethernet cables to use. Some already are grouped as lower performing. One is stunningly exceptional, and I think I know the reason why. I anticipate there will be a couple others notable in terms of outstanding performance.





rja's avatar
rja
2,371 posts
 
Just curious, if a cable is unloved does it develop problems later in life?
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,504 posts
 
Possible, as it is a form of mistreatment and mistreating a cable will indeed cause problems in the future. 
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
@almarg

Quote

As an electrical engineer having extensive experience designing high speed digital, analog, A/D converter, and D/A converter circuits (not for audio), I don’t find the reported differences to be either surprising or mysterious. And I consider them to be well within the bounds of established science and engineering.

Most likely what is happening is that differences in the characteristics of the cables, such as bandwidth, shielding, and even how the pairs of conductors that carry the differential signals are twisted, are affecting the amplitude and spectral characteristics of electrical noise and/or RFI that finds its way via unintended pathways to unintended circuit points "downstream" of the ethernet interface in the receiving device. "Unintended circuit points" may include the D/A circuit itself, resulting in jitter, and/or analog circuit points further downstream in the component or system, where audible frequencies may be affected by noise that is at RF frequencies via effects such as intermodulation or AM demodulation.

"Unintended pathways" may include, among other possibilities, grounds within the receiving device, parasitic capacitances, coupling that may occur into AC power wiring, and the air.

What can be expected regarding such effects, however, is that they will be highly system dependent, and will not have a great deal of predictability.


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Yup. Badly designed or faulty equipment will indeed be vulnerable to unintended pathways.

Always better to get good equipment to begin begin with rather than band aid things by finding the least bad sounding Ethernet cable !!!!!

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