So if really expensive equipment is actually susceptible to this then the EE’s that are designing it don’t know what they are actually doing. They may want to re-read Ott.It wouldn’t surprise me if many audio designers have not read Ott. Or studied the aptly named book "High-Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic." (My background, btw, is in defense electronics, and I have taken Mr. Johnson’s related course).
Why would it matter what the source is sending if you have disconnected it at the client? These are buffered (FIFO) systems and the audio is still playing.Because as I indicated in my 3-27-2017 post possible pathways by which RFI may find its way from the cable to circuit points that are downstream of the ethernet interface include radiation into power wiring, or into other cables, or directly into various circuit points within the DAC or other components. And the degree to which that may occur may be affected by the bandwidth, shielding, and other characteristics of the cable being used. Also, perhaps a difference would occur because noise generated by the ethernet interface circuitry at the receiving end (i.e., in the DAC) may change as a result of having nothing connected to it.
As far as I can recall, everything that has been said in this thread by those who deny that the reported sonic differences are real has focused on the robustness and accuracy of ethernet communications. While ignoring or discounting what I would consider, based on my experience, to be the very real possibility of interactions between signals and circuits that are ostensibly unrelated. Designs should not be assumed to behave in a manner that is theoretically ideal, IMO, and signals should not be assumed to only follow their intended pathways.
Regards,
-- Al