Jim,
Thanks for the very nice and thorough response.
There is so much snarkiness and ridicule on this forum by the eternally cognitively cynical toward those that are willing to actually try "fringe" products, simply trust their ears, and honestly report their experiences in an effort to share successes (and failures) that I have become overly-sensitive.
I try to only post opinions based on my actual experience in my system and my room & avoid condemning or promoting products that I have no experience with, excepting a few where I address certain posters that exceed reasonable limits of tolerance regarding misinformation, dishonesty, or just plain stupidity.
Your humor, style, and approach are refreshing. Keep rockin!
Dave |
Nice to see this respectful resolution in the forums! Virtual hugs all around.
Now, back to audio obsessions... |
Jim to answer your question about the 5ghz network the Lightning DS setup process takes you through that and is available for both IOS and Android systems, I used an ipad mini essentially as a remote control.
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Blindjim, it's good to see you back here lately. Your posts are always witty and enjoyable. Regarding the possibility of ethernet cables making an audibly significant difference, see the following threads: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/high-end-ethernet-cables-real-deal-or-snake-oilhttps://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/most-important-unloved-cableAn excerpt from one of my posts in the first of those threads:
...any cable that is conducting high speed digital signals, such as an
ethernet cable, and that is located in physical proximity to the audio
system (e.g., in the same room), can radiate or couple RFI into the
audio system. And in addition, noise conducted into the destination
component via the cable could to some degree (depending on the specific
design) conceivably couple around the ethernet interface circuitry and
into other circuitry within that component that is more directly
involved in processing the audio. Including circuitry that may be
sensitive to noise-induced jitter.
None of this necessarily
means, however, that an ethernet cable costing hundreds or thousands of
dollars would be any more beneficial than an upgrade to a very modestly
priced cable. You may wish to consider experimenting with inexpensive
shielded ethernet cables, as member Bryoncunningham described doing in this thread,
with significant sonic benefit resulting. (I consider him to be a
particularly astute and perceptive listener, btw, and one who is very
thorough in his approaches to evaluating tweaks and optimizing his
system. Unfortunately, though, he hasn’t been posting here in recent
times). See the posts in that thread dated on and around 2-16-12.
Inexpensive ethernet cables are commonly unshielded, but good quality
shielded cables are also readily available at low prices.
And from the second of those threads:
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.
As you'll see in the second thread, in addition to the member I referred to above a number of other widely respected and highly experienced members confirmed that very inexpensive upgrades of their ethernet cables provided significant sonic benefit. Best regards, -- Al |
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