2. cables
  3. 128927-305

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
douglas_schroeder OP
3,281 posts
 
dgarrestson, what specifically is your concern about the validity of the findings? I think it significant that I listened to the aftermarket Ethernet cables placed only after the household wiring. Then, eventually I placed another segment of aftermarket Ethernet cable ahead of the household wiring as well. 

imo, I demonstrated that similar to the situation with power cabling, the presence of a "weak" upstream element does not render downstream improvements null. 

As to the validity of the sound quality for assessment, I submit two thoughts. I have been using the internet over power for many months now, and it has had no effect on being able to assess differences between other cables (i.e. IC, SC) and components. As to sound quality, both myself and friends who are familiar long term with systems I build have found recent rigs (since the household wiring has been in use) to be the best I have built. i.e. The use of the household wiring has not impaired my ability to build rigs as good or better than in the past. 

When I originally moved to use the IOP protocol I was fearful that it would decimate the sound quality. As I have no way to conduct a direct comparison I cannot say that it has had little deleterious effect on sound quality. However, it has not prevented me from getting better performance from streaming audio than a couple years ago. 

Hopefully this answers some concerns about the IOP setup in the review. 
jinjuku's avatar
jinjuku
226 posts
 
I had a great day hanging with William and geeking out. Went to his friend Gordon's and enjoyed some bourbon and his custom speaker system.

1st off: Williams system simply images and layers. Pin point accurate. Really good sweet spot. Did have some issues with a channel due to some cabling but that was sorted out post haste. 

I brought a 100 foot ribbon style CAT6 that was ~$13 delivered from Amazon, Cisco SG 200-08, BJC 3 meter 6a, Emotiva DC-1.

We did both sighted and blinded evaluation of the 5 meter DIY vs the 30 meter machined. Honestly I couldn't hear a difference on either his laptop or mine. William thought his laptop was more sensitive to cabling and I believe he thought mine was nullifying any cable differences or making any changes so minute as to being immaterial. 

On the blinded evaluation it was 6 of 10 correct. He did some switching blind for me and I was simply guessing. 

For me there was no real ahah! moment. If we spent 30 seconds without music playing, and regardless of cable used, when resumed it always sounded the best and then immediately looping the playback would diminish. Wait another 30 - 60 seconds and the first playback always sounded best. I think it's like any endeavor, you tend to do best after a bit of a break. 

William liked the DC-1 DAC. His Wadia 121 is nice and I REALLY liked the remote for it. Pure sit in your chair convenience. 

Just wanted to again say thanks to William for the terrific hospitality and it was a blast. If anyone else bumps into William out and about: Ask him about his rock collection ;-)


david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@douglas_schroeder   

This is good information to have on hand. I've had some issues with my cable company being forthcoming to install a new line etc. so I can be direct in my internet feed to the audio room. I have defaulted to using Google Mesh, which btw is working very well.

It's terrific to know that I can explore internet feeds over IOP as an option.

I would like to commend you for this review. These are not conducted often and I know cabling reviews are not the highest priority (nor easiest and fun) for professional reviewers. Thanks for the review as well as your response above. It is appreciated.
dgarretson
2,599 posts
 

@douglas_schroeder

I haven’t been able to find much discussion for good or bad on high-end forums about IOP. The point is occasionally made that it can adversely affect certain components(a Burmester was mentioned). Others report or speculate that Ethernet over an AC circuit underscores the importance of good power conditioning to address high frequency noise. Others report affects of noise from appliances, motors, etc. running on the same circuit or across the mains.

I agree that if you use IOP and are still able to hear differences between wires --and your computer audio system is also performing at an historic high-- then your cable comparison is valuable. However, one could raise a question as to the extent of interaction between the end cables and the IOP. Would the outcome have been different if these cables were used in a system without IOP?

My CPU setup (QNAP i5 NAS> SoTM-modified D-Link hub> SOtM SMS-200ultra> SOtM USBultra > USB> Esoteric K-01X), is wired based more upon principles accepted for audio than for computer networking. All music devices and the network are inside the audio room on their own bridged subnet connected by short Ethernet cables. I found that this subnet approach improved upon a 50’ Ethernet to an internet router in another room. Performance issues may have been caused by the long cable run, the cable itself(generic CAT7) or perhaps by the lack of isolation from noise and/or OSI Layer 3 activity propagated by the internet router. I’ll add that the SoTM-modified hub contributes to the "upgrade": that hub and the two other SoTM components on the Ethernet, are all slaved to a common master clock.

Obviously computer audio is a minefield of interdependent variables, of which ethernet cabling is one.

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,512 posts
 
I think,  based  on experience, it is close to impossible to translate what one hears to another’s set up. The Terra low cost cable is very warm in my system...not at all bright? Why? My system is different. I go directly from the modem to my Music Vault computer using the Terra with no switches or routers etc...

I found this cable far warmer sounding than the generic Cat 6 in prior use.  My gear is also different from Doug’s.  Sometimes what one hears from a given wire or component just does not translate in the same manner in another home and system. This must be particularly true with Ethernet cables? Certainly possible with all the various ways we all get the internet signal to our gear. 


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