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
dynaquest4's avatar
dynaquest4
445 posts
 
knownothing sez: "A quality Ethernet cable, or analog interconnect, or power cable keep signals intact and in their appropriate lanes in a cluttered environment around your gear, so you deliver as close to the initial output at the other end of the cable as you can get without picking up or transferring interference from or to other cables or gear in the vicinity."

Exactly!  And a "quality cable" needs not cost more that a few dollars a foot.  Spending more makes them look prettier and more impressive but does nothing to improve, enhance or increase the quality of the sound.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,584 posts
 
jinjuku, yes, of course a digital signal is handled completely differently by the sending and receiving device compared to AC power supplies. The analogy is very broadly drawn here. My point is regardless of the type of signal or how the signal is handled at either end, if something bad happens to it in the wire, or it does something bad to a signal in adjacent wire in your system, it can affect the overall sound coming out of your speakers or headphones.

Your point does argue for better implementation of devices and error correction in data reconstruction - and perhaps why optical toslink should not be the first choice for digital data transfer - but I don’t think your point obviates the need for good cabling. Maybe we agree on that.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,584 posts
 
dynaquest4, yeah, I guess that is why they use $few a foot power cables in all major recording studios. Or maybe not...

http://shunyata.com/2015/04/01/grant-samuelsen-visits-astoria-studios/

and this, referring to a specific Shunyata power cable:

”The Anaconda Alpha wasted little time in becoming a power-line reference used by major music and film studios, electronics manufacturers, reviewers, music producers and mastering engineers. Studios such as Sony Music (Japan) and Philips (Crest National-US) adopted the Anacondas for reference playback and mastering. World-renowned mastering engineers Doug Sax and James Guthrie also endorse and use the Anaconda Alphas, as do Record Producer Rick Rubin and a host of other industry luminaries.”

I realize this statement is part of a sales pitch, but I was in a relatively low rental rate basement recording studio recently and even they were using high end cables. When it matters, at least some of the folks that are laying down what we are listening to at night want every advantage to get the sound they are after in the final product, and $few a foot wire apparently doesn’t give them what they want.  I tend to agree based on my experience that the right premium cables, power, analog and digital, make a positive difference in my playback systems.  Again, YMMV.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@knownothing  Great posts. Thanks for adding value to the conversation.
jinjuku's avatar
jinjuku
226 posts
 
I haven't seen anyone be a proponent of junk. 

Bottom line is $1/foot for a certified Ethernet cable from Blue Jeans is all you need to get the most out of your streamer.

$232 a foot more is not going to buy you a single iota improvement. 

The fact is you can do 10GBe (1250MB/s) over 15 year old CAT5e up to 37 meters on a lot of swtiches now. I could theoretically transfer my entire 2000 album collection in seconds. 
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