Ethernet Cables, do they make a difference?


I stream music via TIDAL and the only cable in my system that is not an "Audiophile" cable is the one going from my Gateway to my PC, it is a CAT6 cable. Question is, do "Audiophile" Ethernet cables make any difference/ improvement in sound quality?

Any and all feedback is most appreciated, especially if you noted improvements in your streaming audio SQ with a High-End Ethernet cable.

Thanks!
grm
grm
kosst_amojan
There appears to be two basic sides to this debate. Those who don't buy that Ethernet cables make a difference, and their opinion is buttressed by reams of facts. Then you have those who think they do make a difference, and they have no facts at all to buttress their claim. Their claims don't even make sense in light of how the technology works
This is mistaken. There is a third position in this discussion - it needn't be a "debate" - and that's the one of an undecided skeptic. I certainly understand those who reason that there should be no audible differences at all between competent Ethernet cables. The very nature of digital transmission suggests that if the signal can be transferred without error, the output should be identical to the input and the sound should be the same. That's not difficult to understand.

Yet multiple audiophiles here using a variety of systems attest to substantial differences between these cables. Because in the past I've been quite surprised at what can make an audible difference in a sound system, I'm reluctant to dismiss those reports with a wave of the hand.

Complicating this discussion - again, it needn't be a "debate" - is the remarkable vitriol from the "nay-sayers." Those who report differences are often vilified as delusional, or "snake-oilers" getting rich while perpetrating some sort of fraud, or worse. Those claims come from just a few of the forum's contributors, and are repeated with regularity at anyone who won't accept their position ... including myself. This nastiness is often combined with illogic, most commonly the errors of circular reasoning, the excluded middle and ad hominem attacks, which of course undermines their position. And I'm trying to be kind here. Oddly, those posters who argue that science is on their side readily abandon it when asked if there's any valid scientific listening tests to support their claim. Indeed, it has become apparent that some of them have no familiarity with the science of such tests, which has been pretty well established, and which I've referenced previously.

I'm not a big fan of scientific listening tests, which I think are mostly a waste of an audiophile's time. I've participated in a few and the results were interesting, and I've proposed that perhaps as a group we could design a test that could be conducted in public to test the Ethernet claims. But who opposes such tests? Those who claim science is on their side! This seemingly intractable position only ensures that the "scientists" will continue their attacks against those who are simply reporting what they hear.

Of course, there are those who have offered to participate in such tests provided money is at stake and agreements made with attorneys to "protect" participants, or who have required other preconditions to testing, such as following an unscientific protocol. Those forum contributors can't be taken seriously.

 
@amg56
I think the argument is if your are happy to spend the money on cables or componentry because YOU feel there is a difference in your listening environment, be free to do so because IMHO THAT is what HiFi is about. Yes there is the physics, chemistry and quantum.... but each of us is different and appreciate changes differently. The micro arguments and opinions are worthless really. Just ego chest pumping

I agree with you 100% that is why I am not going to waste my time and precious listening time with this thread so game over for me. I am fed up with ludites who will not even let someone else have a say without even having the good manners to have their say without resorting to fasehoods.
Seemingly it is all in my imagination and that to a man that went through up till he was in his 30s playing classical guitar at a level where I was giving concerts regularly. When family comitments changed and my wife became ill I had to give it all up and care for her but do remember I still have my ears , they are quite perceptive yet and I do know what I am looking for so it is not all in my imagination.
May I ask guys with The Ear to describe or qualify the difference you notice depending on the Ethernat cable?

I suggest two categories:
- Quality of a music
- Quality of a sound

First one relates to the purity of the instruments, voices, etc.
Second - presence/absence of parasite noises, distortions etc.

IMHO you should notice only second one.
Digital cables can’t possibly improve anything. It’s just funneling 1’s and 0’s. 

Analog cables do influence the sound and I am a believer however.

gochurchgo
Digital cables can’t possibly improve anything. It’s just funneling 1’s and 0’s.

Analog cables do influence the sound and I am a believer however.

>>>>Read my lips. 💋 It’s not (rpt not) the information contained in the signal that determines the outcome. It’s the electromagnetic wave photons) that carries the signal. Repeating the 1s and 0s mantra doesn’t mean anything. The reason digital and analog cables sound different is because of the physical and electrical differences between/among cables and their influence on the electromagnetic wave.

😀 Pop quiz. Do photons have mass?