Ethernet Cables, do they make a difference?

Whatever.

nonoise
“I found this statement from John Atkinson (the one that measurement obsessed folk fall back on for support) to put a kibosh on most A/B/X tests:

...2nd order behaviors -eg-distortion signatures and noise modulations that characterize sound quality, and these things take a lot of listening to identify.

It’s what I and others have repeatedly stated: long term listening is the correct way to identify sound signatures and clues. You can get the gist of a cable or fuse or what have you but it takes immersion in the music, over time, to correctly assess anything, unless it’s something glaringly apparent.”

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>>>>>I have serious problems with long term listening as a definitive method of testing. And I’m going to tell you why. First, things change over time for any number of reasons, even day to day and hour to hour the sound can change on a whim, for no apparent reason. But sometimes the listener does make actual physical changes to his system during the long term listening. And those changes, conscious or not, can affect the sound. So, which is it, the sound on Sunday morning at 7 am or the sound on Thursday afternoon at 3 pm? Second, audiophiles frequently complain of audio memory being an issue, so what’s to prevent audio memory from being an issue in long term listening?

Once again it looks like we’re faced with the likelihood that there is no such thing as a scientifically valid listening test. There are too many variables in the case of long term listening to be able to definitively conclude anything about the device under test. If someone can’t hear it in a short term test there’s no guarantee he can hear it in a long term test.

Once again it looks like we’re faced with the likelihood that there is no such thing as a scientifically valid listening test. There are too many variables in the case of long term listening to be able to definitively conclude anything about the device under test. If someone can’t hear it in a short term test there’s no guarantee he can hear it in a long term test.

Interesting so all the people that are saying they hear differences in data cabling aren't hearing anything. 

Hello to all.

To sum it up, what I have learned is my system may have a problem, because performing a listening test (see my previous post), my friend and I both noticed a "difference in SQ for the better" when using a CAT7 compared to a CAT5e. My non-audiophile friend described it best as saying the CAT7 was "smoother sounding". I'll just leave it at that.

Can all of us please end this subject on this last note.

I thank all of you for your interest in this subject and I think we have gone full circle at this time.

Cheers!