Questions about Ethernet Cabling

@cakyol I understand the 1 and 0’s in streaming, inclduing wifi. The issue I raise is the power supplies and other noisy elements that people say (I am a believer) add noise to an Ethernet network and that noise propagates up to the network connected DAC. If you think this is not an important issue then your statement need no further explanation.

If the Ethernet noise issue I raise is real then the idea of using a noise optimized music server (such as the ROON Nucleus mentioned above), EtherRegen, audiophile switches, and other noise limiting gear makes sense. My question is why not use fibre at the last point before the DAC and not worry about the noise before the fibre.

When one asks why fibre works you can also question other aspects of the network that maybe trying to do the same thing as fibre.

@yyzsantabarbara,

I acknowledge your concern regarding power supplies but 99% of network switches and bridges use a walwart as a power supply which is pretty far away from where the analog circuits are (usually). The noise transmitted is at worst negligible, at best undetectable.. unless you place your DAC converters right next to the PSU, which most of time is not the case.

And obviously, if fibre is available, it is best to use it in the entirety of the connections if possible to do so.

As I mentioned earlier, this thread is not about debating whether ethernet cables, or any other cables for that matter, are effective or not. I don’t necessarily disagree with the explanations provided above, but I’ve also learned that there are things we just don’t know how to measure or account for yet. I was a power cord and speaker cable denier for the longest time. One day, I actually tried - yeah, imagine the audacity of actually trying something, a nice speaker cable and haven’t looked back since then. The same ’zeroes are zeroes and ones are ones’ arguments are thrown around when describing DACs, and therefore a $200 DAC is no better than a $5k one. But of course, people who actually have heard the better DACs in appropriately high end systems can tell the difference. But that has never stopped the naysayers.

If we were to follow the ASR type of reasoning based solely on measurements, we could argue that there was absolutely no sound on earth before we developed the ability to measure it. People only communicated using hand gestures. That’s obviously not true. Just because we can’t meausure something doesn’t necessarily imply a lack of existence.

Secondly, we ran an experiment at a friend’s house using different ethernet cables and both of us were able to discern a difference. It was subtle but noticeable. Now you can argue it was implicit bias at work ... so what? It’s a hobby, not a science project for most of us. We're not solving world hunger or curing cancer here. If WE can hear a difference, whether measurable or not, whether perceived or real, that’s all that matters.

@arafiq,

lovely post. It sort of raises the question whether what you measure is an accurate reflection of reality, doesn't it? Flat earthers, anybody?

This is what I'd consider state of art streaming. Fiber network provider >fiber capable router or switch> fiber capable server> fiber capable streaming dac.

Fiber op. conversion was easily one of the best upgrades to my network, audiophile switch prior to server not nearly as effective as FMC's after. In my case, audiophile switch gone, prefer router. Now, I would still like to upgrade network prior to server, issue is I would need two optical outputs, one to server, one to NAS. This would entail four more FMC, four more LPS to power those FMC. If I only needed one out, I'd have already done the fiber prior to server.

I do hope fiber capable routers/switches, servers  and streaming dacs become common in future. Sure be nice to rid myself of usb decrapifiers,  FMC and all their attendant lps. I doubt fiber internet provider coming any time soon to me. suburban areas not first in line for this.