Ethernet opinions

Qobuzz and tidal “stream” the audio file to your player if you do not have a local copy.

some streamers do NOT provide any local storage, so you never get the cached track: it is going to stream the track every time.

If playing through a phone, a pad or a pc, or your streamer has storage to allocate, (or a nas to use) the apps will use local storage to cache your previously streamed, and saved/cached, track.

So qobuzz and tidal APPS CAN save a local copy IF there is storage they can use.  Otherwise you are strictly streaming.

There is some level of error recovery that can allow the track to play with some errors.  Too many errors and the track buffers or even just stops and tries to restart the stream.

I live with this everyday.. at least I will until I find time to fix my nas and assign a connection to it in the innuos pulse mini… then see if it will use that to cache anyway.  Otherwise, it will be  downloads and then point innuos to the nas to play downloaded tracks.

Though, I have to try attaching a usb drive to the pulse mini.. that might solve my local caching problem.

By the way, I had ethernet from router to pulse then short usb to dac.

Had a really high frequency hissing present.  I got my fibre media connectors yesterday and replaced the ethernet from router to pulse mini with an optical run. Convert ethernet to fibre->fibre to media converter to ethernet->short, shielded ethernet to pulse.  High frequency hissing went away.

So yes, ethernet to fibre and back does “clean up” noise.

@fredrik222 

You have not published your system so I can’t give you a link to your streamer of choice.

Fred, since you asked I use Grimm MU1 streamer-server/DCS Apex dac/Audio Note Jinro amp/Devore speaker setup at home. I have a Roon Nucleus+/Hifi Rose 150b/Sugden IA4 amp/Devore speaker setup at the office for background music.

Frederic, why do you even frequent Audiogon? You claim there is absolutely no difference between digital cables and yet most who experience the difference, good and bad, take your insistence and inflexibility as a clear mark of ignorance. Your repeated insistence only cements those opinions. 

@ghasley  there you go. Roon download per already posted link above. Hifi rose says in their support that you cannot turn off cache for Qobuz.

it invalidates the entire argument that cables or switches can make a difference. That is why it matters. If it isn’t a stream, how can a cable make a continuous improvement. Answer, it can’t. 

@fredrik222 

If it isn’t a stream, how can a cable make a continuous improvement. 

Frederik, you have me mixed up with someone else...I'm not trying to convince you of anything. I KNOW what I hear and I know that cable A sounds better than cable B and cable B sounds substantially better than a popular generic cable touted in this very thread. Given your deep dive into how all is cached and they are bit perfect.... then if they sound different from one another it must be the cable if all else is constant. With that said, you don't have to go to any trouble writing a reply because I can't think of anyone who wants your opinion here. Certainly not me.

@ghasley you jumped right in, neck first, and as predicted went to name calling.

the issue I have is when  people genuinely wants to learn are told a bunch of lies and then spend money they don’t have to. There is so much snake oil in this industry, and this is literally a binary thing, yet people want to attach analog properties to a digital protocol, and when proven wrong, the name calling starts.