Ethernet cables

Guys, the fact is there are as many or more knowledgeable folks who disagree with your network logic as agree.  You just all happen to collect and represent a vocal majority here.  That’s all fine but it’s important that newbies know that it’s far from universally accepted.

I want to comment on jji666's really thoughtful post earlier this morning, in particular his mention of RFI and EMI "contamination" of the digital signal -- to which I wish to add "common-mode noise" as a further corrupting contributor to that signal. Earlier this month, I was fortunate to obtain a very high-end DAC, a Bricasti M21, with its own internal media renderer, ultra-high-precision internal clock, etc. (heretofore, I was using a Lumin T2 streamer/DAC, which was good but hardly spectacular). Immediately, I was amazed by how much better the Quboz- and Tidal-streamed music sounded, and this was while keeping my "old" Ethernet cable, which is generally considered to be fairly decent and cost me a little over $200.

A few days ago, I visited one of my two local high-end audio equipment stores and mentioned to the owner how delighted I was with my new DAC. He asked what cable I was using; when I told him, he excused himself, and, a couple of minutes later, he came back with a cable that he said would make a real difference in my system. It was Shunyata's Sigma V2 Ethernet cable, which he just gave to me (with no deposit) to try for a bit and see whether it made a difference. What is unique about this Ethernet cable is the two noise filters embedded within it. That evening, I replaced my own cable with this Sigma one, and my jaw dropped. The most immediate improvements were vastly more clarity and much better-defined bass. I might best describe the clarity is by saying that I could hear elements of the music that had previously been obscured. The next night I begged my darling wife. who is totally uninterested in my audiophile hobby despite the fact that before we were married she was a professional singer, to listen to the effect of this new cable. First, I played a track with my old cable and then with the Sigma one (without telling her which was which). She said she definitely preferred the "second one". Then I switched the order and played "Layla" (she adores Eric Clapton's guitar work). About 10 seconds in -- with the old cable, after first hearing Layla with the Sigma cable -- she called out "Stop! I can't listen to this version any further. It sounds DEAD." I switched back to the Sigma cable, and we spent the next hour or so playing a number of her other favorites, during which she repeatedly mentioned that they sounded "real" and "lifelike". Over breakfast yesterday morning, she asked when I was buying this Shunyata Ethernet cable. When I told her it cost $2,000 MSRP, she didn't bat an eye, pointing out that I had just spent $16,000 on a new DAC and that money would be wasted without this Sigma cable. I was nearly dumbfounded hearing that from her (but I bought the cable that same morning).

I still believe that most Ethernet cables -- whether a good cable like my predecessor version or one costing thousands of dollars -- perform similarly. What makes the Sigma cable different (even from the other Shunyata Ethernet cables except for their Omega one) is its embedded noise filters. RFI, EMI, and common-mode are real, and they negatively impact what you hear in the playback of a music stream. This Shunyata cable is insanely expensive, but it certainly does work. However, I understand there are very moderately priced line filters from companies such as iFi that I urge everyone to try in their system at least as a start.

I just did a thorough search of all the internet audio forums. This is the 2,134,567th thread devoted to this topic. After the 5th one, nothing else has ever been said that wasn't said before. Yet, here we are again. 

Next time, I suggest doing a search for this topic rather than starting yet another  thread on the same topic which elicits the exact same responses as the 2,134,566 threads that came before this one. 

@soix

+1

I was in IT most of my career and managed global IT infrastructure teams an worked with hundreds a electrical design engineers, most are so belief driven that they would not allow themselves to hear a difference because it could not be true. I have some friends and colleagues that have listened and become audiophiles, but they are far between.

@mclinnguy 

it is a real review from a real electrical engineer

PS Audio Lan Rover

This person wrote that snake oil review as an influencer not as an ee. The only technical line mentioned was "The best part is the inherent galvanic isolation provided by the network." The rest is to praise " has HUGE sonic benefits...  PSA: Quite an elegant sound." I'm not surprised because America is full of dishonest doctors/lawyers/engineers (sadly). Galvanic isolation means "no direct conduction path" to swamp out noise and most DACs have this filtering function built in. So do not get fooled.