NAS Power Supply + Network cable length

Dear Zinger,

I am not convinced that most people feel that a linear power supply to the NAS and using better cables are beneficial to the sound. I may be the majority of people who write about their experiences have that majority view, but I wonder how many of the silent majority roll their eyes skywards and move on.

I guess it is possible that a really dirty power supply could introduce noise, but Naim employ really good engineers that build amplifiers that reject this noise. Use properly installed Cat 5 or 6 based on the distance, and if at all possible get your hifi on a separate spur and wire directly into it. 

My personal view is to put the Cat5e into the wall, use professional patch cables into your equipment and just plug your NAS into the mains. 

For full disclosure, and at the risk of attracting claims of hypocrisy, I did just replace the puny switching power supply that comes with the Unitiserve with a linear power supply built for it. I would love to be able to put my hand on my heart and say I could hear a difference.

And finally, if you are going to be putting cable into the wall remember to put in more than one. I asked my AV installers to put in some Cat5e for my Dune media streamer and I was shocked to see they had also run an additional 6 cables. Within three months I have a Unitiserve, TV, AppleTV, Receiver connected.

Very best,

Ian

To your first sentence - I think there is a silent majority who have either never changed to a linear PSU because the accept the objective point of view that there is no need, or who just keep quiet having tried one.

So long as you don't have your NAS in the vicinity of your HiFi, there is very little justification to go to the expense of a linear power supply.  Ethernet is a well isolated system and there should be no transmission of interference along the cables.

Put it this way - if you remove the linear PSU from your NAS, to have any beneficial effect you would have to remove SMPS from every other device in your house.

As for "audiophile" CAT5e cables...  (that's the closest I could see to rolling my eyes).

At the end of the day, the only opinion that matters is your own - you could try something like the linear bench PSU from Maplins for £100 to power your NAS which isn't a huge cost in the grand scale of things...  As should always be stated - YMMV - Your Mileage (experience) May Vary.

Eloise

I'm just gonna be cheapskates, and put only two cables into the wall.  Due to very little (if at all) bends are involved in the length of the cable, I can always add more cables if I want later.  I'm moving the NAS over because the new area is safer (the NAS would be able to sit inside a more solid cabinet), and further away from the listening area (so that I could eliminate noise from the NAS's fan etc).

I ain't gonna put "audiophile grade" LAN cable in there.  Somehow I'm not entirely convinced that those do anything dramatic.  I will just put in regular CAT6/CAT6e cables ...

Generally I prefer to sink as little cash into the networking department haha

In my eyes, it is a great benefit to invest in better Electronic and Network cables. To Block the microeffects of Sound, you should use bfly Absorber. The best LAN cabLes for Sound are MeiCord. 

Zinger, there appears a lot of misinformation and confusion on this. The underlyimg issue is common mode RFI on the Ethernet patch lead connecting to your audio equipment and RFI on your mains.For the patch lead there common mode noise filters as described elsewhere on this forum or you roll your own with ferrite rings or use ferrite clamps for mild cases. This is the main driver for interference to sound, not ethernet cable type. Other than that it's quite irrelevant what powersupply types or ethernet patch leads are used for devices in your house.A patch lead has to be less than 100m. Most domestic patch leads are a lot shorter. This means the voltage drop is less. This higher switching voltage can cause interference and wasted energy and some switches detect the length of the lead and reduce the switching voltage / current as appropriate thereby saving energy and reducing noise.To your point, a 100 M cable length will attenuate common mode noise as long as its not reintroduced over its length. 

For audio patch leads I would suggest the use of quality Cat 5E patch leads. ( anything else for our applications is uneccessary) That is quality from an engineering (cable twist accuracy) and audio  perspective rather than marketing perspective.

Simon

FWIW, since I replaced my Cat 6 STP with MeiCord and added an Acoustic Revive RLI-1 Lan Isolator feeding my NDS there is an obvious increase in clarity, imaging and "atmosphere".

Man .. this is so complicated.  Maybe I'll just try a cheap ferrite clamp and see if it does anything ...

You should go for meicord. IT's great. The Owner Said it's better to just use the cable.

And you should also try bfly Audio for the Nas.

Zinger, I would that give it a go. All people are hearing with these  tweaks is what the system should be sounding like without RFI. (as you probably know I have been saying for a few years RFI is one of biggest issues holding back  audio equipment, especially digital audio equipment . And I think the message is catching).

There  are years of well practiced techniques of mitigating RFI in electronic equipment which atre cheap but a require a degree of DIY or you can pay for the readymade alternatives which can be as effective but tend to cost mega bucks.. Because RFI mitigation is one of the current vogues. I stick with the DIY as you can add and tweak until you hear no difference without that nagging feeling you have been duped.

Simon

Oops!

Hi Sbilotta, any idea who sells the Acustic Revive RLI-1 in the UK?

Graham

Zinger: What is your solution?

You should also try bfly audio absorber. Great deal!

No, unfortunately not.

I bought it on evil bay from a japonese seller.

Are these galvanic isolator / filter thingies better than a ferrite or two on the network cable? Any experience of A/B comparison?

Thanks!

Can't tell you exactly how they work, you will find it on their web site though,  but I did have two ferrites on the network cable before and the difference is evident.

Dave, galvanic isolation and ferrite chokes address different issues. Galvanic isolation addresses differences in DC ground levels, but allows AC signals to pass. Ferrite chokes impede common mode RF AC signals or RF AC signals flowing in the coax shield. So depending on your issue one or both will provide benefit.

Simon