Chord Ethernet cables

+2

Sorry! , , and .

A fool and his money.....

My Audioquest Cinnamon cables make a big difference, at £65 each. I guess that if you owned a NDS, 552, three 500s and pair of Ovator 800s, the £1,600 would be a snip, and if it made a worthwhile difference it could be justified. 

The price sounds bonkers to me, but there are a lot of bankers out there who will spend £1,600 on Bolly on a night out, so the same price on a cable is no big deal.

I've been running the last few months 3 Chord C-Stream cables and 1 Sarum TA cable between my NDS/UnitiServe/NAS.  Tonight in an experiment, I replaced one of the C-Stream cables with a Audioquest Cinnamon (UnitiServe to the switch).  

The difference in sound quality was not subtle.  Voices were more etched and a hard digital edge was present.  After a few minutes of listening to familiar tracks, I switched back.  For those who doubt Ethernet cables have an effect on the sound, a well engineered cable can make a world of difference. I could never go back.    

what speakers have you been using for the evaluation? I thought the Kudos Titans didn't work particularly well...

I have to laugh at the one sentence comments on this thread...

Though I do not plan to buy a Sarum TA ethernet...

For those with a modest system the Sarum Ta cables or any other high end cable like power lines etc may not be a worth while upgrade.

For those going to, or are in the 500 series or active  these cables potentially offer a reasonable rate of return in musical enjoyment for their relative investment… (relative to the system being installed with)

Mind you, this is from the perspective of users with 500 series or active systems...

Remember ANY of us who own ANY piece of NAIM equipment may be already considered "a fool" by others…  friends, wives, the general public, so judge not, lest ye be judged.

Offer something constructive on the forum or start a separate thread for rants...

I've had that reaction from a few who dared to ask what it cost, then they said I was crazy and one guy tried to shame me.  But I put on music that comes alive, I had Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday right in my living room.  One friend comes over and folds up listening and does proclaim I have the best he's ever heard.

Those guys only get the gist of the Performance and aren't paying attention anyway.  

It is ludicrous what we pay, but it feeds our minds and souls. I'm contemplating a short run of Audioquest so relocated my Netgear closer to the stack.

I visited the Chord factory a few weeks back as I wanted to hear for myself whether a Sarum TA cable might offer any improvement over standard CAT5 or Chord's own C-Stream ethernet cables.

As some may already know, I've been a keen fan of Sarum TA and use it throughout my system, however I was not expecting a great deal from this particular experiment tbh. Anyway, I'd read the outraged comments that it couldn't possibly have any effect and that Chord should be held criminally liable for such charlatanism and decided that, as ever, the best course of action was to find out for myself, just as I have with every other bit of hi-fi kit that has piqued my interest and where someone else has expressed an opinion - good or bad.

The demonstration was informal and we went from packaged CAT5 to C-Stream (Linn ADS to switch) and the system went from "meh" to "that's pretty decent".  You'd have to be nuts to feel the few quid extra on the C-Stream wasn't worth it as it was simply very much better in making whatever we played make more sense as music. So far so reasonable. Replacing the C-Stream cable for a Sarum, however, was one of those 20 seconds in where do I sign moments. Surely not, go back, try it again... no, this was indeed something fantastic. 

Speaking with them afterwards, I was informed that you don't need a full loom as the (main) impact comes from having just the single cable between the streamer and switch.  So, from a cost perspective, it would make sense to simply reposition the switch so that it's a metre from the player and take advantage for a "mere" £1600 (saying this, we did try an additional cable between the switch and NAS and it sounded pretty wonderful to me).  

But is it worth the money?  There have been a few comments here - and elsewhere - about value for money when it comes to cables and ethernet cables in particular, mainly centred on how it's impossible to justify such sums and I say fair enough. I think we'd all have to agree that the sort of money many/most of us spend on hi-fi is pretty absurd - remind me, how much is a 552 these days?  But, when something comes along which "does it" for you, then your concept of VFM can easily change.  If Linn were to introduce an upgrade to the KDS  which rendered the same improvement as the Sarum cable does and cost £2000, I'd happily save up for it.  Heck if it was £3000, I wouldn't hesitate in putting some money away each month until I could afford it. So, yes I will be getting one at some stage because, for me, it's worth it.

My view, based on my experience, not some received wisdom.  But please don't accept my view because, like everything else, if you are in any way interested in knowing, you need to get off your collective arse and have a listen.  It may not work for you, you might dislike it intensely, but go in with an open mind and see for yourself.

Just to add, I won't be getting into any discussion of why or how - that's not relevant or important to me.  It might be to you and feel free to continue discussing the issue but please do so having had direct, first-hand experience.

Cheers

Dave

A 552 is £19K, which is 11.87 times the cost of the STA Ethernet cable, which is 400 times the cost of a length of C Stream.

We each draw the cost versus value line in a different place. £1.6K for a metre of Ethernet cable strikes me as utterly ridiculous. I might change my mind rapidly if I heard it, but at that price I'm in no hurry to hear it. I'd rather buy a Qute for the office and some nice speakers to go with it.

Harry,

please don't miss out on the fact that these cables will also work, if you're using wifi. Just nail them to the wall and linger in the realms of bliss ...

So for the "just replace the NAS to switch cable" would be £16,000ish for me.

I think a S/H 552/300 or maybe 500 would be a much better prospect.

I would also have an amazing second system too!

Ah well, you;'re doomed to have to settle for a 552/300 then 

In my case, I'll simply move the switch nearer the KDS.  The router can be connected up using something rather more ordinary.

This cable is not  " a metre of Ethernet cable "...it is in fact a high precision manufactured digital audio coaxial cable terminated with RJ45 connecters.....and I can tell you this cable comes at a very high price to anyone prepared to take the risk in buying it...oh if only you knew the details...

Ah yes huge amounts of Unobtainium are used.

I really don't know why people get in such a lather over Ethernet cables. In the old days all turntables sounded the same. Then it was stands which could not possibly make a difference. Then mains leads - they cannot possibly have an effect. And now, Ethernet cables cannot possibly make a difference as they are only transmitting signals from a computer. These Chord cables are way out of my league, but if people listen and think the cost is worth it, then it is. I'm delighted with my AudioQuest leads, at £65 each, which of course cannot possibly be better than basic leads from Amazon for 10p. But if I was in the 500 league, the price of a Chord may be considered reasonable. At least have a listen before judging, surely.

This makes way too much sense to me.  

I got hold of a Chord C Stream today and have spent this evening listening. I thought it was musically impressive and it will be fun swapping it out for the resident AQ Vodka and some ordinary patch leads. I have absolutely no problem with the notion that Ethernet leads can differ in musical performance. I baulk at £1.6K. I'm not saying it's wrong or even questioning it's value to any other potential owner, although I won't have any trouble passing.

Two pages full of yacketey-yak and nobody honest enough to undergo a bilnd test.

This is not worth the discussion!

Mr Hamster, all we get from you is no, no, no...and not much of a discussion...which is fine. But the problem is, you can't accept other peoples real world experiences, which incidentally, the Forum is positively bursting at the seams with. Or are you reading the 'NO' Forum...not much of discussion there either.

Jason.

Is someone forcing you to participate in this thread against your will?  Let us know, and we'll call the proper authorities.

Maybe a double blind placebo controlled multi-centre trial in a few thousand subjects might be worth a discussion. The operative word being might. There’s so much pseudo-scientific drivel plastered all over HiFi. What is being referred to here as a blind test, is an open label non controlled trial. You don't see many of these published because they are not generally considered worth discussion.

Subjectivity is much more fun. And you don't have to know stuff, or pretend to know stuff or think you know anything. That's my sort of pastime.

can someone explain to me...

why is it… people with entry level naim systems judge features and items found on higher level naim systems?

The same people probably don't like being complained too about the price of their 252 or their super unity...

I even think some comments are posted just to up their ranking factor and not really be of any constructive measure at all...

Value folks… value… be of value to the forum… otherwise don't waste my time with glib...