If you have a Naim NDS what Ethernet wire do you use?
Posted by: musicfan51 on 27 September 2016
Do you use Cat5 or Cat7 or one of the upper end Ethernet cables like from Audioquest or Chord? I know many say it makes no difference, though I have read articles that says with higher end systems (I would think a Naim NDS with 555DR would be considered high end) it does make a difference. Love to hear what everyone uses and your opinions. And does it matter on what brand of Ethernet port you use also? Thank you.
Gandalf_fi posted:musicfan51 posted:greekspec2 posted:Im not the best at describing, but it had the most detailed and live sound to my ears with zero run time on the Diamond
I wonder if the Diamond Ethernet cable is a better match with Naim than the Vodka?
Nope, they sound same from PRAT & match point of view.
Ok thank you for your reply Gandalf_fi.
greekspec2 posted:They sound similar with way more with the Vodka from my ears
The Diamond sounds the same as Vodka only with more detail is that what your reply says Greekspec2? Thanks. Well, I guess the one last thing we all want to know is your comparison of the Vertere vs the AQ Diamond. Let us know when you get the Vertere and your impressions! Very curious to your findings. Wonder if I could find an AQ dealer who would offer me a discount on a Diamond Ethernet cable like you did?
musicfan51 posted:greekspec2 posted:They sound similar with way more with the Vodka from my ears
The Diamond sounds the same as Vodka only with more detail is that what your reply says Greekspec2? Thanks. Well, I guess the one last thing we all want to know is your comparison of the Vertere vs the AQ Diamond. Let us know when you get the Vertere and your impressions! Very curious to your findings. Wonder if I could find an AQ dealler who would offer me a discount on a Diamond Ethernet cable like you did?
I thought the Diamond sounded the best and worth the extra money, but Vertere is the closest thing to a Naim cable so I hope.
greekspec2 posted:musicfan51 posted:greekspec2 posted:They sound similar with way more with the Vodka from my ears
The Diamond sounds the same as Vodka only with more detail is that what your reply says Greekspec2? Thanks. Well, I guess the one last thing we all want to know is your comparison of the Vertere vs the AQ Diamond. Let us know when you get the Vertere and your impressions! Very curious to your findings. Wonder if I could find an AQ dealler who would offer me a discount on a Diamond Ethernet cable like you did?
I thought the Diamond sounded the best and worth the extra money, but Vertere is the closest thing to a Naim cable so I hope.
In theory yes! Talked to an AQ rep just now! He recommended all AQ Vodka instead of Cinnamon and Diamond combo! Course Diamond & Vodka combo would be better but performance per dollar all Vodka is best SQ value wise!
AQ rep said there was a 100 to 150 hour burn in on the Vodka and Diamond Ethernet cables! Little less on cinnamon and below!
came across this...
greekspec2 posted:came across this...
Greekspec2, thanks for the article! Good read.
The AQ Vodka Ethernet I put in Monday sounds so much better today than it did early in the week. I guess they really do burn in. I feel I am getting much more detail out of my Naim NDS now. First few days I felt the flow was not that great but that has changed with burn in.
You been converted lol
Interesting the amount of activity on this thread but It makes me wonder this:
If the benefit of upmarket ethernet cables isn't due to superior data transmission but instead due to isolation from artefacts (RFI etc) that degrade the performance of the streamer, wouldn't therefore, the best performance be achieved by removing the ethernet lead altogether and simply playing from a USB thumb drive?
I use a thumb drive for music I haven't committed to adding to my NAS server and I can't say I've ever felt there was a great performance difference between the two but I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on this. Having said that, when I replaced a generic CAT5 cable with an Audioquest Cinnamon, I believed I could hear an obvious improvement :-/
-goat- posted:..................... wouldn't therefore, the best performance be achieved by removing the ethernet lead altogether and simply playing from a USB thumb drive?
Agreed, I've advised on various streaming threads to use a USB as a means of benchmarking & trouble shooting. This is normally used with problem wireless or EoP (HomePlugs) systems, not with all wired NAS-Switch-Player networks & not when experimenting with different ethernet cables in an already robust home network
There's still the possibility of interference arising from a USB stick, even though it's likely to be less than form an Ethernet link.
Different USB sticks have different internal memory access patterns, different clock frequencies, different pulse rise/fall times and different peak current demands; all of these can cause variance of the interference through the power supplies.
I would strongly recommend looking at the Ethernet switch also, I have found bigger improvements there, running a short cable from it to the streamer. (please see other post)
Had a good chat with my dealer and I am now £200 lighter! I went for a netgear switch £25 and 4 chord c stream Ethernet cables (1 from NDS to box that connects cat 5 or 6 to another box upstairs then 1 to my 2 nas's and one from the switch to unitiserve)
I find it hard to recall A v B demo wise as I switched everything off to connect it all up and may have lost a tiny bit of performance in the process.
That said now fully warmed up again the music does seem to flow a little bit better with a slight improvement in the separation of instruments.
Is it night and day, no, but in the context of an expensive system I don't regret the outlay for the small gains I have experienced.
Thanks to all that posted their experiences, very helpful.
Gary
I found the difference between a CAT5e and AQ Cinnamon obvious. Putting in network isolation via a short optical network has been a cheap and excellent upgrade, and additive to the network cable upgrade. I would say this has been even greater, however, I think it is simply allowing other components to shine by getting rid of noise.
M
Mr Underhill posted:I found the difference between a CAT5e and AQ Cinnamon obvious. Putting in network isolation via a short optical network has been a cheap and excellent upgrade, and additive to the network cable upgrade. I would say this has been even greater, however, I think it is simply allowing other components to shine by getting rid of noise.
M
Mr. Underhill, that was my experience too! AQ Cinnamon was an obvious upgrade, sound quality wise, over Cat5e. Good to know you had the same experience.
Hi Musicfan51,
I am turning into a bit of a proselytizer but I would urge you to try a pair of RJ45>optical 10/100 FMCs, with LPSU on the NDS side of the bridge. I found the advantages of this signal cleaning additive to the AQ network cable .....and at the same price at the Cinnamon. I did a demo to a friend this morning with the AQ from the TP-Link switch vs the bridge, he immediately picked the differences.
If you are within striking distance of Sarf London your welcome to pop round!
M
I'm hoping my dealer will lend me a short length of Vodka so I can experiment with optical between the switch and the NDS. If I'm convinced of its merits then I'll get AQ to cut and reterminate my 5 metre Vodka to accommodate the new kit. Then, I suppose a couple iFi power supplies will be needed. I wonder what voltage the Tp-Link boxes need?
9V for mine - MC110CS.
I replaced all remaining AQ Cinnamon Ethernet cables today with AQ Vodka Ethernet cables. The noise floor dropped and more micro detail is noticeable with more air between instruments. Nice upgrade. Now I hope to be done with this for awhile.
Any idea of having the vodka only small patch between the switch and streamer, i am using ca6 belden 20m for the rest, a 75cm vodka will do me so i can risk it even it is placebo.... ? any comment ?
Emre posted:Any idea of having the vodka only small patch between the switch and streamer, i am using ca6 belden 20m for the rest, a 75cm vodka will do me so i can risk it even it is placebo.... ? any comment ?
Try it! I think it will make a difference!
mine will be catholic marriage, i can not return the vodka if i don't like it.
As far i understand from this topic, vodka is an upgrade vs other AQ cables where jump from Vodka to Diamond is less evident.... Vodka is sort of hi end sweet spot ( i can not believe than i am saying this - hifi hobby destroyed my money perception )
Emre posted:mine will be catholic marriage, i can not return the vodka if i don't like it.
As far i understand from this topic, vodka is an upgrade vs other AQ cables where jump from Vodka to Diamond is less evident.... Vodka is sort of hi end sweet spot ( i can not believe than i am saying this - hifi hobby destroyed my money perception )
I think you can buy the bottom of the line Pearl on a spool, custom lengths for long runs like you have! It is suppose to be superior to regular cat7. That might be worth a look if you have a 20 meter run! The Vodka Ethernet cable was a noticeable upgrade from Cinnamon. And Cinnamon was a noticeable upgrade from Cat5e. That is my experience. What Naim streamer are you using ?
Emre posted:mine will be catholic marriage, i can not return the vodka if i don't like it.
As far i understand from this topic, vodka is an upgrade vs other AQ cables where jump from Vodka to Diamond is less evident.... Vodka is sort of hi end sweet spot ( i can not believe than i am saying this - hifi hobby destroyed my money perception )
Good luck Emre!
I had not seen this article before! Worth a read!