HDX vs Unitiserve

i have the same question and wonder how US is different to a mac mini/pc (most critical thing: ripping quality). let's wait and see.

quote:

Originally posted by Dungassin:
2. Other than opting for a shielded cable, is there anything else I should look out for when selecting a CAT5 cable?

*DON'T* buy STP (Sheilded Twisted Pair) CAT5e cables *UNLESS* the rest of your network is wired to correctly pass through the sheilds - unless you specifically know that your network is wired to be used with shielded cables then buy standard UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) instead. You should have no requirement for STP cabling unless you are running networks in close proximity to some seriously bad sources of EMI / RFI.

Networking is not an area for the same 'tweakery' as audio - stick to the rules and it works but if you start using STP cables in a setup which isn't wired for STP then you end up with unterminated shields which *CAN* cause more grief and be difficult to diagnose.

Similarly nowadays *MOST* networking kit is able to do auto MDX (basically automatically work out whether it should "crossover" itself on the network port) and I'm pretty sure from memory that the UnitiServe does so (I'll check when I'm back in the office but I believe the network interface on that unit does) so you should be able to use normal straight through cables which are much easier to find and much cheaper (usually).

Phil

Phil

Strikes me that post is worth putting in the FAQ's area.

Most times when you buy nowadays in consumer oriented stores like DIY's and PC world etc you get very flexible slim soft cable which I assume is NOT shielded. Often installers of service provider equipement like modems etc seem to use more industrial grey stiffer cable which has a thin foil sheild....SOoo you end up with a mix of Cat5 cable types in a growing home network.

Is this really bad for Naim kit? It is not normally mentioned by other vendors??

regards
geoff

It's not "bad"as such and if you are going between two pieces of kit with a single unbroken run of shielded cable (as in the case of a service provider installing a router) then it's fine as the ports at the router end will generally have the continuation of the shield as will the PC.

Where it becomes a bit more of a possible issue is when people have an actual structured cabling setup in their property - then you shouldn't mix UTP and STP cabling on a run between two points - in that case if the infrastructure is wired with UTP it's best to stick with UTP throughout and if it's wired in STP then you should use STP patch leads.

It's just a general networking thing - usually you can get away with it without issue but unless you specifically need to use STP there's no advantage to going for STP over UTP and it *CAN* (under the wrong environmental conditions) conspire to the detriment of network performance...

Cheers

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Harris:
It's not "bad"as such and if you are going between two pieces of kit with a single unbroken run of shielded cable (as in the case of a service provider installing a router) then it's fine as the ports at the router end will generally have the continuation of the shield as will the PC.

Where it becomes a bit more of a possible issue is when people have an actual structured cabling setup in their property - then you shouldn't mix UTP and STP cabling on a run between two points - in that case if the infrastructure is wired with UTP it's best to stick with UTP throughout and if it's wired in STP then you should use STP patch leads.

It's just a general networking thing - usually you can get away with it without issue but unless you specifically need to use STP there's no advantage to going for STP over UTP and it *CAN* (under the wrong environmental conditions) conspire to the detriment of network performance...

Cheers

Phil

Phil - surely the only reason NOT to use STP is that it's a waste of money? All non-STP ports (that I've come accross) are plastic and so the screening has no connection.

Why are you saying there is a problem with mixing UTP and STP?

quote:

Originally posted by Eloise:
Phil - surely the only reason NOT to use STP is that it's a waste of money? All non-STP ports (that I've come accross) are plastic and so the screening has no connection.

Why are you saying there is a problem with mixing UTP and STP?

I'm not saying there *IS* a problem - I'm saying there *CAN* be a problem.

The general rule is that in any point to point run of network cable you don't mix and match different cables - if you have unterminated shields then that is electrically not a good idea. None STP ports (and that's most of the wallports that are used in general networking infrastructures) would not allow continuity of the shield from end to end so at best shielded cables would not *ADD* to data integrity in any way.

We *HAVE* had instances though where using STP patch cords within an infrastructure that is wired with UTP has caused issues with network reliability.

Of course this is only a forum and I can only give advice (hopefully with some reasonable grounding) - whether you choose to accept this advice or dismiss it is completely up to you.

Cheers

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by Nero:

quote:

Originally posted by Andy S:
Cheap CAT5 is all you need. Only one crossover cable if you go direct (but you'll need to be able to set IP addreses correctly etc...). Also, if you isolate the HDX from the internet you won't have any ability to download metadata (tags/album art).

It really would be easier to just drop them on a network with a router already in place. There is NO audio performance sacrifice for going through a router... None.

js will be along to argue the point though

The meridian rep has said that cat5s sound different.

Dungassin, dig out from the 2 units should have same spec. Overall spec differences have to do with the HDX's internal DAC's capabilities.

quote:

Originally posted by js:
The meridian rep has said that cat5s sound different.

Meridian's comments on CAT5e sounding different (and I've read the opposite opinion from Meridian HQ - that all CAT5e should sound the same) is a red herring in this discussion as Meridian are running a form of AES over CAT5e to their speakers, not using ethernet over them.

This was in regards to the Sooloos. I'm not agreeing as I haven't tried. I don't know their 'official' stance. They were surprised by a cheap molded cable they picked up at best buy out of need.