audiophile ethernet and USB cables

Posted by: analogmusic on 12 May 2015

I've read up on this on the forum and wanted to confirm and clarify the following

 

1) does the asynchronous USB method use error correction. I understand it does not. So not sure what was the point of ensuring the whole timing gets done properly (audiophilleo in the DAC V1) if we aren't even sure the bits are the right ones to begin with? Did I understand this properly? Otherwise good USB cables should not make a difference, but they do?

 

2) What about TCP/IP? Is there any error correction in the protocol? If not how do computers work if any program can be corrupted during data transmission? While I do understand the better ethernet cables should make a difference if there is no error correction, why does it if indeed there is checking of data integrity

 

Lets try to keep this one simple as I am not an engineer.

 

Thanks in advance to Simon-in-suffolk

Posted on: 25 May 2015 by Bert Schurink
Originally Posted by Foxman50:
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:

I will soon get another cheap upgrade by exchange the standard power cable of my NAS with a special power supply. This will than become my cheapest upgrade.

Hi Bert which NAS do you have, and whats the special PSU?

 

good to hear the ethernet cable change has been positive. Are you using just the one, is it from switch to streamer?

 

Graeme

I have a QNAP NAS - I don't know the brand of the special psu I ordered it after a demo and haven't seen it yet. Will tell you what it is after I receive it.

The Ethernet cable is from switch to streamer. I will also exchange now the one from the NAS to the switch but it seems to have a less significant impact.

Posted on: 25 May 2015 by Huge
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:

A question for somebody like Simon. Do this cables also display burn in development or is this irrelevant giving the digital character of the transfer ?

Bert,

 

In my view:  With variability of environmental interactions (e.g. RFI), different construction and electrical properties of cables, the variety of possible interactions with the audio equipment and the lack of scientifically provable data to indicate how they work, I don't believe an authoritative answer to that question can be given at the moment.

 

Sorry

 

H

Posted on: 25 May 2015 by Huge
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:
...

The Ethernet cable is from switch to streamer. I will also exchange now the one from the NAS to the switch but it seems to have a less significant impact.

What about the cable from the switch to your broadband/cable wireless router?

Posted on: 25 May 2015 by Foxman50
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:
Originally Posted by Foxman50:
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:

I will soon get another cheap upgrade by exchange the standard power cable of my NAS with a special power supply. This will than become my cheapest upgrade.

Hi Bert which NAS do you have, and whats the special PSU?

 

good to hear the ethernet cable change has been positive. Are you using just the one, is it from switch to streamer?

 

Graeme

I have a QNAP NAS - I don't know the brand of the special psu I ordered it after a demo and haven't seen it yet. Will tell you what it is after I receive it.

The Ethernet cable is from switch to streamer. I will also exchange now the one from the NAS to the switch but it seems to have a less significant impact.

Bert, if you would be so kind too. Although i have a Synology NAS i'd expect the PSU's to be similar. If its cheap enough it maybe worth a punt.

Posted on: 25 May 2015 by Bert Schurink
Originally Posted by Foxman50:
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:
Originally Posted by Foxman50:
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:

I will soon get another cheap upgrade by exchange the standard power cable of my NAS with a special power supply. This will than become my cheapest upgrade.

Hi Bert which NAS do you have, and whats the special PSU?

 

good to hear the ethernet cable change has been positive. Are you using just the one, is it from switch to streamer?

 

Graeme

I have a QNAP NAS - I don't know the brand of the special psu I ordered it after a demo and haven't seen it yet. Will tell you what it is after I receive it.

The Ethernet cable is from switch to streamer. I will also exchange now the one from the NAS to the switch but it seems to have a less significant impact.

Bert, if you would be so kind too. Although i have a Synology NAS i'd expect the PSU's to be similar. If its cheap enough it maybe worth a punt.

The price is only 320 euros, quite small for audio. I guess given the required output it should be working for more NAS's.

Posted on: 26 May 2015 by Nick Lees

My wife doesn't do Hi-Fi, and doesn't use the system at all. For 43 years she's quietly tolerated my "hobby" with the occasional high point (often a speaker change) where she notices a difference. Very occasionally I sit her down and blind demo stuff for her, usually with the response "they both sound good to me" - she doesn't deal in any of the usual Hi-Fi descriptive blurb that we all tend to slip into.

 

This morning I played her a Rammstein track on CD (555), NDX>Hugo (with basic Cat5 between NAS and router), NDX>Hugo (Chord Indigo TA).

 

Apart from disappearing occasionally to swap cables (they're round the corner out of sight) I operated everything through the iPad.

 

Apart from "they all sound good to me" she marginally preferred the bog-standard Cat5 Hugo to the 555 (crisper) and preferred the Indigo Hugo to both by some distance - crisper again and the singer sounds like he's in the room in front of the band. She spotted which cable was which perfectly 

 

I'm quietly amazed, but not that there was a difference (it's not subtle). Plus I'm on solid ground for more cable upgrades as money allows! Yay.

Posted on: 26 May 2015 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:

A question for somebody like Simon. Do this cables also display burn in development or is this irrelevant giving the digital character of the transfer ?

Bert - no they don't display burn in from a digital data perspective. The only thing I could think off is that the connections and cable's internal wires become slightly more relaxed and more evenly spaced over a little time after having been connected, and so impedance changes and cross coupling might slightly change over time. These parameters could effect the analogue transmission line properties of the Ethernet lead when connected - and as such could cause a slight effect into the connected device - possibly through RF/EM interference or side effects. But I suspect we are talking subtle here if at all.....

 

Simon

Posted on: 26 May 2015 by Bert Schurink
Originally Posted by Simon-in-Suffolk:
Originally Posted by Bert Schurink:

A question for somebody like Simon. Do this cables also display burn in development or is this irrelevant giving the digital character of the transfer ?

Bert - no they don't display burn in from a digital data perspective. The only thing I could think off is that the connections and cable's internal wires become slightly more relaxed and more evenly spaced over a little time after having been connected, and so impedance changes and cross coupling might slightly change over time. These parameters could effect the analogue transmission line properties of the Ethernet lead when connected - and as such could cause a slight effect into the connected device - possibly through RF/EM interference or side effects. But I suspect we are talking subtle here if at all.....

 

Simon

Great very clear - thank you for the answer.