Cat 5, 6, 7, switches and ferrites (new member questions)
Posted by: Odd Time Jon on 01 August 2017
Hi all (I am new to the forum and this is my first post 
)
After much research and demoing I have entered the whole new world of streaming and have recently bought the NAC - 272. I am also new to Naim after many many years of saving up and finding the right time to seriously upgrade I have also bought the NAP 250 DR and XPS DR. So please bear with me as I am learning by the day and it seems this journey can be never ending! I am trying to take it in small steps but having read many very useful threads on this forum it seems there are endless tweaks that can be made to upgrade the system and improve SQ. In addition I have bought the Synology DS216 NAS with two 1TB Western Digital Red drives. I have a reasonable Talk Talk D Link 4 port "superfast" router and have bought the Netgear GS105 switch as used by Mike-B in the diagram he showed in this really useful thread (long time ago I know!):
https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...elded-ethernet-cable
Frustratingly I can no longer see the excellent diagram in the above thread due to the recent annoying Photobucket issue. (I should have taken a photo!). Please could Mike-B or someone be able to confirm again what ethernet cable he used to connect from the switch to the router, and also for the two shorter connections from switch to NAS and NAC-272 please? As I recall they were Audioquest (Cat 6 unshielded maybe?) and not the silly priced ones. My intended layout will be similar to that used by Mike-B. I have read the many views on whether a switch is necessary or not and have largely decided to use one, not because of lack of ports on my router (I have four), but primarily due to my lounge layout. The router will be at the front end of the house in the lounge as you walk in, and my system is a few metres down the other end of the long lounge. Therefore, rather than running two separate long ethernet cables of good quality (so more cost) from the router down to the NAS and NAC-272, under the carpet along the lounge, it seems to make sense to just run one long cable (Cat 5 as I think Mike-B had from his Virgin Hub?) from router to switch, and then connect two fairly short good quality ethernet cables from two of the switch's ports to the NAC-272 and NAS. (The Synology NAS came with an RJ-45 Ethernet cable but I assume it is advisable to upgrade this with an unshielded Cat 5 or Cat 6 from somewhere like Audioquest?). I have also taken on board the views of Mike-B and some others who suggest that using a switch can be preferable to using the router ports to carry the audio files from NAS to NAC-272 and thus keeping the audio free from other traffic, as well as the ISP router possibly not being as capable and reliant as a true switch (some debate about this I know on the forum). BTW the router has 4 ports and only has one other ethernet cable going from a port to our TV for i player/talk talk player etc that needs internet connection.
Also in this thread, ferrites and DC lines were mentioned as follows:
"In regard to Mike-B's useful diagrams, consider also the 'DC' line from a switch's wall-wart to the switch as critical, assuming a standard domestic or lower-end unit. I found a choke on a GS605v4's feed (10 turns of the DC wire around pliers was all I had to hand!) removed a distinctive edge to the harmonics. It brought similar benefit to a linear supply. A proper multi-turn LF ferrite in this position should be very effective."
I must confess I don't fully understand this although I am gradually understanding more about SMPS and the issue of DC distortion from some SMPS devices. But I have got confused reading about ferrites and there seem to be differing views on their effectiveness. What is a "proper multi-turn LF ferrite"? Perhaps I should just get acquainted with my system and domestic power supply (I live in Bristol in the UK) for a while before I worry about some of these upgrades? I am after all still in the "getting into streaming category" that was mentioned in the above thread! Grateful for any advice thanks.
Odd Time Jon posted:I will initially start with Cat5e as originally advised at the start of the thread. When you had your Netgear (shrouded) switch (the famous diagram which I still haven't found!) were all the cables to and from the switch STP? I seem to recall at least one being UTP but maybe wrong?
Hi Jon, I've added the UTP cable diagram, the only difference between it & the two I posted yesterday is the shield (dotted lines) overlay(s)
Yes all my old cables into the old Netgear GS105 were STP, Supra Cat7A to/from NAS & NDX & AQ Pearl Cat7 to the broadband hub. The Supra RJ45 plug clips broke in the Netgear switch, I looked around for an RJ45 plug design with a better clip & at the same time I read up on MeiCord 'Opal' Cat6 (UTP) & became enthused over its various unique design features including an RJ45 plug clip that looked to be the answer to my quest. I also replaced the heavy AQ Pearl with a thinner & more flexible Lindy Cat6 (UTP). I changed the Netgear GS105 because my office/study FS105 switch had failed & it was used to replace it. I was keen to try the Cisco SG110D (with unshrouded port) rather than another Netgear as the spec promised slightly better performance.
