Sonore microRendu - Ethernet Cables Observations, Considerations & Commentary

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Question: Is everyone here making sure their routers/switches/NAS etc. are connected to different circuit branches (preferably on the opposite phase) from their audio systems?

I am very hesitant to try Ethernet cables from Audioquest, as they make no effort to insure equal wire lengths by virtue of their construction. For example, BJC 6 and 6a both use Belden bonded pair technology, which assures that all individual wires are of equal length, and hence have equal TD. If one must use an "audiophile" cable, i would suggest trying Wireworld, as their cable construction does guarantee equal length wires.

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On FMCs, are there any real Networking experts here? Electrical to optical converters do add jitter, so it may be that adding an FMC will contribute to a higher error rate on Ethernet transmission. A higher error rate (Ethernet errors are of course corrected by re-sends) will likely result in higher processor activity in the µRendu, and more spiky noise.

I would love to know (and this can be confirmed by network analysis) for sure if the addition of an FMC results in a higher error rate in Ethernet transmission.

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If you have access to even the most basic multimeter (audiophiles should own one, comes in handy for lots of things), you can easily test if the shields are tied to the plugs at both ends.  Just set the meter to test for resistance and press the probes against the metal shells of the plugs at both ends, if you get a low resistance, the shield connection is continuous.

Sonore's official recommendation is to use Blue Jeans Cables CAT 6A, which is a known quality cable, and each one is tested for performance before it ships.  If one elects to try "Audiophile" Ethernet cables, I would highly recommend testing them against a known quality cable, the BJC CAT 6A.

And, if you are using a microRendu, for heaven's sake please consider upgrading to an ultraRendu or Signature Rendu SE before spending thousands of dollars on "audiophile" Ethernet cables!

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If your distributor is out of the picture I am sure Sonore can always help you out directly.  I know nothing of your import duties, but shipping should not be too bad.  For information on this from Sonore go to sonore.us and use the contact info there to e-mail Adrian.

 

I have nothing against people trying "audiophile" Ethernet cables, indeed there is one I would be interested in trying, but I am just cautioning folks to test these cables against something that we know is good (and meets spec), and that reference is the BJC CAT 6A for us.  Generic cables of Chinese origin are suspect, which means a lot of the cables out there.

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I guess personally that would depend on the unit, but I certainly understand what you are saying.  It can be hard for small manufacturers to have good representation everywhere, but we are certainly willing to work with customers if they have no local representation to try and provide solutions.  All I can offer is that we stand behind all our products, and we want our customers to be confident of that.

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6 hours ago, Sator said:

Oh my, I just discovered this:

 

http://www.sonore.us/USBcable.html

 

You do offer USB cable! $845 USD for 0.75m. That's well over 1k in Australian dollars (we tend to run on parity to the Canadian dollar) especially if you consider the import duty. If I got that I would be spending "thousands" on audiophile cable. LOL.

 

Now, if only you could offer a similar top-notch Ethernet cable.

Yes, the Sonore USB is quite good.  One can spend a lot more on a USB cable (see Nordost Valhalla or Crystal Cables top model, whoa!).  While I do believe in spending some money on a USB cable, I have not yet been convinced for Ethernet cables, as these two formats have radically different approaches to sending data.  USB is a packetized serial data stream with no error correction, and is only pseudo differential, with a ground connection and power connection-this makes it quite sensitive to cables.  Ethernet is a packetized data stream with error correction, uses fully differential signaling, and no ground or power connection.

After testing a bunch of USB cables here I ended up with the Nordost Tyr, as no way could I justify even testing the Nordost Valhalla (although people I trust have told me it is very, very good).  I chose the Tyr before the Sonore USB was developed, and  I did this testing because I need a really good USB cable to get the most out of the Signature Rendu SE.  The Sonore is very good as well, of course the Nordost Tyr is ~$1500, so quite a bit more than the Sonore.

 

We recommend and endorse Blue Jeans Cable CAT 6A for use with our products.  This is a high quality, made in the USA Ethernet cable with solid core conductors, bonded twisted pair construction (insuring proper impedance and that all wires have exactly the same propagation delay), and each length is tested for performance after termination.  One can be confident that with this cable Sonore products are performing as designed, and we use this cable in our own systems, and at RMAF the last three years we had a demo room there.

I am not suggesting that there could be no improvement with "audiophile" Ethernet cables, but I suspect that such improvements, if they exist, will be small.  As a product developer, I usually do not have a lot of time to test Ethernet cables, as I am busy testing and developing new hardware products.  I would like to the test some "audiophile" Ethernet cables sometime, but the opportunity has not presented itself to this point.  Be careful about reading reviews of Ethernet cable tests: make sure the standard cables used for comparison are at least good ones of known performance, there are plenty of Ethernet cables out there os Chinese origin which do not meet specification.

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My experience of the Nordost Tyr USB cable is based specifically on listening to it, not hearsay or reviews of someone else's experience.  I tested a lot of well regarded USB cables against it, and it came out as my favorite.

I really could care less what other's experiences are, although there are plenty of good reports out there as well if you care about such things.

 

As far as Nordost cabling goes in general, i totally disagree with your point of view.  They are one of the few cable companies which actually produce cables based on science, and one of the few cable companies which actually publish specifications for their cables: Capacitance, Inductance, and speed of propagation.

 

As far as Schitt goes, I respect those guys, but they did release a basically broken DAC for sale, The original Yggdrasil, and then offered upgrades to improve upon it.