Where should I try better ethernet cables first?

[RikkiPoo]

I don't have a clue about that, I just listen and decide what sounds good. 

 

BTW how do I clean my UTP's?

[AnotherSpin]

1 hour ago, RikkiPoo said:

I don't have a clue about that, I just listen and decide what sounds good. 

 

BTW how do I clean my UTP's?

 

Clean - means no foil shielding/jack metal covering, etc.

[plissken]

14 hours ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

Clean - means no foil shielding/jack metal covering, etc.

 

UTP by definition doesn't have foil/shielding. 

[AnotherSpin]

9 hours ago, plissken said:

 

UTP by definition doesn't have foil/shielding. 

 

That is why I said UTP is "clean"

[plissken]

6 hours ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

That is why I said UTP is "clean"

 

The OP asked how he 'cleans' his UTP cables. You responded by Clean means no foil/metal shield.  His UTP cabling doesn't have any of this to start with. 

[AnotherSpin]

4 hours ago, plissken said:

 

The OP asked how he 'cleans' his UTP cables. You responded by Clean means no foil/metal shield.  His UTP cabling doesn't have any of this to start with. 

 

If you read a little bit above, you will find out OP asked how to 'clean'  UTP cables after my previous post, in which I figuratively called UTP cables 'clean'. Now put it all together. 

[plissken]

On 12/10/2020 at 2:35 PM, AnotherSpin said:

 

If you read a little bit above, you will find out OP asked how to 'clean'  UTP cables after my previous post, in which I figuratively called UTP cables 'clean'. Now put it all together. 

 

I don't know about you, but I would have told the OP that UTP means unshielded (no foil/metal) and that they are good to go. But again, that's just me not beating around the bush.

[AnotherSpin]

10 hours ago, plissken said:

 

I don't know about you, but I would have told the OP that UTP means unshielded (no foil/metal) and that they are good to go. But again, that's just me not beating around the bush.

 

I am literally unable to understand the purpose of two or three of your recent comments addressed to me. I am going to let you imagine for yourself whichever last reply you want to read from my side and be satisfied with it. If you are able and willing to do this at last.

[Mjw21a]

Just ordered the ENO Ag. Hoping it's everything I've read it is.

 

I too thought the Curious Cables Evolved was bettered by a far less expensive cable in the Gothic Audio "The Outsider" Ag cable. A more lifelike presentation though I think in a bright sounding system I'd prefer the Curious.  I can't stand brightness though so it's not suited to any of my systems.

[R1200CL]

10 hours ago, Mjw21a said:

Just ordered the ENO Ag. Hoping it's everything I've read it is.

PRICE: 

ENO Ethernet Filter Ag £695

ENO Streaming Cable Ag £595
 

I just can’t resist, it’s a total waste of money. 
Not knowing your system at all, you can get an EtherRegen as an example for that price. 

[Mjw21a]

If you've not tried first,  please be quiet. Happy to hear from anyone with actual experience of the product though. 

[FatTed]

On 11/27/2020 at 9:51 AM, jabbr said:

True but the question is "where to try the cables first"

 

For your first time, I can't think of a better place than Haleakala at sunrise.

Cycled up there a few years ago......

[Mjw21a]

Installed the Network Acoustics Eno Ag filter yesterday. There's improvement in a number of areas straight away though also one notable step back. 

 

There is noticeably improved texture to sound with fine detail improved top to bottom.  With good recordings the sound is palpable,  almost as though you could reach out and touch the instruments with each instrument filling its own 3D space. There's an improved sense of sound stage width,  depth and height. I must admit to things sounding so incredible that I teared up last night. It's been some time since music through my system had that effect.

 

Now for the bad. There's a leaness in the bass which hurts overall presence despite those instruments actually being audible in that region.  It feels a little like the system has been ever so slightly tilted towards treble.  Network Acoustics does recommend 100 hours use before any serious comparison so with luck this will improve in time. 

[Svampebob]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:57 PM, Mjw21a said:

Installed the Network Acoustics Eno Ag filter yesterday. There's improvement in a number of areas straight away though also one notable step back. 

 

There is noticeably improved texture to sound with fine detail improved top to bottom.  With good recordings the sound is palpable,  almost as though you could reach out and touch the instruments with each instrument filling its own 3D space. There's an improved sense of sound stage width,  depth and height. I must admit to things sounding so incredible that I teared up last night. It's been some time since music through my system had that effect.

 

Now for the bad. There's a leaness in the bass which hurts overall presence despite those instruments actually being audible in that region.  It feels a little like the system has been ever so slightly tilted towards treble.  Network Acoustics does recommend 100 hours use before any serious comparison so with luck this will improve in time. 

I don't know your network setup, but I did what Rich suggested and put a D-link dgs-105 before the Eno. Biggest improvement was when I grounded it (at the back), and what I noticed the most was the bass. I power it with a hq 5v power supply. It's pretty cheap to try. I, like you, seem to become more emotionally involved with the Eno in place.

[Mjw21a]

Oh, with further use I came to realize there was far better articulation in the bass. It's deeper and richer though the less presence is due to less "one note" bass. Basically it's an all round improvement.  It's not coming out of my sound chain that's for sure. 

[Svampebob]

9 minutes ago, Mjw21a said:

Oh, with further use I came to realize there was far better articulation in the bass. It's deeper and richer though the less presence is due to less "one note" bass. Basically it's an all round improvement.  It's not coming out of my sound chain that's for sure. 

I also have gotten extremely transparent bass, on some recordings it seems to come from anywhere else than the speakers, and is a big part of "feeling the studio/scene". I've had the thought, that this cleanness/transparency might be the opposite of a punchy bass, which is maybe the product of "dirtier"/smeared waves? I don't know, but I have had the feeling that on some records it almost seems too transparent.

[Mjw21a]

1 hour ago, Svampebob said:

I also have gotten extremely transparent bass, on some recordings it seems to come from anywhere else than the speakers, and is a big part of "feeling the studio/scene". I've had the thought, that this cleanness/transparency might be the opposite of a punchy bass, which is maybe the product of "dirtier"/smeared waves? I don't know, but I have had the feeling that on some records it almost seems too transparent.

 

Yes, it's particularly noticeable on tracks such as Yello's Electrified II. Luckily I don't listen to much EDM as this suits pretty much everything else I listen to.

 

I've a TP-Link Deco X60 in front of my Eno Ag. The main TP-Link Deco X60 is connected to a Renolabs Ultimate Audio Switch. The Firewalla Gold and Fibre modem in front of it each have their own linear power supply as do each X60 and my Maxtang silent Ryzen 2500U media PC...Supra CAT8 cables throughout. The combined improvement of all these changes has been quite large. I was sceptical of improvements on the networking side of things before trying and finding out for myself.  Certainly worthwhile. It has also made an incredible improvement in picture quality of streamed video such as Netflix. 

[Svampebob]

I was too curious so I also bought 2 of the "DX iso-plus" filters, they are also passive filters. I placed one between router and switch, and one after the switch continuing to the Eno. I wanted to compare them to the Eno but I am just too happy with the sound to find the motivation at the moment. If anybody wants to convince themselves that this ethernet-cleaning up works, without the Eno cost, I would try the DX's, they are quite cheap. They all only work up to 100mbps. I also bought the Eno cable, which is only 4 wires (= 100mbps). Having a bit of a hassle finding another cheaper but good cable with only 4 wires (the theory seems to be that this avoids some crosstalk).

[Mjw21a]

Ha, you replied while I was editing my previous post. I'll look into those filters.  Might try one in my second system in between a TP-Link Deco X60 and my Soundaware A1X streamer. I'm running one of the fake Nordost Odin CAT8 cables there. Far better than other generic cables, but the Supra are in fact a better sounding cable for less.

[Svampebob]

What a nice switch 😀 I was also skeptical. My new opinion is that "everything matters in digital", as others claim. To be honest I've maybe regretted going this path instead of saving up for a Holo May dac, which as I understand it would render all these optimizations superfluous. It seems a bit like repairing something that is not optimally designed from the beginning. But, can't complain much about the sound 😊

[Mjw21a]

You can do significantly better than the Holo for the money.... Look into Abbas Audio if you've a chance.  No features to speak of. Abbas focusses on the only thing which truly matters: Sound quality. Then again,  I can only recommend the SE versions of his products. Just far superior to anything  else I'm yet to experience. 

 

My Media PC (that the End Ag feeds), feeds a Mutec MC-3+USB modded for a 6v Fared Super3 LPS,  with an Afterdark Emperor Double Crown OCXO (powered by another Fared Super3 LPS). Still cheaper than an MSB DAC though I've never actually heard one of those. Might be on another level,  who knows right?

 

I'm of the opinion that everything on both the networking side,  the digital audio side and also analog side of things makes a difference. It all adds up. :)

[Svampebob]

5 hours ago, Mjw21a said:

You can do significantly better than the Holo for the money.... Look into Abbas Audio if you've a chance.  No features to speak of. Abbas focusses on the only thing which truly matters: Sound quality. Then again,  I can only recommend the SE versions of his products. Just far superior to anything  else I'm yet to experience. 

 

My Media PC (that the End Ag feeds), feeds a Mutec MC-3+USB modded for a 6v Fared Super3 LPS,  with an Afterdark Emperor Double Crown OCXO (powered by another Fared Super3 LPS). Still cheaper than an MSB DAC though I've never actually heard one of those. Might be on another level,  who knows right?

 

I'm of the opinion that everything on both the networking side,  the digital audio side and also analog side of things makes a difference. It all adds up. :)

Nice bunch of stuff! 😄 And I learn some new brands, I thought DCS was the top 😉

I only mentioned Holo May because it has a PLL circuit that eliminates virtually all jitter, I'm guessing that makes fancy cables and filters redundant. As I understand it all inputs sound the same, even usb from a raspberry. Maybe Abbas uses something similar.

 

I only have modest stuff that probably could not even qualify for you guys second system. Eno -> pi3/pi2aes -> Lyngdorf tdai-3400 via AES -> diy totl SB Acoustics 2-way. All power supplies are very good, but not Farad. The pi2aes is VERY good and for the price I believe quite an anomaly. I use the tdai-3400 as a digital crossover, the lows go to a tpa3255 power amp that powers the woofers directly. I have never had better sound, huge and transparent, especially after the filters.

[Mjw21a]

No, Abbas gear is highly sensitive to the source signal it's fed. The better the signal the better it performs. It's just a fat better sounding DAC is all. I'm running the Abbas DAC 2.2SE. :)

 

It sounds like you've a nice system there.   :)