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Ethernet cable for music streaming

I know there have been threads on this topic, including my own from last year, but I'd like to pursue this issue further, perhaps from a slightly different angle. Here's my conundrum: I'm not getting the sound quality from my Innuos PulseMini streamer that I think it's capable of and I've never been able to put my finger on what the weak link in my system is. I'm streaming Qobuz through the Innuos SenseApp on my Samsung tablet. While some parts of the frequency range sound really good (bass, mid-bass, lower mids, e.g.), when we get to the range where vocals live and above, the sound loses fidelity and definition. Things sound fuzzy and muddled, especially if the music is complex or dense. Loud orchestral passages can be really unpleasant to listen to.

The streamer is connected via USB to a Sonnet Morpheus DAC, and is fed via ethernet cable from my AT&T router. It's about a 35 ft. run of CAT5 that goes under the house and up through the floor of my listening (living) room. It doesn't run near any other electric lines. There's an ethernet switch that divides the signal between the TV, the Roku box, and the streamer. I do have the option of running a dedicated line from the router to the streamer, but I need some advice on whether this will improve things any. I tried plugging the existing ethernet cable into the streamer directly, bypassing the switch, but this yielded no improvement. 

Would it help to use CAT6 or CAT6a cable for this run? And should it be shielded or unshielded? I've read some posts that indicate shielded cables introduce their own distortions into the signal, so I'm really not sure which way to go here. 

I'd be grateful for advice from the many of you who are more expert on this subject than I am. Thanks.

cooper52

Showing 1 response by mahler123

mahler123
3,479 posts
 

I’m new to this thread, but has the OP tried experimenting with a different DAC and/or different streamer?  If he was that unhappy as he describes in the initial post I am skeptical that a change in Ethernet cabling or power supply are going to solve this.  His subsequent posts in the thread sound like he is trying to convince himself that each tweak has done something positive (confirmation bias).

  I am assuming that prior to purchasing the PulseMini he was happy with his speakers and amplifiers.  If he has been changing those while trying to improve the streamer, then he really is deep in the rabbit hole.

  Finally, and I am not being snarky in suggesting this, there is the issue of his hearing.  Most of us are at an age where high frequency loss is common, and if there are some idiosyncratic losses just under the highest frequencies, then that may also cause his issues.

  I would start by trying to demo another streamer/DAC in his system, just to see if that solves everything 

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