Ethernet Cables, do they make a difference?


I stream music via TIDAL and the only cable in my system that is not an "Audiophile" cable is the one going from my Gateway to my PC, it is a CAT6 cable. Question is, do "Audiophile" Ethernet cables make any difference/ improvement in sound quality?

Any and all feedback is most appreciated, especially if you noted improvements in your streaming audio SQ with a High-End Ethernet cable.

Thanks!
grm
grm

Showing 1 response by myoungva

I have to concur with the naysayers but also want to add another angle to consider.  No device takes the bits off the network and immediately converts the information into sound.  There are buffers in the receiver that are likely several MB in size.  This is why something keeps playing for a few seconds even if you cut the network connection.

So ... the bits come over the wire and get stored in the buffer and your equipment, DAC or whatever, drains that buffer and turns it into sound.  So I don't see how the quality of network cable affects the sound since all its doing is filling a buffer.