Kriskdf - on paper, cat5/6 should suffice, but once the real world kicks in there can be many factors, such as noisy environments, poorly installed connectors, noise from the WWW and quite often these days - crappy quality network cable, that can effect performance.
Cable ratings are supposed to protect against crappy cable, but there are so many cables out there from less than reputable manufacturers, that would fail the test they are supposedly rated at.
Purchasing quality cables goes a long way to ensuring the rated throughput is attained, but I think stepping up to cat7 as well will "future-proof" my system.
For a little while at least :-) |
Williewonka, I'm a Linux and Windows guy. Didn't find much info on Audirvana.
Is Audirvana a program that runs on a Mac, read and cache the data and sends it to a DAC? Basically a music server? |
I should have emphasized "properly installed". :) Poorly installed cat 7 may be insufficient for what you want. I've actually had some limited training on cable installation (though, i'm admittedly no pro) and to get cat 5e *certified* for gigabit, there are a lot of details in the installation process that if missed, can limit the network speed. Things like minimum radius bends in the cabling and termination techniques can take gigabit capable and reduce it down to something much lower.
I'm not against future proofing either. If money was no object, I'd run "fiber to the desktop" in my house. I've also spec'd out cable installed for network and phone and had people look at me funny when I asked for cat5e for phones. Cat3 was the norm for phones, but we wanted to be able to easily convert to VOIP or network if needed in the future.
If you do ever get up to 10 gigabit going, i'll be impressed and a little jealous. :) |
knghifi - yes, Apple only I'm afraid
But maybe there's a Linux version - contact Damien at contact@audirvana.com
He is very responsive
Also see http://audirvana.com/ for a full description
Basically it's a media player that can be standalone or integrate with iTunes |
kriskdf - your comment " Things like minimum radius bends "
Happen to know what that minimum radius is?
Tighter than a 3.5" radius by any chance?
That's about the gap in my wall space for the outlets - the rest is fairly straight runs or a much larger radius.
Thanks |
Basically it's a media player that can be standalone or integrate with iTunes Then AQ ethernet cable will definitely make a difference. I thought audirvana was a DAC with a big buffer. |
I just ran across this, which actually seems to cover things I forgot: http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx
It looks like about 1" radius is the minimum. The article is pretty good and points out that the faster you want the network, the more you need to pay attention to the standard for install. There are also good practices called out that may impact performance less, but helps long term maintenance (labeling, leaving a service loop and lots of slack, etc.). |
Kriskdf - thanks for the link - great article that contains some interesting point to observe when running network cables.
Also explains why local computer stores had never heard of CAT7 - i.e. rarely used in north america |
Knghifi - the cable should improve the transmission time because of its bandwidth capability, but since Audirvana buffers a complete track (i.e. when playing from a hard drive) it should have no impact on playback.
But I will reserve final judgement until my cables arrive - ordered them yesterday :-) |
but since Audirvana buffers a complete track (i.e. when playing from a hard drive) it should have no impact on playback. Disagree! Buffering on the server side has nothing to do with transmission to the client ... synchronization is still required during playback between both parties. IE: IC between components, SC between amp and speakers. All cables sound different. Now if the Dac buffers everything before play, then cables should not make a difference. Synchronization is broken and Dac just process data in it's own buffer. |
Knghifi - agreed - the cable between the iMac and the DAC will make a difference - In my case that is a USB cable
Audirvana is a program that runs on my computer (the client) and buffers a complete track into computer memory prior to passing that data onto the DAC via the USB cable
The cables between my computer and my NAS drive (the server) will have no effect on playback because each track is bufferred on the client
But it never hurts to have a faster network :-) |
the cable between the iMac and the DAC will make a difference - In my case that is a USB cable OK, I thought you use ethernet between computer and DAC. Even though my DAC has asychronized USB, I much prefer ethernet and who wants a PC in their system rack. LOL!!! |
Confirmed - cat7 network cables didn't improve playback on my setup...
NAS ->cat7 -> router ->cat7 -> iMac + Audirvana -> USB -> DAC
But access to the NAS drive has improved a little - better cables fewer resent packets probably
BTW the USB cable is from DH Labs and performs extremely well.
Next - upgrade the router :-) |
Confirmed - cat7 network cables didn't improve playback on my setup...
NAS ->cat7 -> router ->cat7 -> iMac + Audirvana -> USB -> DAC
Your result is not surprising. Me changing Ethernet is equivalent to you changing USB. Next - upgrade the router :-) Why if Audirvana caches the track before play? You should not hear any improvements changing anything before your iMac. Now if the DAC caches, one should not hear any differences changing anything before it. Not even a belt driven transport. If you build them, they will come. LOL!!! |
Just an update...I decided to retask an HTPC I had laying around which is very close to specs of the CAPS Carbon server aside from the USB card. Using Jriver and Jremote on my iPad and streaming music wireless via the optical output from the mobo to my Dac, the sound is much better than Sonos. I can hear more micro details and the overall soundstage envelopes the room more. What I especially like is the ability to rate songs and have smart playlists, features that I always wished Sonos had. Needless to say I will be ditching the Sonos and moving on with building a SOTA CAPS server. This is going to be fun! |
Tboooe
While browsing thru the forum I found your thread and started reading, since you already have a couple HTPC's and have found the joy of using JRiver and JRemote I thought you might enjoy reading thru another way of implementing your HTPC's.
Have a look at JPlay (http://jplay.eu/download/ ) it made a huge improvement on the playback and you can try it for free.
While you are there read through the manual about how to use the streamer mode. And then if you want to dive deeper into setting up your computer, read through the computer audio section of the forum at the Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 Optimization threads (http://jplay.eu/forum/computer-audio/ ). You will be surprised just how good computer audio can be. |
Thank you Ig316b. I have considered trying out JPlay. I will definitely do that in the near future. Right now I am running Windows 7 and have used the Fidelizer app to optimize the OS. I must say, I am very happy with the sound and am looking forward to building a proper music PC with a better USB implementation. |
