2. cables
  3. 195218-198226

How can different CAT5/6 cables affect sound.

While is is beyond doubt that analog cables affect sound quality and SPDIF, TOSlink and AES/EBU can effect SQ, depending on the buffering and clocking of the DAC, I am at a loss to find an explanation for how different CAT5 cables can affect the sound.

The signals over cat5 are transmitted using the TCP protocol.  This protocol is error correcting, each packet contains a header with a checksum.  If the receiver gets the same checksum then it acknowledges the packet.  If no acknowledgement is received in the timeout interval the sender resends the packet.  Packets may be received out of order and the receiver must correctly sequence the packets.

Thus, unless the cable is hopeless (in which case nothing works) the receiver has an exact copy of the data sent from the sender, AND there is NO timing information associated with TCP. The receiver must then be dependent on its internal clock for timing. 

That is different with SPDIF, clocking data is included in the stream, that is why sources (e.g. high end Aurenders) have very accurate and low jitter OCXO clocks and can sound better then USB connections into DACs with less precise clocks.

Am I missing something as many people hear differences with different patch cords?

retiredaudioguy

Showing 1 response by joeycastillo

joeycastillo
78 posts
 

I agree with what @panzrwagn just wrote above as I was also in that field before, but with all that was said, how can one hear a change in the way music is presented?

As some of the posters have written, measurements vs subjective is a debatable topic. I for one is a measurement guy but after I have gotten to the level of my gear which can discern differences in musical tone/Prat, I for now is a believer of the subjective point of view. 

I believe more solidly of changes in cable on the analog side, I.E., speaker and interconnect cables, phono cable and even power cables. The cable itself presents a L/R/C network at given frequencies, so Yeah, it does. The fanboys in AudioScience don't believe it, but hey, that's their take. 

But in ethernet? Hmm, that's a take. However, when I change the Cat6e cable from my Cisco switch to the Eversolo, there was a change (i can't pinpoint, but there was) in how the overall performance of the music. Was it better or worse, I don't know. I just put back the old one as the evaluation cable was $$$.

So, in the end, is all about synergy, which one in the chain makes the most impact and does it steer you to your goal. 

 

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