Supra Cat 8 Ethernet cable


HI All

I recently purchased a Supra Cat 8 ethernet cable to replace the stock cable to my bluesound node 2i after hearing rave reviews of the Supras.  However, the Supra sounded rather bright and clinical in my system. Plus side it has a lot of details,  sounds very clear and bass prodution was pretty good but just sounded very forward and bright over my stock ethernet cable.   Am using Klipsch 6000 f speakers,  an XTZ power amp and a Freya + preamp.

I have not run in the Supra fully yet, about 7 hours. Will it get better over time? Has anyone who has used Supra to your node 2i felt the same. Or do you have a different opinion? Appreciate your views. 

ram18

Showing 2 responses by mike_in_nc

The main difference is that Cat 8, which is totally unnecessary for home audio, has a shield and metal connectors and potentially will transfer noise through its shielding. Cat 6 and 7 (MORE than enough) do not have that "feature" and will isolate one unit from another.

Many think that a little noise transferred over the grounding scheme can cause brightness, harshness, forwardness. It strikes me as a little odd that audiophiles rave about galvanic isolation for USB, where it costs a lot more, and then pay more for an Ethernet cable that defeats galvanic isolation. it’s almost like they think that whatever costs more must be better. I’m glad for you that at least you didn’t pay hundreds or thousands for it!

I suggest using a Cat 6 or 7 cable and not believing half of what you read on the Internet. Most of the review sites are just propagating nonsense, IMO. What qualifications do the reviewers really have? How good are their systems? Rooms? Ears? Who is holding them responsible? Why would they have less expectation bias (e.g.) than any other human being?

One old guy’s opinion.

 

Some thoughts and questions:

By what mechanism -- other than noise transfer -- could an Ethernet cable carrying packets make the eventual analog sound be warmer or brighter? Is this measurable? Detectable in a blind test? Persistent over time?

Would "a tad warmer" suit every recording? If not, wouldn’t it be more efficient to just buy a good equalizer that could be adjusted per recording?

How musically significant are differences among Ethernet cables, compared to other things one might do to improve sound with $275 or $600, like buy a bass trap or two, or acquire some very good Scotch, or spend a day finding the best position for one's speakers and the listening chair and then take the SO out for dinner?

Why should defeating the galvanic isolation of Cat 7 Ethernet be a good thing?