Value of a premium Ethernet cable


In my current setup, digital music from a Roon ROCK NUC server travels through an Uptone Audio EtherRegen and a short link of fiber, thence to a long stretch of ordinary contractor-grade Cat 5a cable, and finally to a dCS Bartók streaming DAC.

 

At substantial effort and expense, I could rearrange things so the final length of Ethernet would be replaced by a single run of something like an Audioquest Vodka Ethernet cable. I'm wondering if anyone has experience of whether this is worth the trouble and expense. Well mostly the expense; the "trouble" is the hobby part of it.

john_g

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

@macg19

 

I don’t think flaming you is appropriate.

‘However, like scientist; observe.

Try a cheap cable like Blue Jeans, a well reviewed $500 cable and a $1,000 one. And despite all the logic they are likely to sound sound very significantly better (depending on the quality of your system). This is the acid test. Then you start working on hypothesis as to why this might be true.

Starting from the logic that it can’t make a difference is a great way to get it all wrong. For the last fifty years of me trying that (to logic it out) and being proven wrong by observation every time has cured me of believing in that approach. Also, I was a scientist for over a decade.

 

 

 

@akg_ca ”…So….I recently did that cable direct bakeoff myself, and the audio improvements were immediate .”… 

+1