Are my CAT5 and router my weak link?

Oh, I'll likely regret this post. I know digits are digits and data is data. But I can clearly here differences in clock cables between my clock and the transport/dac. It is not subtle. My wife can hear it. The stock cables aren't cheap/trashy at all. The other clock cables are a Cardas Lightning 15/Purist Proteus Provectus Praesto.

I can even hear the Purist being more transparent and giving the sound more focus/palpability vs the Cardas.

So something is going on here vs just transmitting the data...

I did try a Audioquest firewire from my transport to dac...again, you can quickly hear this also...

Any cable that is conducting high speed digital signals, such as the OP's CAT6 ethernet cable, firewire cables, USB cables, etc., and that is located in physical proximity to the audio system (e.g., in the same room), can radiate or couple RFI (radio frequency interference) into the audio system, with effects that although unpredictable could conceivably be both sonically significant and cable-dependent.

Cables that are conducting signals that are involved in the timing of D/A conversion, such as (apparently) the clock cables Jfrech is referring to, can of course be expected to be much more critical, as a result of noise pickup, ground loop, and impedance matching issues that can affect jitter.

If the CAT6 ethernet cable the OP referred to is in the same room as the audio system, he may wish to consider experimenting with inexpensive shielded ethernet cables, as member Bryoncunningham described doing in this thread. See the posts in that thread dated on and around 2-16-12. Inexpensive ethernet cables are commonly unshielded, but good quality shielded cables are also readily available at low prices.

Regards,
-- Al

I work with this every day. Shielded cat 5/6 cables test with LOWER bandwith than the unshielded types. I have installed and tested thousands of miles of this cable and the only time I have used shielded in in severely compramized locations like radio stations with broadcast antennas on site. The shield compramises the magnetic field genenrated by the twist of cat 5/6 by phycally restricting it within the shield. Each pair of wired(4Prs.) is twisted at different ratios per inch to generate specific magnetic fields to control cross talk and give excellent speed. The shield is always a compramise in the data world. I have even had to replace shielded with unshielded. The whole idea of the twist is to negate the need for a shield.

Tubeking, I agree with everything you said. However, I question its relevance. The concern you appear to be addressing is successful communication of ethernet data, apparently over relatively long distances. The concern I was addressing is radiation FROM the cable into arbitrary circuit points in the audio system. Everything else being equal, that can be expected to be REDUCED if cable bandwidth is LOWER. Lower bandwidth = slower risetimes and falltimes = less RFI, everything else being equal.

Also, note that I did not say that results would NECESSARILY be better with the shielded cable. What I suggested is that it may be a worthwhile (and also very inexpensive) experiment. Which certainly turned out to be the case, per the thread I had linked to, in the system of someone who IMO is one of our most credible members.

Regards,
-- Al

I can confirm what Al has reported about my experiences when I replaced an unshielded Cat 5 cable with a shielded Cat 6 cable. The result was more resolution. A lot more.

The $7 shielded Cat 6 cable resulted in a bigger improvement in SQ than several $1,000 power cords and several $2,000 interconnects. Yes, I know that sounds crazy. I can't explain it.

I'm not saying that other systems will benefit similarly. In fact, I doubt it. But it's certainly an affordable experiment.

As far as the router goes, I too have a router indirectly connected to my audio system (outside line -> 15' shielded Cat 6 -> router -> 1' shielded Cat 6 -> ethernet switch #1 -> 20' shielded Cat 6 -> ethernet switch #2 -> Sonos -> audio system). Ethernet switch #2 is a bus between the computer and the Sonos. Ethernet switch #1 has only one function: to sever the connection between the router and the audio system...

The router is left on all the time. I have the PSU for ethernet switch #1 plugged into a rocker switch, which is itself plugged into the wall. When I listen to music, I flip the rocker switch to kill the power to ethernet switch #1, which kills the connection between the router and the audio system. Don't know if any of that is relevant to your setup, but it's another easy and affordable thing to try.

Bryon