Having just bought my first streamer, the Rose RS151, I have been reading rave reviews of the AudioQuest Vodka RJ/E ethernet cable. I wonder if any users have a comment on the difference a good ethernet cable can make to a system. Any recommendations welcomed.
Hello, Iām currently using Audioquest Cinnamon. I also had the opportunity to test Audioquest Vodka, but I didnāt find any improvement over Cinnamon. However, there is a real improvement, at least for me, with LAN iPurifier Pro - Ethernet Filter with Optical Isolation.
Save yourself some money.
As long as a cable is made to spec and has quality partsā¦ its going to sound the same.
Just get a decent CAT 8 cable and youāre good to go.
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Thanks MEK. I shall investigate the filter option.
Your comment is noted Smegel. Iāll get a couple of decent CAT 8 cables.
If you want to have the best compromise, then take a CAT6e unshielded (TPU) cable for a few bugs.
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Cat 8 cables are a good way to get some ground loops, and are stiff and expensive. For a streamer, which does not need (and does not support anything faster anyway) even a 1Gb speed Rose has, a well-made Cat6e cable is all that is needed.
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Borisā¦ thatās got to be some of the dumbest things said.
So wrong.
Just to follow upā¦ Ignore Boris because he has no clue.
The difference between a CAT 8 wire and a CAT 6 wire is as follows
The CAT 8 has slighly larger gauge of wire (One size larger in terms of AWG)
Better components. Better shielding.
They are built to handle up to 40gb/s and you can use them anywhere you use a lower grade CAT cable.
So please Boris site your evidence that they can cause ground loopsā¦
Should also add.
The CAT 8 cable is probably a few dollars more than the CAT 6 cableā¦ so yeahā¦ thereās that.
I just did a quick google a 15ā CAT 8 cable from Walmart is $10.00
So prices are all over the map but usually around $15.00.
YMMV
Editā¦ actually you may find CAT 8 patch cables actually cheaper.
Thanks Smegel. I am over-egging the cake perhaps, but I have ordered 2 lengths of Furutech LAN-8 NCF Ethernet cable - 1.2m for my Synology NAS to my router, 2.5m for my router to my RS151.
Hopefully that compromise will cover me until CAT9/10 appears.
Incidentally, I am going to post another question on the site regarding transferring files from NAS to the internal SSD on my RS151. Thanks again meantime.
Having the Audioquest Vodka Ethernet in my chain i can very much recommend that one.
As an alternative the FuruTech NCF LAN 8 is close to the Vodka.
That is good to hear. Thanks Christian.
There will be no CAT 9 or anything past CAT 8.
CAT 8 is hitting the limits of what you can do w copper.
If you need speeds faster than 40gb/s, you end up going w optical.
Seriously you have to remember that digital is different than analog.
Its your moneyā¦ but buying good quality commercial grade CAT 8 patch cables is all you need. Just buy them from a reputable dealer/store. For meā¦ in the USā¦ MicroCenter is my go to store since Iāve been shopping w them for over 40yrs and I live within a mile of one. NewEgg is another online store, and then you get into the specialty networking stores. YMMV depending on where you live.
Thanks for the further education lesson, maestro. Appreciated.
I live in Scotland actually. Point taken on money-saving but the Furutech cables are en route to me (they are less than half the price of the Audioquest Vodka cables I was considering).
Further, I have ordered from Stack Audio one of their SmoothLAN Network Filters, which is not quite as expensive as the option MEK had suggested earlier, but still highly rated by serious commentators.
Mate, spent 9 months in Stirling.
When my wife came over for holiday, had to visit the Kelpies in Falkirk.
Spent some time visiting my nephew in Edinburgh while he was at Uni during the same time.
Thereās a lot of overpriced kit out there and a lot of claims that make you want to scratch your head.
Its like those āaudiophileā switches. Sure they use good componentsā¦ but they are made in small batches so youāre paying a premiumā¦ yet if you buy a commercial grade switch rated for higher throughput youāre getting the same performance for less.
But to each their ownā¦ the biggest bang for your buck will be room treatment. Then speakers.
Yeah, so sorry that facts always trigger you!
Which is nice if you are actually trying to push 40Gb over short distances. What does it do for streamers, which have at best 1Gb network adapters? Absolutely nothing.
Which is OK if you are trying to build a mediocre backbone, but quite useless for streamers. And if you are making a backbone, just run 100Gb fiber anyway.
Audioquest are outright crooks and sell things that simply do not exist. Like a directional ethernet cable.
I donāt think āwill say anything for moneyā describes a serious commentator. There is no such thing as a ānetwork filterā that would do anything useful.
No diference whatsoever. Digtial is not music and we do not hear data. But if you want, you can buy three different cables, try them and keep the one that āsoundsā better to you, To make the whole thing interesting ask a friend o significant other to help in changing the cabes and try a double blind experiment. Audioquest among others sell excellent snake oil. Make your own opinion.
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OK, I hear/read what you say but I have today installed a pair of Furutech CAT 8 cables - one from my NAS to my router and the other from the router into a Stack Audio SmoothLAN network filter which I plugged into my RS151. I have never enjoyed listening to my NAS so much. 2D turns into 3D and I am hearing backing vocals and chords I never heard before. Everything seems so clear now.
I am so enjoying my snake oil. Why donāt you try before shouting nonsense from the rooftops?
I did not shout. I was talking. Do a double blind test, show me the measurements and then we can have an informed and non an opinion-based conversation. On the other hand, most of the time when somebody connects a new cable or another non critical link in the sound chain your brain will listen more attentive and will ādiscoverā better sound. We are humans and our senses play tricks on us. It is find if you believe everything is better now. In the end music is about enjoying. But at the same time that I respect your subjectivist point of view you, should respect my science based point of view. So, I do not point fingers, I do not shout from the rooftops (I am sitting down in front of my computer by a lake) and I do not say what you say is nonsense. Besides good ears you should have good manners. Make the world a little bit better.
