And before you ask I have my RS130 connected to the switch via fiber, the RS130 to the RD160 via USB fiber and the DAC to the RA280 balanced. And the amp to a pair of Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII. Just in case you think I am deaf as well.
I think if you canāt hear the difference between a chain where you are managing for EMF/RFI (with clean power and good cables), particularly where a single box is moving from the digital domain to the analog domain, then your system isnāt revealing enough and you have a bigger problem to solve for than EMF/RFI.
The digital is digital thinking will limit your ability to enjoy this hobby. In fact, why are you all buying high-end streamers if digital is digital?
Typical bullshit from people who canāt accept that they had spent tons of money for absolutely nothing.
People with IQ above 50 buy them for features, looks, and convenience. The rest do believe that their special cables and fuses lift veils and darken blacks. Because they hve IQ below 50.
Managing EMF/RFI ā¦
uhm okā¦ what sort of EMF/RFI can you expect in a 1m CAT 8 cable?
Free clueā¦ nothing you can hear.
Also note that digital cables and analog cables are going to be different.
I see that the science of psychoacoustics persists. Iāve heard it all. Somebody even tried to convince me that you should always plug your cables in the same way, so that you could make sure the electrons always went in the same direction.
The digital world has its own challenges, but a lot of them are just analogue problems hitching a ride. For example, one of my USB turntables introduced a ground loop. The ground loop wasnāt digital. It was analogue, and the cause and cure were the same.
A crappy analog cable is a crappy cable; a crappy digital cable is also a crappy cable. The kind of crappiness is different. The results might be similar by the time your ears get involved.
And if you really want to get down to fundamentals, think about whether your ears are analogue or digital. (The answer is yes and no.) That should make you crazy. 
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I have a 151. Back in October I attended the Toronto Audio Fest and met up again with Steven Huang from Audio Sensibility. I currently use their XLR cables from the 151 to my RA280 amp and their Statement OCC speaker cables. They are fantastic cables. So I decided to try his high-end ethernet cables from my 16-port TP-Link switch in my stereo cabinet to the 151 and my Roon Nucleus. I played with them for almost an hour, swapping in and out with basic CAT5E cables I was using and could hear NO difference. Fortunately, Steven was able to take them back the next day. I really appreciate Steven for letting me try them out.
Analog cables are going to be different that digital cables.
Anyone remember their digital circuits class when they were an undergrad?
I donāt agree with Boris every time, but claiming he has no clue is completely wrong. The facts are the following:
Shielding and Ground Loop Risks
- CAT 5e/6 (Often U/UTP): These cables are typically unshielded (Unshielded Twisted Pair, UTP).
- CAT 8 (Necessarily S/FTP): CAT 8 is almost always multi-layered shielded (Screened Foiled Twisted Pair).
- The Problem: When you integrate a shielded cable (CAT 8) into a home or hi-fi network, there is a risk that the shield will connect to different ground potentials at both ends. This creates ground loops.
-
The Consequence: A ground loop can introduce noise or hum into the sensitive audio component (streamer, DAC) via the cable. An unshielded CAT 5e/6 cable avoids this problem entirely.
Thatās why some high-end brands like Linn Audio or MSB do recommend refraining from CAT 8 cables for audio use.
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Never had any problems w CAT 8 cables.
Will have to add.
The only time Iāve had ground loops is when I moved my RS520 and while I had set up the Rel and was adding in the Mon speakersā¦ until they were all plugged inā¦ the sub would hum. Once everything was pluggedā¦ no noise.
When I used the Rel w my Solo Uno there was a grounding loop because there wasnāt ground on the unit. So I had to use a screw on the unit.
I totally agree.
But Mikey just wants to be silly and provoke Boris.
Not to say, Mikeyā¦
@Smegel
PS:
Just wait until @BorisM pulls out his sledgehammer again and strikes backā¦
There isnāt that much point arguing with someone who does not know what Ethernet cable types even are, believes in some mythical lossless Bluetooth he somehow gets, and thinks that REL makes subwoofersā¦ Pointing out that so far he hasnāt had said a single well-informed correct thing is slightly entertaining though.
Thereās a good chance that whatever you have are as much āCat 8ā cables as your other ones, the ones with RJ45ās are āCat 7,ā you just paid more for them.
Thatās not how ground loops work. REL humming is about as surprising as a Yugo breaking down on the road though.
So hereās the thing and CAT 8 causing a ground loop.
It means that either your unit (e.g. RS520) or the switch isnāt grounded. And that usually going to be the switch if you have a cheap switch. To solve thatā¦ you could always run a wire from the switch to the rack if you are in a rackā¦ or you ground it to something else. Again this is really highly unlikely.
Your going to get a ground loop if you donāt have your speaker cables which depending on the wire. Will also be shielded. And againā¦ once youāre all connectedā¦ no loops.
And thatās also a nice thing about the RS520ā¦ you do have a grounding point even though your donāt have a phono inā¦ just a line in.
Yeah, those squeaky mallets donāt really do much except make noise.
The funny thingā¦ we donāt like to use shielded cablesā¦ because of the risk of a grounding loop. Yet your high end speaker wire is shielded. So you kinda defeat that argument. If you get a grounding loop easy to fix. You have two components at either endā¦ thatās where the issue is. And if you use commercial grade switchesā¦ you donāt have that problem.
Congratulations on showing once again that you do not know anything and getting things backwards. If I believed in the good in people Iād say youāre just trolling, but I donāt. Youāre just that ignorant about anything requiring knowing hard sciences.
What, worse than Soviet cars?! Impossible!!!
Yet another proof that āhigh endā cables are a scam. Although it would be interesting to see a speaker cable with a separate āshieldā connected to anything on any end.
Not only that, I once had pucks under the cables, and it sounded absolutely awful.
Then I read about a really cheap trick (which I probably shouldnāt reveal here): instead of the pucks, I used toilet paper rolls wound on the leftāonly those, because the ones wound on the right are for your butt. The sound was better than before. Of course, the cables were laid crosswise to prevent any induction.
Unfortunately, I now have increased toilet paper consumption because my wife keeps taking the audio toilet paper rolls from under my cables, even though I tell her itās the wrong kind.
What am I supposed to do? Women, you know!
Iāve told her a thousand times that she should use the right-handed rolled paper for the excretory organs.
Could someone perhaps give me a tip on how I can explain this to my wife?
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Well, the āMossiā - Moskvich-2140 - was a robust car back in my day as a teenager. We couldnāt get our hands on it. My buddy at the time tried to steal the keys once, but his dad was watching outā¦
Oh man, that was a long time ago.
I was thinking more of Zaporozhetsā¦ Like ZAZ966.
Oh yeah, Borisā¦there he is again (Zaporozhets /Saporoshez)ā¦thanks for bringing back my old memories.
That was the absolute worst (no-go).
We always called him the āPorsche of the Soviet Unionā.
Rear engine and air scoops. The engine always sounded kind of strange, but it ranā¦
Just like the Tatra 613 (Czech Republic), but at least they later installed V8 engines in those. 
PS:
I drove the Tatra trucks - the Tatra 813 8x8 (army) and from '99 the Tatra 815 (job, construction site). They were/are pure powerhouses for their performance. And then the independent suspensionā¦
The new Tatras are top-notch.
Tatra trucks are occasionally used by fire departments in Germany.
