Interesting article on expensive ethernet cables

[bitchstewie]

Stumbled on this whilst on Ars http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/07/340-audioph...

It may be of interest

[varsas]

Thanks, read with interest.

[Driller]

What a surprise

And ETA, if all of these cables actually made a real difference, none of this would be controversial at all.

Putting a bigger block engine or whatever in a car to get greater performance doesn't create argument as with the cable discussion. Nobody argues because everyone agrees that it works.

Because it works.

Edited by Driller on Monday 3rd August 10:03

[TonyRPH]

And yet, despite evidence such as this, the 'believers' will still go and buy boutique network cables.

As someone who has worked in networking for 20 years+, I'm still amazed at the recommendations for specific routers and switches on various forums, Linn and Naim in particular.

They are convinced that brand 'x' router or brand 'y' switch sounds the best.

In a properly set up and functioning network, there will be no difference.

[bitchstewie]

Did anyone really ever think that as things have swung towards digital that the audio vendors would simply shut up shop?

A £2 CAT6 patch lead may be good enough to be trusted to shift trillions of $$$ worth of financial data between systems but it's not good enough to stream audio?

[krunchkin]

these things are basically the male equivalent of expensive tubs of beauty creams with impressive sounding "scientific" claims about getting rid of wrinkles. Pure balls, but there's a market of idiots out there for it.

[jjlynn27]

$340? Of course it has masking tape. Low priced garbage.
This is what you want

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0073HI94M/ref=as...

For that money you'll get gaffer tape, which sounds much better, especially if it gets cryongenically treated.

[varsas]

jjlynn27 said:

$340? Of course it has masking tape. Low priced garbage.
This is what you want

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0073HI94M/ref=as...

For that money you'll get gaffer tape, which sounds much better, especially if it gets cryongenically treated.

advert said:

In order to fabricate copper or silver into a strand or conductor, it is first cast and then drawn (squeezed through a die). Even finest high-purity metals have imperfections and grain structure, which due to the direction of casting and drawing become non-symmetrical structures without the conductor. In ways which are not fully understood, both analog and digital audio performance is significantly affected by these non-linearities. While AudioQuest doesn't pretend to fully understawnd this obvious distortion mechanicm, the solution is understood 100%. Use the conductors in the direction which reduces distoration!

Well, it made me smile. Do they make sure the send/recieve pairs are opposite ways round inside the cable? What I really want to know is what the lights are for.

[theboss]

varsas said:

Well, it made me smile. Do they make sure the send/recieve pairs are opposite ways round inside the cable? What I really want to know is what the lights are for.

What makes me laugh is the claim that the 'grain structure' of the cable doesn't just affect the digital transmission marginally in such a way that is barely perceptible by any means, but no, it affects it significantly.

But nobody can provide evidence scientifically, or understand why... and I'd love to try and hear a difference, if only somebody would donate me one.

Utter, utter bks.

[thehawk]

It's unbelievable that people fall for this crap. As someone that has been involved in massive banking data centre fitouts, that handle trillions of dollars a year of transactions, they always use bog standard Cat5/6 cables. If there was a difference and it was important then you'd think the financial industry would be onto that already.