It's so Ethereal

[CN211276]

https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/1368 ... en/page/7/

Just came across this which has been revived after nearly three months. The expected divergence of opinion including on different brands of Cat 8. I can concur with comments about routers as my updated one with a better power supply, connected to the BMU, has brought about a subtle improvement to my system.

[slinger]

And my Blue Jeans is Cat 6A with no silver that I know about but using "special patch-cord-optimized" cable, which is manufactured by Belden to Blue Jeans' spec.

It would be very interesting (and virtually impossible) to bake them off. Blue Jeans v AudioQuest v Farnell or Cat 6a v Cat 7 v Cat 8.

[CN211276]

I think differences could be system and listner dependent and there is no definitive best cable.

[Lindsayt]

I have contacted the Ebay seller for information on home use of the switch.

Today I ordered the £20 Cat 8 Ethernet cable from Farnells, skinflint that I am. I think my Sonore microRendu streamer does a good job in filtering out most, though not all, of the muck. It was a beyond night and day improvement over the desk top PC I used to stream from. As I believe the benefits of an upgraded cable are not likely to be more than subtle in the context of my system, I am wary of spending considerably more on a cable of a lower Cat. The results will be interesting and I will report my findings.

The seller did not provide the information I requested. Instead he offered a £5 discount.

This is the cable which is on its way.
https://uk.farnell.com/tuk/sepz5yw/patc ... les%20Cat8
The attached pdf provides a lot of information. It looks well shielded and Cat 8 appears to be quite a step up. As always my ears will be the judge.

I'm looking forward to reading your report on the Cat 8.

And then the next step would be a fibre connection for someone with a suitable system...

[Fretless]

Just ordered a couple of standard CAT8 ethernet cables, 2m and 5m. Should be in before the end of the week.

At any rate they will be better then the CAT5e links that I have in the majority here and we'll see how they fare against the silver-coated AQ lead.

[CN211276]

The UPS tracker said the CAT 8 left the local depot at 7.25 this morning and it still has not arrived. The depot is two miles away. If the weather was better I would be annoyed about being stuck in the house, my wife being out.

[slinger]

The UPS tracker said the CAT 8 left the local depot at 7.25 this morning and it still has not arrived. The depot is two miles away. If the weather was better I would be annoyed about being stuck in the house, my wife being out.

I never know whether to laugh or cry when something I've ordered arrives at an airport 30-60 minutes away from where I live, darn sarf, and then buggers off to a depot oop north so it can be sent back, past the airport, to me.

[NSNO2021]

I am watching this one with great interest

[TroutFisher]

I don’t know if this has been linked before because I’ve not read the whole thread. (Dipped in and out because I am a sceptic when it comes to these digital matters which includes being sceptic that people can actually hear a difference between flac and wav files) Anyway, although totally objective, it makes interesting reading and reinforces my scepticism.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.10232/

[Lindsayt]

I don’t know if this has been linked before because I’ve not read the whole thread. (Dipped in and out because I am a sceptic when it comes to these digital matters which includes being sceptic that people can actually hear a difference between flac and wav files) Anyway, although totally objective, it makes interesting reading and reinforces my scepticism.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.10232/

Interesting reading.

The high temperatures and burning smell from that UpTone switch in that test are concerning.