It's so Ethereal

[Lindsayt]

... and on the third day God said: 'Let the bits under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the network appear. ' And it was so. And God called the network Ethernet. and the gathering together of the bits called He Audioquest Cinnamon; and God saw that it was good.

...whilst Lindsayt looked at the price and said unto thee "What a right royal rip-off. It's not even Cat 8."

[Fretless]

Oh ye of little faith.

[Lindsayt]

Thanks LindsayT, very helpful. I have put the one you recommended on my watch list and asume it is plug in and play. Being a computer numpty I would not want to attempt to configure a device. I would run four devices from a switch; streamer, NAS, Sky box and PC.

When I googled "WS-C2960G-8TC-L home switch config examples" I ended up with links to the Naim forum where it appeared that some of the members had bought this model of switch brand new. Which figures. It's the Naim forum. I didn't see anyone mentioning what configuration they put on it. It's quite possible that most, if not all of them are just using the factory default settings.

It'd be nice if we had a CCNA on this forum, to knock up a professional config for a home use Cisco switch. Then I could talk you through putting the config on. Or if we met up somewhere for a few minutes, eg the Kegworth show I could put a config on then.

[CN211276]

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.

[Fretless]

Infidels! Heathen! Unbelievers who scorn and hurl doubting at the AQ! Cursed be your puny stereos in the apocalyptic age of the Holy Streamer!


Getting that off my chest, I will share my initial thoughts about the Cinnamon Ethernet cable I put in this afternoon. Okay, it's not the cheapest piece of wire out there, but it has a job to do and do it it does.

After my comparison of CAT5e and CAT6 last week I thought that I had an inkling of what to expect from the CAT7 AQ Cinnamon but...

Firstly, it all sounded louder. Test track was the opening to Vangelis 'Soil Festivities' which has this huge thunderstorm intro and the new link threw the windows wide open and had me shivering in the rain - that you hear coming down drop for drop. The sound detaches even more from the speakers with a greater impression of space between individual sources. The soft synths chime in with increased delicacy and charm.

Bass is fuller, deeper but also restrained rather than boomy. Imaging sharper but not edgy. Detail is more refined. Generally the system sounds more comfortable and relaxed in the presentation of music. Currently I'm grooving like a pict to 'Atom Heart Mother' and revelling in a 'bigger' and more tactile sonic experience.



The Cinnamon has silver-plated strands of copper with more than double the amount of silver used than in the slightly cheaper Forest cable. This difference has the Cinnamon just sounding a touch easier and more authoritative than the Forest, with a lovely and enjoyable 'natural' character.

Next step up is the AQ Carbon which has 4x the silver content at twice the price. It's a question of what can you afford and feel happy with. For the moment the Cinnamon is just fine for me and I feel that it is a VERY worthwhile upgrade to my digital setup.

[CN211276]

Would you say the Cinamon brought about a greater improvement than the Silent Angel?

[Fretless]

Would you say the Cinamon brought about a greater improvement than the Silent Angel?

More a case of icing on the cake. The Silent Angel switch made the installation sound far more expensive (!), analogue, stable and open. The AQ Cinnamon has added an extra level of relaxed space and natural detail.

The standard CAT6 lead is now attached to the Allo DigiOne Signature in the second system and I hear a similar improvement of less HiFi - more musicality.

[CN211276]

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.

[Fretless]

At that price I could be tempted to get one to try against the Cinnamon.

I'll have a look around.

[CN211276]

The comparison would be very interesting. Seems to be a case of swings and roundabouts, one contains silver and one is Cat 8.