Maybe it works simply because you’re taking a break for a moment or two. Next time, instead of unplugging everything, take a two minute stroll around your garden, take a few deep breaths, then sit back down again. Maybe the “something”, in that moment of “something is just not right”, is you, not your gear.
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Never mind.
But it was not the manufacturer who posted this claim:
So you must have some knowledge which you should share with us.
Such revolutionary insights, which turn everything we know about digital data upside down, should not be kept to yourselves.
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I agree, but I would be vey surprised if many (if any) would choose the Topping over a Chord TT2 based on auditioning the two, and please bear in mind that I don’t own either of these DACs.
Could I pose a hypothetical question?
You are offered a present of either a Topping D10 or a Chord TT2.
You listen to both and prefer the sound of the Chord TT2 over that of the Topping, but note that Amir states that the Topping is better according to his measurements.
Would you choose the Chord because it sounds better?
or
Would you choose the Topping because it really must sound better given their respective measurements, and your subjective opinion and preference for the TT2 must be flawed?
Sorry to divert from the topic of routers & ethernet cables. On topic, my only comments are that I have switched from consumer TP-Link routers to Cisco 2960 routers in my home network (in order to gain additional ports), and am not aware of any impact on sound or sound quality in any of my systems. Additionally, I use certified (but relatively inexpensive) BJC ethernet cables throughout my network and systems and have no desire to change.
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That opens up a whole new list of questions to me but -
It depends what I am building my system round.
If my speakers and amp are keepers in the long term I would blind test and pick the one that sounded best in my system. That may or may not be the chord but at least blind testing would take the visual bling out.
I believe that speakers probably make the biggest difference to the ‘sound’ of a system and I may be wrong I think that was @Graeme_Finlayson was alluding to. If you pick an essentially neutral DAC and amp then the neutral signal will go through to your choice of preferred speakers so you retain the sound you like. If you introduce ‘colours’ prior to the speakers you will alter the sound you like.
As I keep saying, if you know better that the mixer buy a graphic equaliser and cock up the sound to your hearts content.
Caveat - I’m talking digital not analogue signals.
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Remember, this thread is about routers and ethernet cables having no impact on your audio reproduction.
High quality Amazon Basic cables are perfect at about £6 made to an internationally recognised standard.
Any company suggesting otherwise is simply playing on human’s vulnerabilities and exploiting you.
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Off topic still, but…
Amir does not measure DACs under different analog output stage load conditions, as i.e. John Atkinson does for Stereophile.
That omission might not show increasing distortion signatures that may become audible if large enough.
So one might well prefer the TT2 in system A better than in system B…
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If they both measure transparently, with proper linearity, THD+N better than -110dB (D10 is -118dB), I’d wager a month’s salary that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart in a proper, level-matched, blind listening test, provided as @Marin_Weigel said you don’t do anything funky with load impedance.
As @garye mentioned, speakers and room have by far the biggest influence on system sound (it’s also discussed in the article linked).
If your speakers and room are sorted and someone offers you a free Chord TT2 or a D10, then it’s up to you. Personally, I’d ask for the D10 and the difference in cash to spend on music/wine/whisky! 
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I have no quarrel with that choice. There is little doubt that in respect of ‘value for money’, the Topping would win out in most people’s estimation. It probably sounds okay, and it undoubtedly allows you to listen to digital music.
Every individual has his or her own perspective in respect of value for money and the law of diminishing returns. My 3rd (bedroom) system comprising a Marantz NA7004 streamer with 30 year old Audiolab amp (8000A) and Musical Fidelity speakers (MC2) over Chromecast Audio (Roon) is undoubtedly better value for money than my main system which comprises the Linn Klimax streaming DAC (2nd edition) with Lindemann pre/power amps (830S and 858) and Magnepan speakers (MG3.6).
However, whilst I enjoy listening to music on my bedroom system, my main system sounds very much better from absolutely every perspective, and if given a choice I would always choose to listen to that system. When I purchased my main system, I deemed that the sound quality it provided was for me (and my circumstances at the time) worth the not insubstantial cost. I can understand why others might have made a different choice, and given the opportunity today, I might well have a different set of priorities and choose to go down a more compromised but less expensive route.
Incidentally, I have had the opportunity to listen to 5 or 6 different DACs or streaming DACs in my system. The question of whether or not any of these individual DACs sounded ‘better’ than any other would have been a subjective opinion on my part that others might not share. However, I would claim that no two of these DACs sounded the same. I would contend that given the opportunity to listen to these same DACs on my system, the vast majority of people would be able to hear a ‘difference’ between any two of the DACs, and if there is a difference, then there will always be a subjective preference that isn’t strictly based on specifications.
Again, to keep part of my post on topic, I would add that although I have heard clear differences when auditioning different speaker cables and analogue interconnects in my systems, I have never heard a difference of any sort when swapping ethernet cables or routers in any of my systems. I should also add that I did not expect to hear any differences, which I guess may have ‘coloured’ my conclusion to some extent.
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The trouble with evaluation of different DACs for instance is that firstly, you can normally see which DAC is in use unless you enlist the help of a friend or have a very understanding spouse. Secondly, unless you properly level match (using a multimeter), volume differences will far exceed any other differences between them, whether measured or perceived.
I appreciate that this hobby is for many as much about enjoying the gear as it is about enjoying the music and I have no truck with someone preferring the bling of a Chord TT2 vs the Spartan minimalism of a Topping D10.
In a truly blind listening test, I honestly doubt that anyone could tell them apart.
I’ve got three DACs to hand here and when the outputs are level matched, I can’t tell any one of them from any other. They do all measure very similarly though.
The room acoustics are sorted, the speakers have a very flat frequency response with low distortion drivers and the amp is a Benchmark AHB2, currently the most audibly transparent amp available to buy. When I changed from my previous hybrid amp to the Benchmark, I noticed subtle differences in the sound. I still have that amp, and I’m building a dummy load to enable me to test it properly. It was tested by Stereophile a good few years back, but the example they tested wasn’t biased properly which detrimentally affected it’s measured performance. I suspect the measurements will be significantly different, even though the sound is only subtly different.
My system isn’t that expensive, but it does everything that an audio system is supposed to do within the confines of its environment very, very well indeed.
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Guys, I miss you. Where is everyone? Have you all moved to “power cables” or what?
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Ok, I’ll throw this in… I recently took part in a test between Fibre to cabinet and fibre to house on a very high end system. Fibre to house was better. Today, the owner of this system told me he received a dongle that plugs into me mains allowing a standard phone to be used.
On playing his music he thought things weren’t quite right, eventually realising this dongle was new. On disconnecting it, he had his sound back… He was surprised about the result also…
I present this for what it’s worth, probably not much but has anyone else any experience?
Something’s seriousaly amiss here.
It sounds like there’s an issue somewhere related to grounding.
Ethernet cabling? Expensive Snake-Oil Cat 7/Cat 8 with grounded shields defeating ethernet galvanic isolation?
Sounds like the system owner needs to consult with a proper network expert or at the very least someone who knows how to wield a continuity tester/network cable tester.
Properly implemented networks don’t suffer from these sorts of problems.
I’ve got fibre to cabinet, DOCSIS 3 to the house and a mix of fibre (for bandwidth ≥10 Gbit/s, not any audiophoolery isolation nonsense) and Cat 6 in my network. Nothing network related affects my sound. All of my Cat 6 is just that - Cat 6, no shielding and no ground connection on any of the cables, patch panels or faceplates, so the ethernet is free to weave all of its galavnic isolation magic as designed.
‘High end’ only means ‘expensive’ where it comes to hi-fi these days. There’s no correlation between price and performance anymore.
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‘High end’ only means ‘expensive’ where it comes to hi-fi these days. There’s no correlation between price and performance anymore..
If you are specifically directing your comments to the devices individuals are arguing about in this thread, I lean in that direction. If you are making a blanket statement regarding this hobby, you are just trolling.
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Trolling is probably a strong word, but I suspect @Graeme_Finlayson is pulling your legs all along by stating all DACs sound the same if they all have the same measurement.
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If we admit that there are very affordable and at the same time very high quality audio components (high enough that any further improvement would be indistinguishable within normal human limits), then the differences in price cannot be attributed to improvements in sound quality anymore. Would you agree?
I can assure you, I’m not trolling, though it seems I’ve inadvertently opened another can of worms. There’s a lot of ‘high end’ gear which measures from not very good to downright awful. There’s also a lot of affordable gear which measures exceptionally well.
Price does not correlate to performance. Sure, you can spend a boatload of money on stuff with fancy casework machined from solid unobtanium billet while held between a virgin’s thighs, but it won’t necessarily perform any better than competently designed stuff costing a fraction of the price.
And contrary to what @QuinnT says, I’m not pulling anyone’s leg. I defy anyone’s claims to be able discern audible differences between similarly measuring DACs in a truly blind listening test. Once you reach ~110dB SINAD you’re into audible transparency and everything sounds the same. The same goes for amplifiers.
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I think you forget the phase of digital → analog, which is crucial because it no longer has anything to do with bits as bits? That will make one DAC sound different to other ones.
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I suppose that applies to the speakers that you design. They sound the same as existing high end brands 
Jan, power cables are soooooooo 2010. All the cool kids have moved on to hire live yoga into our listening rooms - really sorts out those pesky bass dips. 
. I hear Amir at ASR is hoping some kind (or maybe that should be blind) follower will send him one for detailed measurement.
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