Until now how much science discovered about brain, complexities and ears as its receptors.
I liked most (not all but enough) of this post here:
But still, I believe people are free to tinker as much as they like (we are in the tinkering section of the forum) and do whatever makes them happy and enjoy the music more. Life is short.
Hi,
Yes that was my assumption because if you think something improved or participate in SQ, you should be at least if non measurable being able to say: I think SQ improved by X%ā¦Because I was not able to hear this breathing or thoses notesā¦
I would not mind spending few bucks on these but would be more than: you should try.
I do not want the spending effect to occur and feel it is better cause I spent money
They were probably right with long term effect/test but just want to jump in if increase in SQ is not marginal: id better than room correction for instance.
Yep Iād park that under this part he mentioned:
I got all my answers in the post you mentionedā¦
Cool!
I ll still keep on reading this post to see how the Ā« fight Ā» ends ( like some kind of wars it will never I think)
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Ha but as I mentioned above: still, I believe people are free to tinker as much as they like (we are in the tinkering section of the forum) and do whatever makes them happy and enjoy the music more. Life is short.
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At the end of the day You are the one who spends or does not spend money basis on Your personal listening experience.
To my listening experience every single thing matters and affects SQ.
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This is where I do not agree. If I am free to spend money, I am also free to ask why this w or y cable from a company will improve my SQ and would appreciate not being told: it is your appreciationā¦
But I know that i am ready to spend money in accordance to my system, meaning if I own a 10.000ā¬ gear, I ll buy RCA and XLR around 100ā¬ without looking the pros for buying these if I think they match my system and I m not ashamed to say that will confort me even if a 10ā¬ RCA will do the same job.
Whether ethernet cables improve / change the sound or a system or not, I think there is certainly an element of ācomfortā in people want to be sure that they have the right sort of cables in their system for power, analogue and digital. If this means that they enjoy the music more, then it has done itās job.
Given that there is a lack of good measured evidence to support opinions that ethernet cables change the sound of a system, I think itās reasonable to conclude that any difference are probably quite small. Iām sure it makes more sense to spend the money on equipment and room acoustics before experimenting with ethernet cables. Or course if you have the option to return the cable for a refund if you donāt like it, then there is no harm in trying.
The debates about ethernet cables (that we see on many of the audiophile forums) all follow the same pattern, all make the same points (for and against), all go around in circles and will likely never end.
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For me, ethernet tweaks are less audible than difference between signal or speaker cables, but they also give a different type of improvement. Signal cables often ālifts a veilā but thatās not what network tweaks does (at least not mine), its more about making the music more fluent and less edgy.
The most noticeable thing for me with the LAN isolator was that some harshness in the upper registers disappeared, leading to a calmer and more rounded sound. After a few days, I also noticed I get less tired if I listen to high volumes, so some soft of distortion was removed (I have a transparent and quite forward HiFi system).
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It greed and fear.
A manufactureās greed that preys on the audiophileās fear that he is missing out on the best sonics.
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The world is full of solutions to problems that people didnāt even know they had. Boiled egg slicers come to mind.
Some folks on the forum think their on a mission to save people from snake oil merchants when really all their doing is trying to convince people that theyāre right and others are wrong. Frankly, if some guy I donāt know wants to spend Ā£1000 on an ethernet cable, I couldnāt care less.
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True but that the whole point of the forum is to argue and discuss about things we are interested in wether we agree, disagree or do not care at all.
As Hifi is the only thing Iām REALLY interested in (a part from family, friends and sports) I love to know what people are doing to improve their systems.
And as far as I know I canāt tell any other tech that can be discussed and have people saying some things are snake oil or true. That is fascinating really.
Exactly thatā¦what is the harm? Iāve done that with countless cables and pieces of equipment.
The people that are basing their purchases on science, what if they buy something purely based on that, and they canāt hear a difference, are they keeping said equipment based on āscience says it works so it must doā even though they are struggling to trust their ears?
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No, I have more questions than answers and I think the premise is wrong.
I have a theory why you hear a difference, but that is not empiry and irrelevant for my question of how.
Letās say the isolator does repeatedly give a very audible change in sound for a larger group of people: What do you think is the technical cause for change in SQ when using a LAN isolator?
Yes, I could try it myself, but even if I would hear a change in SQ, it would not answer my question.
More? In most cases I only chime in to emphasize how extremely difficult it is to construct and carry out reliable/valid listening tests. This usually happens after someone has claimed itās easy to do. Iāll never grow tired of telling people it is NOT.
No, it requires 1100 pages to discuss HUNDREDS of testing procedures and their specific advantages and disadvantages. There IS no test method that doesnāt have any disadvantages. Is the devil in the detail? Yes, of course it is. But the more important point is that you NEVER get rid of the devil (at least not completely) - no matter what kind of methodology you choose. But just because every method has its own specific shortcomings, doesnāt mean that all methods are equally good or badā¦
The subject of comparative listening (sighted or blind) is a lot more complex than the vast majority of people realize.
This is what I donāt get, I have no harshness in the upper registers Etc etc with standard Cat5e cables and basic switches. So I assume the problem is elsewhere if one has an issue.
True, I donāt have a lossy analog set up and so do not have the option to tweak cables and that is a big advantage of well designed DSP speakers and a reason I took that option. Even my Bluesound systems are DSP actives and as such cannot be externally tweaked. (I was given a Russ Andrews Yellow power chord for my Pulse 2 and I noticed no difference)
The downside (if you like) is I cannot tweet my system beyond the advanced DSP Settings built in, but the corespondent up side is, I donāt feel the need to.
If tinkering is a large part of the Hi Fi hobby, then all this does make sense as you are building a bespoke system on a mix and match basis with all the attendant advantages and compromises to contend with. The satisfaction from āGetting Thereā where ever āThereā is, must be wonderful.
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I think its because it provides a well implemented galvanic isolation which removes some electronic noise, and if thatās noise is not removed it would negatively affect higher frequencies (perhaps other frequencies as well but not audible).
And if you think your DAC filters away all electronic noise, try this: connect it directly to a gaming computer with USB, and play music while playing a resource intensive game. In my case, I get a very audible ātickā sound, as well as a big decrease in overall sound quality (less clarity, compressed stereo image, flat etc). I bet its still bit-perfect though.
I didnāt know I had that problem either, until I noticed how it sounded with it gone. But having said that, the effect (and amount) of electronic noise depends on a lot of things and you might not have that problem.
But if you can, try borrow for example an UpTone switch or LAN isolator, and see what it does for you. Ethernet cables also affect sound, but at least in my system to a lesser degree.
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