Nucleus SQ ethernet

I was going to say that they are available in the EU, then remembered the full horror of Brexit. Suffice to say, they’re available in the UK.

1 Like

“better shielded” isn’t in any way superior in digital audio transmission, since it may even cause ground loop problems which usually are audible.
Forget about all those superlative adjectives, that just cause Audio Nervosa for too many enthusiasts…

3 Likes

:slight_smile: Would this be your suggestion “Cat 6a Patch Cords–BJC C6AP”?

Easily ordered from their website to EU, reasonable shipping costs and quite fast when I did @Torben_Rick
Cat6a should be fine as the shield is floating, but Cat6 is just as fine

1 Like

Unless you use the cables for general computing, you don’t need ever increasing rates for audio.

These rationalizations are fascinating. Reasonable cost? It’s an Ethernet switch, so it is “stuff for computers”. It has no other use. 8 ports for $675. Versus $25 for a TP-Link 8 port switch on Amazon. That’s a 2600% markup.

So, what do you get for that? Well, you get a “machined aluminum enclosure”, which is supposed to reduce both acoustic and electrical noise. Acoustic noise? There are no moving parts in there, nothing that “acoustic noise” would interfere with. And the $25 TP-Link also has a “sturdy metal” enclosure, which will work equally well for EMI shielding.

And you get a “medical grade power adapter”. You know what a medical grade power adapter is? It’s an adapter that won’t accidentally pass on mains current to medical wires attached to the patient and cause a shock. It has nothing at all to do with “clean” power or consistent supply or low noise. It’s just a power adapter that won’t shock the patient. Completely pointless in this application.

Remember, a 2600% markup.

You also get “better clocking, lower noise, and better noise rejection”. Assuming that’s correct, so what? You don’t need any of that to reliably transmit Ethernet packets.

9 Likes

6 or 6a. Either will do the job.

You forgot to mention that “jitter is reduced by as much as 90%”, or so they say. Perhaps they don’t know that jitter isn’t at all relevant to the transmission of audio data, or they do know, and have intentionally set out to mislead their clientele. Given the rest of their absurd marketing spiel, I suspect it’s the latter.

1 Like

Yes… and you can get all this for $4000. and more from others. Just no limit to the bargins available to us. Love my 8Switch. Oh yes, it has lights so I know which circuits are on line.

Pretty sure most switches light up.

2 Likes

Until they don’t😕
My trusty $10 eBay D-Link 8 port died a mysterious death Saturday night…bummer only got about 4 years out of it😉

Replaced with a “spare” eBay D-Link 4 port switch from my “stock”…
Still most odd as I have never seen one just die before.
And no it was not the PS as same PS working on the 4 port.

1 Like

Do the lights flash to the beat? Now that would be cool….

1 Like

Synchronized networking?
Groovy.

1 Like

Now that would be worth twenty pounds of my hard earned cash.

1 Like

Now that’s one thing that can affect SQ in a switch.

2 Likes

The noise floor was extremely low at that juncture :innocent:

2 Likes

I started this thread asking for help with a problem with a Wireworld Starlight Cat8 ethernet cable for the Nucleus. As I wrote on July 9 I found an earlier thread about someone who had the same trouble with the same cable. The receptacle on the Nucleus is ever so slightly more recessed than is normal. Plain plastic plugs are okay but the Mertz plug on the Wireworld cable is not okay. There is a tiny bit of space remaining after the plug clicks in. Sooner or later the sound changes and this change is not always the same. You can largely fix this by placing something underneath the plug to hold it up to be horizontal. We tried the toothpick trick but this wasn’t as stable.

One of the suggestions in the answers in the thread I started was to try a Blue Jeans Cable. I had to order it, but I did that. The bjc cable sounds pleasant and is really all you would need in many circumstances. It does not have the detail and dynamic range of the Wireworld cable when that is working properly, but the sound is softer.

Since it appeared that a cable in this position was more important that we had known, we traded two cables plus some cash for a used Chord Indigo cable. It is lightweight, with a plain, plastic plug at the end. This is distinctly better. I can hear more detail—small sounds I didn’t hear before. The sound is more alive, clearer, and a little more mellow than with the Wireworld cable. Granted, the Chord cable is more expensive.

Undoubtedly your experience is going to depend on your entire circumstances.

Thank you to the community for sharing your knowledge so generously. I have a better idea now of networked audio.

3 Likes

That is an interesting point, but I think one implying problems that aren’t necessarily there.

The minimum length is 0.5m, I believe. BUT that’s not because shorter lengths are theoretically problematic. Instead it is - as I understand it - because shorter lengths have traditionally created problems measuring the performance characteristics necessary for cable certification.

So if you want a certified patch cable, buy 0.5m or longer. Shorter lengths can work equally well. But it’s apparently hard to prove it.

For myself I had a custom 12” Wireworld Starlight 8 cable made to go between my cable modem and my primary router, and I’ll go out on a limb and say my system does not sound like it’s got an Ethernet problem. :wink:

I think shorter CAN be fine.

1 Like

Sorry. My reply seems out of context. I should have quoted @wizardofoz . Apologies.

2 Likes