Streaming vs. Downloading and Ethernet Cable Quality

[Stier2704]

No, two of the EN 1005+. Phonosophie sells the same for audio at three times the price.

[luca.pelliccioli]

I like my Pink Faun and have read many positive reviews about GigaFOIL v4 and Muon as well (if I remember correctly our Al owns one).
I thought PhoenixNET was enough (and I’m really happy with it) but I’ll experiment with the CAD toys to find out any further improvements.
I will also try with/without the Pink Faun filter tonight what happens. The last time I did this experiment was a long time ago.

[dchang05]

Thanks for the write up from CAD. Your experiments interest me as always!

[dchang05]

Luca, have you tried to plug in both PST and MSB DAC? Does PST sound better with P20?

[luca.pelliccioli]

You missed it

MSB S202 Stereo Amp

Daily report from the holiday’s guy: Following Donald’s advice I tried the Puritan feeding the PST (and the DAC). I promise, this is my final test guys. Incredible! Stunning! Extraordinary! Kidding apart, I’m not able to hear the difference… just a subtle prevalence in blacker background that cleans voices and bring a false perception of openness and clarity but at the expense of the texture and organic structure especially in low frequencies. We are talking about tiny differences but I like …

[dchang05]

Thank you Luca, I somehow missed this post completely. I’ll go back to read the thread again.

[aalumkal]

So, I’m guessing no one has an answer to my original question.

That’s okay. Carry on with the new discussion.

[luca.pelliccioli]

@aalumkal

Will the quality of my ethernet cable affect the sound quality of the downloads?

Sorry for my digressions.

I don’t think that for mere “downloading” purposes the ethernet cable is crucial. But lots of people and experts (see my post above from CAD owner) consider Ethernet path very noisy, during playback too.

In my experience (who am I? Not an expert for sure) the big leap I got in digital music was a good server/streamer over a computer (dedicated MacMini in my case).

Secondly I cannot hear any differences comparing songs streamed from Qobuz vs playing them once downloaded from Qobuz.

I can confirm also that ethernet cables, in my system, matter… along with good switches (I use PhoenixNET) and at a lesser degree tools to clean the ethernet path, like ethernet filters (I use Pink Faun).

So the better the level of components, the smaller the effect of ethernet cables and inherent path. This is my personal experience.

What’s your chain, I mean the gear used for downloaded files playback?

[aangen]

Ethernet cables have no negative effect on downloading a file.
Have no fear.

[aalumkal]

My laptop is connected to a Marzantz SACD 30n via an Audio Sensibility Statement Silver USB cord and an Audioquest Jitterbug. File playback is with Audirvana Origin. All connections have been treated with Furtech Nanoliquid.

[Sean2]

In terms of downloading files, the quality of your ethernet cable is unlikely to impact the sound quality of your music. When you download a file, the data packets get error-checked. If there’s an issue, they’ll be resent, ensuring the downloaded file matches the original one on the server.

In contrast, streaming might be more sensitive to network issues, but even there, most users report no noticeable difference in sound quality due to ethernet cables as long as the connection is stable.

So, you can rest easy; your downloads from Qobuz and HDtracks should sound as intended regardless of your ethernet cable’s quality.

[aalumkal]

Thanks.

Is there any error checking going on during streaming? If not, errors could in theory affect the sound quality.