Nordost HEIMDALL 2
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Belden catsnake 6a, from router to Cisco switch, then again from switch to melco, and then finally into the rossini.
Cheap cable really.
Works very well and sounds very natural, did have AQ cinnamon before, but thats rubbish in comparison and over bright, but then i also found the AQ vodka and diamond cables, bright and at time a bit harsh.
But we all like different sounds and some systems might benefit from a bright sounding cable, as it does to begin with sound great, but then once you start to adjust, it starts to sound more forward and forced.
Interesting Duncan. Did you buy it as raw cable and terminate it yourself or did you buy it custom terminated from someone like e.g. the excellent Designacable?
Hi
I am getting the cables pre made, in the floating configuration.
Is there any particular reason that you picked Cat 6a instead of Cat 5e ? ( You can probably tell I am interested in trying some). Both allow a bandwidth in excess of anything we will need for audio so I am curious.
dCS always seem to recommend unshielded network cables so from that viewpoint 5e would be preferable as I understand it is UTP.
Its been getting some great reviews and as i wasnât taken with the AQ cables, decided to give these ago.
Very cheap as in about ÂŁ100 for all 3, so not much to lose and so far they have been a nice natural sound, rather than the over bright cables i had before.
They are a floating design, so the shield is only connected one end, rather than both ends, or atleast thats how i understand it to be
Thanks Duncan. I will look into it further after the weekend.
Iâve had numerous Ethernet cables in my system, incl. AudioQuest Vodka, WireWorld Platinum, and others. Best Iâve ever had are the ones from Shunyata which came out late last year. Use them between my Roon Nucleus and another recent purchase, and Uptone EtherREGEN switch. And between the switch and dCS Upsampler. These are really great at lowering noise in the system, as I know most any decent CAT6 UTP will get the bits over. Iâve not found optical implementations which can come anywhere near beating this, simply due to the connectors and convertor technology issues Iâve experienced, along with some extraneous noise, probably dependent on my systemâs location and all the WiFi and other crap we live with these days. So hard to isolate individual devices as well as links in the system chain.
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Thought I would add that Iâm using a DH Labs Reunion CAT8 cable⌠the 2 meter length is only about $208 US⌠10% Silver content, made in the USA, with US connectors and wire. Strong recommend.
Ok, why Dcs manager suggests ethernet cables but u canât get a suggestion of bnc cable for my clock?! )))
Just to update what i wrote some time ago, after finding the AQ vodka and diamond a bit over bright, i was lent a nicely burt in AQ diamond to try.
I installed this between my melco and rossini, and kept the catsnake cable doing the rest, router to switch and then switch to melco, about 8 meters in total, i have been pleasantly surprised by the diamond cable, its harshness at times has completely gone, its now got a very detailed, fast and more 3d, wide sound to it, this wasnât apparent first time round, but then the cables were both new.
Having had the diamond in for a few weeks and then swapped back, i did find my system lacking slightly in comparison, and as the days gone on, missing it more and more.
Not sure how long these cables take to burn in, but its certainly some time, but i am going to have to find out, as a AQ diamond will soon be in the system.
Its certainly a problem when trying new gear, especially when new
It is also made even more confusing when it is realised that many cables do not burn in in a linear fashion. That is, they do not gradually improve hour by hour. Instead they often go through periods of sounding good,worse, back to good again etc. Even when you think you have got a a stable and, hopefully, good sound this may continue to improve further for quite an extended period. The earlier change from one state to another is not itself necessarily incremental but can audibly occur instantaneously as if someone threw a switch. So much for âyou are just getting used to itâ theories.
I also know of people who swear by cable burning in devices even given previously well used cables. I have thought about getting such a device but there is always a point when the expense and hassle of it stop me. However I have never seen one that is capable of handing network or similar cables, they really seem suited to coax designs and speaker cables.
Has anyone experiences to share on the subject of cable burn in devices? However that might call for another thread.
@PAR
the only company that openly and professionally recommends it as mandatory is nordost. they have. a cable burn in process/device called VIDAR
but again you are correct. power cables and network cables cannot be handled by this machine and neither does nordost recommend it.
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I bought my AQ Diamond with a burn in service.
P
Thanks for posting the link. Interesting. Gratifying that they acknowledge that burn in is not a linear process but goes through stages which may differ radically from each other.
Their remark about burn in time and dealers reminds me of a time when I wanted to try a cable. The dealer would not loan it and wanted me to buy it instead. I said that as I had never heard it, what if I didnât like it? " You can return it within 7 days". Later in the conversation: " it takes about 21 days to burn in with average use". No sale !
Will get my diamond next week, as its a birthday present from the family, so will begin the burn in, but i might put it on the muso for a month, as thats in the kitchen/family room, and the wife uses it most off the day, this way it will get used more and hopefully burn in quicker, plus i wonât have to listen to its ups and downs,etc.
hi @octaviars and @Paul
, I was following this thread, and v, wanting to build an ethernet cable on the Ansuz model, what cable should I use, besides the Telegärtner MFP8 rj45 connectors?
thanks
If you go to the early postings on this thread and look at Octaviarâs of Dec 2019 he identifies the cable used. However I would mention that if you look at Ansuzâ website and the specifications you will see that their ethernet cables also incorporate several proprietary features ( âAnsuz Tecnologyâ e.g. Analog Dither, Active Cable Tesla Coil, Anti-Arial & Resonance Coil etc.) which they reveal little of aside from a generalised description of purpose. Therefore I would say that it is probably not practical to replicate the cable with a D.I.Y attempt.
One thing I also note is that these cables are shielded and are not certified so , on that basis, their use contradicts the advice from dCS engineers also to be found in this thread.
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yes, in fact I thought it would not be easy to replicate them. thanks then Iâll let it go.
that you would recommend me to use, to have audible sound enhancements? i currently use normal ethernet cablesâŚ
thank you very much