I have two identical length ethernet cables: a 70£ Meicord and a 700£ Audioquest Diamond. I tried them alternatively between my QNAP HS-210 which hosts two SSD's in Raid 0 / a 659 Pro II with 6 x WD Red and my managed Cisco switch.
1. I can not tell the difference between the HS-210 SSD QNAP NAS and my old, trustworthy 659 Pro II using the 6 WD Red hard drives. If anything, I feel the HD's deliver an ever so slightly more lively sound, while the SSD might be a bit smoother (or flater, whichever you want to put it). But I am pretty sure that I am imagining things and I am certain that in a blind test I could not tell the difference. So in my experience SSD offers no sonic advantage over HD (and I remember Colloms preferring the HD UnitiServe over the SSD UnitiServe).
2. I can not tell the difference between the Meicord Opal and the "wonderful" Diamond which "has to be heard to be believed" when connecting the NAS to the switch. I believe there is no difference or, if there is a difference, it is so subtle that it takes a bat's ear to hear it. I hear plenty of differences with different power cables, with AES/EBU cables, with speaker cables (yes, they are as relevant with Devialet as with any other amplifier) but no difference with the ethernet cable between my NAS and my switch. So each to his own.
3. I did not however test the Diamond between the switch and my Moon Mind 180D because I would need a longer run and after the above experience I am not keen to spend the money.
1. I can not tell the difference between the HS-210 SSD QNAP NAS and my old, trustworthy 659 Pro II using the 6 WD Red hard drives. If anything, I feel the HD's deliver an ever so slightly more lively sound, while the SSD might be a bit smoother (or flater, whichever you want to put it). But I am pretty sure that I am imagining things and I am certain that in a blind test I could not tell the difference. So in my experience SSD offers no sonic advantage over HD (and I remember Colloms preferring the HD UnitiServe over the SSD UnitiServe).
2. I can not tell the difference between the Meicord Opal and the "wonderful" Diamond which "has to be heard to be believed" when connecting the NAS to the switch. I believe there is no difference or, if there is a difference, it is so subtle that it takes a bat's ear to hear it. I hear plenty of differences with different power cables, with AES/EBU cables, with speaker cables (yes, they are as relevant with Devialet as with any other amplifier) but no difference with the ethernet cable between my NAS and my switch. So each to his own.
3. I did not however test the Diamond between the switch and my Moon Mind 180D because I would need a longer run and after the above experience I am not keen to spend the money.
