20-Dec-2019, 10:19
Update – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
So given the good results with BertBird’s system, I decided to bring a AQ Diamond Ethernet Cable home to try on my own system.
I connected it via a free port on my SOtM switch. This made it quite easy to swap between my existing Via-Blue cable and the Diamond via the Ethernet LAN Port of my Innuos Statement endpoint. These initial swap tests were not conducted blind given that I have been doing these without assistance.
The subjective test process was quite straight forward. I simply played a track which I was familiar with using one cable and then with the other. The swap was done quite quickly, so the pause between switching the two cables and playback was approx. 20 to 30 seconds. Certainly not perfect science but good enough for first impressions.
I started the first track with the Via-Blue cable just to get my ears warmed up and establish the tried and true baseline. After completing the track, I swapped to the Diamond and ...
The track was Electric Soul from Rodrigo y Gabriela’s Mettavolution Album. The track starts with a very nice acoustic guitar section and the Diamond was flexing its muscle. Very clean, excellent note decay and transients. Approx. halfway through the song, things start to pick-up and the lower end starts to kick-in but the Diamond is missing something. It sounds to lean and is lacking engagement. With the last quarter mile of the track, everything comes together and normally I am inclined to push the system even more by increasing the volume, but with the Diamond I am decreasing it. The sound has become fatiguing and „too much“. Swapping back to the Via-Blue, everything falls back into place but I am missing somewhat the beautiful clarity that the Diamond had in the mid and high ranges.
Conclusion
Once again I am very surprised as to how apparent the change in overall SQ is when swapping one Ethernet Cable (the last mile) in my system. I can hear the scientists amongst us saying; “It can’t be, it’s only bits and bytes, no objective data to support, etc.”, but the change is definitely apparent, and it is not subtle. Based upon the results of the test with BertBird’s system my (somewhat bias) expectations were that the Diamond would knock the SQ of my system out of the park, but it was not the case. Actually it was the opposite.
In summary – What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander (each system is unique). The most expensive solution may not always be the best and strongly recommend (if possible) trying before buying.
So given the good results with BertBird’s system, I decided to bring a AQ Diamond Ethernet Cable home to try on my own system.
I connected it via a free port on my SOtM switch. This made it quite easy to swap between my existing Via-Blue cable and the Diamond via the Ethernet LAN Port of my Innuos Statement endpoint. These initial swap tests were not conducted blind given that I have been doing these without assistance.
The subjective test process was quite straight forward. I simply played a track which I was familiar with using one cable and then with the other. The swap was done quite quickly, so the pause between switching the two cables and playback was approx. 20 to 30 seconds. Certainly not perfect science but good enough for first impressions.
I started the first track with the Via-Blue cable just to get my ears warmed up and establish the tried and true baseline. After completing the track, I swapped to the Diamond and ...
The track was Electric Soul from Rodrigo y Gabriela’s Mettavolution Album. The track starts with a very nice acoustic guitar section and the Diamond was flexing its muscle. Very clean, excellent note decay and transients. Approx. halfway through the song, things start to pick-up and the lower end starts to kick-in but the Diamond is missing something. It sounds to lean and is lacking engagement. With the last quarter mile of the track, everything comes together and normally I am inclined to push the system even more by increasing the volume, but with the Diamond I am decreasing it. The sound has become fatiguing and „too much“. Swapping back to the Via-Blue, everything falls back into place but I am missing somewhat the beautiful clarity that the Diamond had in the mid and high ranges.
Conclusion
Once again I am very surprised as to how apparent the change in overall SQ is when swapping one Ethernet Cable (the last mile) in my system. I can hear the scientists amongst us saying; “It can’t be, it’s only bits and bytes, no objective data to support, etc.”, but the change is definitely apparent, and it is not subtle. Based upon the results of the test with BertBird’s system my (somewhat bias) expectations were that the Diamond would knock the SQ of my system out of the park, but it was not the case. Actually it was the opposite.
In summary – What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander (each system is unique). The most expensive solution may not always be the best and strongly recommend (if possible) trying before buying.
Kii Three Speakers | JL Audio Fathom Subwoofer | KEF LS50 Speakers | Samsung 850 Soundbar
Innuos Statement | Trinnov Altitude 32 | PS Audio Stellar S300 Amp | T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier | Meze Empyrean Headphones
Sean Jacobs DC-3 Custom Build LPS | Roon Core DIY Server | SOtM sNH-10G Modded Switch | Oppo UDP-205 Blu-Ray/SACD Player
T+A G 2000 R Turntable | DS Audio E1 Optical Stylus | Gordian Lab 12 Power Conditioner | Artesania Audio Rack
Innuos Statement | Trinnov Altitude 32 | PS Audio Stellar S300 Amp | T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier | Meze Empyrean Headphones
Sean Jacobs DC-3 Custom Build LPS | Roon Core DIY Server | SOtM sNH-10G Modded Switch | Oppo UDP-205 Blu-Ray/SACD Player
T+A G 2000 R Turntable | DS Audio E1 Optical Stylus | Gordian Lab 12 Power Conditioner | Artesania Audio Rack
