Improving on the stream of a combined streamer dac
I recently (foolishly) compared the streamed sound of my Electrocompanient
ECM 1 Mk II to internally stored digital downloads on the same ( ie not stored in my Small Green Computer server). I was surprised how much better the downloaded files sounded. Perhaps, I was naive to think otherwise. So, I started looking at old audiogon threads to see if I could figure a quick and easy fix to up the sound of the streamer but found little that made sense or was affordable. My question is whether I should continue to search, or if I should take it for what its worth and just listen to the music. The rest of my digital front end: Small Green computer server, a Trendnet unmanaged switch and the ECM. I use a Luna Orange ethernet cable from switch to ECM and a Purist Audio cable to the SGC. Thanks for your advice and happy holidays to all.
Yes, I use the Signature OCC silver cables from Audio Sensibility. Right or wrong, I like pure silver for digital transmission. WireWorld seems to agree and uses it in their best digital cables. I have their silver USB and it is excellent. Anyway, I have not done a lot of comparisons of Ethernet cables, kinda just checking a box with the ones that I have. I would like to try the WW version, but it is pretty spendy.
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I don’t think with Ethernet you need to be afraid of silver being bright. Make sure there’s a return policy that you can take advantage of in case the cables don’t work out. Give each cable at least 2-3 days to settle with signal flowing thru it before evaluating. With digital cables it’s all about timing and shielding. You need great quality best possible conductor, connectors and shielding against EMI and RFI as that factors into noise and crosstalk. Which you will hear as smearing, harshness, lack of definition, etc.
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op 1) check your roon settings for your endpoint, make sure they are set appropriately 2) before you question your electrocompaniet unit (it is quite good) i suggest that you better cleanse your inbound network feed... your trendnet switch is quite poor and should be replaced with an audiophile quality switch (there are many out there -- etherregen, paul pang, lhy, sonore, among others) ... that switch should powered by a linear power supply (some switches use outboard lps’s, some have them already built in) 3) ideally you would get a good audiophile switch with a built in port for an optical sfp module (and then use another optical module on the other end, on its own) so the lan feed can be cleansed via full galvanic isolation that way these improvements will help whatever streamer/dac is downstream, so in that respect they are ’no regret moves’ so to speak if you have done the above and the streamed music still sounds poor, then you question your streamer/dac good luck and have fun |
@jjss49 in what sense is the trendnet switch poor? Have you actually tried this switch? I’m using the unmanaged 8 port 1g version (same as in OP’s setup). It does no harm in my system - I’ve tested with and without. With the trendnet switch I actually noticed a slight decrease in noise floor but that could be due to the WW Ethernet cable that’s feeding it. |
