The Shunyata Research OMEGA-X-Ethernet Cable

@jrareform 

I wouldn't mind answering you question. Would you like me to?

Or I can leave it to someone else. At any rate, let's not get in to a pointless battle. You can take what I say at face value or choose to ignore it. Up to you. 

@frank009 yes I am curious what you think about various digital cables.  I have friends that believe no digital cable can make a difference.  As I said, I have almost no experience testing Ethernet cabling but have noticed a substantial difference with other cables.

@jrareform 

Thanks for your response and for being polite. 

Okay, so here’s what I know for sure. I’m not trying to sound like I "know it all" but alas, here’s what I can tell you: 

SPDIF -Cables are NOT all made equal. PMMA (is plastic) and has an in inferior light transmission pattern compared to glass fiber cables, which are more reflective as well. The glass fiber cables, able to transmit the light as precisely as possible alleviate time domain smearing from a digital to analog convertor’s digital stage, and furthermore, prevent gang errors in the analog output stage that happen between parts when inconsistencies are detected. We can measure this very easily in industry; for example, with extremely expensive and sensitive medical equipment. 

We have historically used these cables for demanding client demos and and in situations where even the smallest errors could be the difference between the company I worked for losing millions of dollars to a competitor if we didn’t edge them out.

Lifatec Glass Toslink Cables

In audio systems, they don’t necessarily "improve" the signal, but they allow you to pass it along truly unhampered. So the output going to you speakers will be as clean and optimal as possible. in addition, their cables are very smooth and flexible, not extremely dense and hard to work with, like some audiophile cables that place excessive strain on input jacks.

AES Cables - Go for cables that are branded as "Professional" as those have undergone extensive testing for reliability and performance with stress tests in real-world environments, or simulated environments that very closely mimic real-world use cases. I won’t tell you how much to spend, it’s up to you.

USB Cables - USB cables carry 5v and have a DATA and POWER line (individual wires) that may not be optimal in common, very cheap USB cables. Look for a high quality USB cable that is made for audio, and specifically its ability to reject noise contamination. Along with this, the common mode and differential mode noise that rides along a cable can potentially cause noise and degraded sound performance. 

Vet the manufacturer carefully for USB cables. It should be an engineering first approach, rather than an audiophile first - it will improve your system’s sound quality approach. Because you should focus on getting rid of problems the source, rather than after the fact. In addition, try to use the shortest possible USB cables (which is basically a standard printer cable in its most basic form) to connect your DAC to the computer. This will result in the lowest possible latency, even it’s not detectable, you still edge out for overall performance.

And... I would advise using clip on ferrite cores on the AES cable and the USB cable (one on each end, so you can clean up environmental noise at the source, rather than having it linger on). High frequency noise is practically everywhere in a modern building.

I hope this helps. Happy listening. 

@wokeuptobose wrote:

I'm saying that not only does the Omega X cable sounds great/different from basic cable, I'm saying the first ethernet cable that runs between the google fiber box to the first fiber converter makes a sonic change [...] I cannot understand how changes before a fiber run can change sound, but I can hear it.

Define "hear". The mind is a funny thing. 

@frank009 +1 on your summary for @jrareform 

Bear with me expanding the discussion on the sequence of the digital stream from the above discussion where redundant Ethernet protocols assure bit perfect sequenced data where shielding from RF is critical but there is no direct impact on timing that would impact sound quality.  I am unfamiliar with optical cables from a quality engineering perspective so I will not wax on this subject.  USB and SPDIF cables carry a clocked (timed) data package between the streamer and DAC.  The DAC then locks onto the signal and reclocks the data, removing and y jitter introduced over the USB cable to the DAC.  AES in certain system configurations with equipment capable can synchronize the streamer and DAC clocks.  Logic prevails that cable design of these cables can impact sound quality significantly, in my opinion and based on my experience. High purity copper or silver conductors, better dielectric materials (like Teflon or foam), and better connectors reduce reflections, electromagnetic interference, and signal degradation resulting stable digital stream without electronic or electromagnetic anomalies.  The cables require impedance matching especially SPDIF.   USB design includes galvanic isolation, separating the ground of the source and DAC preventing noise from the computer’s USB ground from getting injected into the audio circuit, reducing jitter, and lowering noise floor.  The better the galvanic isolation the better the SQ.  So the design and quality of these cables have more of an impact than the Ethernet cable.  The physics support the and we can continue to discuss ad nauseam the degree and benefit/ cost ratio of expensive USB, SPDIF, and AES cables.  
 

While I have no experience with optical cables, but rather photographic equipment, I agree that glass and cable quality will logically have an effect. Just consider the image quality of Leica and Hasselblad over more consumer based cameras.