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Dedicated network card for music

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Fatmangolf View Drop Down
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    Posted: 17 Oct 2016 at 9:09pm
At the moment I have two active network ports in my PC, one of which is just connected to my Squeezebox Touch player. I am undecided about the benefit but I do have a cold at the moment - a risk that comes with term one/semester one.
 
Recap: I run Squeezebox Server on my PC connected via (wired) Ethernet to a Touch and a Cusat50 to one of my Majestic's SPDIF inputs. I reread some reviews of a self-contained media storage/server by Melco that had two separate Ethernet ports, one designed for direct connection to the media player only. So I fitted a cheap Gigabit card in my PC to see if I could go direct to the Touch, trying various options until I realised the card didn't support peer to peer i.e. crossover/Auto-MDIX. However I was able to connect the cheap card to my home network and run the Touch into the motherboard's Gigabit port, albeit getting a different IP address for the Touch within my home network.
 
The sound is quite clear and sounds less trebly, which may be having less noise on the simple network/line to the PC as Melco reviews argued or my cold. Today I received a better spec'ed Gigabit card to try out in case that makes a difference.
 
Anyway it seemed an interesting experiment to share. Has anyone else tried this before? Whilst on this exploration I may try an audiophile network cable next. Also HSCL don't make one, any other suggestions?
 


Edited by Fatmangolf - 18 Oct 2016 at 7:36pm
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote morris_minor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2016 at 4:08pm
Originally posted by Fatmangolf Fatmangolf wrote:

 I may try an audiophile network cable next. 
The words "slope" and "slippery" come to mind . . Wink
Bob

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2016 at 7:36pm
Your are right and I would add "steep." The torment started earlier than you may have expected...
 
In fitting the new card I dislodged the SATA from one of my drives leading to bleeping although the PC hasn't yet matched this to my expletives. Reopen, refit, reboot, etc. Now working. Same sound which is pretty good actually.
 
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Firth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2016 at 11:58pm
I don't want to rock the boat too much, but I remember that I could hear an audible difference between using a Cat5e patch lead into my Touch, and switching to a Cat6 cable - it was possible to hear the music gain a touch more weight when using the Cat6 cable, and that was despite the player running from buffer during the cable swap out.

The cable in both cases was UTP.

I'm beggared if I can find a reason for it - the Touch plays everything from buffer, so the network cabling shouldn't in theory make a difference, yet it was there to hear.
I switched all the network cabling at home to Cat6 shortly afterwards.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Oct 2016 at 12:59am

My experiences agree with yours Chris although I agree with Bob about the (steep) slippery slope I'm on. After trying the 2nd card for a couple of days I swapped from the 10M cat 5 I was using to a 10M cat 6 (also Unshielded TP as you'll know) and there was slightly less treble, more solid bass. A sound I preferred so worth keeping.

 
I thought this would be a cheap experiment to see if a second card helped and I was surprised at the difference in sound. I think I will try an audiophile Ethernet cable next.
 


Edited by Fatmangolf - 19 Oct 2016 at 1:08am
Jon

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Oct 2016 at 1:07am
To get an IP address from DHCP I had to plug the Touch into the motherboard's Ethernet and my home network into the second Ethernet card.
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Oct 2016 at 11:35pm
I have tried reconnecting my Touch into the switching hub it shard with the PC using the same 10M cat 6 cable. Slightly hazy and the bass is looser, so it is not as good as the direct connection into the PC. Glad I tried this experiment and I'm happy with the improvement for £7.
 
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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