I wasn't sure whether to post this in the Cables forum or here, but I think that my question has as much to do with a larger process understanding so I'm starting here.
I run Roon via ROCK on a NUC connected to an eero mesh router via a generic ethernet cable. Also connected to the eero via a generic ethernet cable is my NAD M50.2 player/vault (which has my music library loaded onto its internal HDDs).
This past weekend, at the Capital Audiofest, I listened to two demonstrations of the M101 Nova LAN cable in which the owner/designer/inventor, Dr. Lubomir Dostal, compared it with a standard off-the-shelf LAN cable. When the M101 Nova was in use, the musical presentation was tonally compelling with excellent front-to-back and lateral imaging. When the generic cable was in use, the overall sound was harsher with more glare and the front-to-back separation collapsed.
Now I'm a long-time audio guy who cares about this sort of stuff, but my brother was with me, and he's not. His idea of good sound is a sound bar and Sonos speakers, and as we visited the various rooms at CAF, he was as impressed by most of the "good" systems as he was by the really great and well-integrated gear. But when Dr. Dostal switched from his Nova cable to the basic cable, my brother immediately said to me "that's a big difference - it's not as good." When Dostal switched back to the Nova, my brother said, "Ok, now it sounds really good again." I felt the same way, but could articulate the differences more specifically.
Dr. Dostal advised me to replace my generic ethernet cable between my eero router and my M50.2 player/vault with his cable. He did not suggest replacing the cable between the router and my Roon ROCK NUC.
I don't really understand why inserting a high-end LAN cable between my M50.2 and my router would make a difference. My "music" never "leaves" my M50.2, right, except via my very nice Hapa Aero S/Pdif cable that connects it to my DAC, so why would I need an audiophile LAN cable?
Am I misunderstanding how Roon works? I'd love to implement the improvements that I heard in the M101 room at CAF in my own system, but I don't want to spend over $1k on an ethernet cable that won't have the impact I'm looking for.
Thanks for any wisdom and clarity you can provide!
I run Roon via ROCK on a NUC connected to an eero mesh router via a generic ethernet cable. Also connected to the eero via a generic ethernet cable is my NAD M50.2 player/vault (which has my music library loaded onto its internal HDDs).
This past weekend, at the Capital Audiofest, I listened to two demonstrations of the M101 Nova LAN cable in which the owner/designer/inventor, Dr. Lubomir Dostal, compared it with a standard off-the-shelf LAN cable. When the M101 Nova was in use, the musical presentation was tonally compelling with excellent front-to-back and lateral imaging. When the generic cable was in use, the overall sound was harsher with more glare and the front-to-back separation collapsed.
Now I'm a long-time audio guy who cares about this sort of stuff, but my brother was with me, and he's not. His idea of good sound is a sound bar and Sonos speakers, and as we visited the various rooms at CAF, he was as impressed by most of the "good" systems as he was by the really great and well-integrated gear. But when Dr. Dostal switched from his Nova cable to the basic cable, my brother immediately said to me "that's a big difference - it's not as good." When Dostal switched back to the Nova, my brother said, "Ok, now it sounds really good again." I felt the same way, but could articulate the differences more specifically.
Dr. Dostal advised me to replace my generic ethernet cable between my eero router and my M50.2 player/vault with his cable. He did not suggest replacing the cable between the router and my Roon ROCK NUC.
I don't really understand why inserting a high-end LAN cable between my M50.2 and my router would make a difference. My "music" never "leaves" my M50.2, right, except via my very nice Hapa Aero S/Pdif cable that connects it to my DAC, so why would I need an audiophile LAN cable?
Am I misunderstanding how Roon works? I'd love to implement the improvements that I heard in the M101 room at CAF in my own system, but I don't want to spend over $1k on an ethernet cable that won't have the impact I'm looking for.
Thanks for any wisdom and clarity you can provide!
Last edited: