Ultimate Omega Ethernet -released

[kleinbje]

Originally Posted by GuillaumeB

I couldn't agree more. Over the years I have had a lot of experience with ethernet cables and have owned many brands.

Venom already beats most stuff out there... Sigma is the new reference... Omega completely redefines what is possible with a network streaming cable. It is dramatically better than the Sigma and will have many scratching their heads in disbelief.

Guillaume

Have you compared to chord Company Music streaming? Comparisons, I run Naim and although I am using cinnamon and Vodka, was thinking of going to Sigma/omega/vs Music? I am shocked what these cables can even the 60$ cable from modem to router and computer to router. Such a difference, shocking to me actually.

Jeff

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by kleinbje

Have you compared to chord Company Music streaming? Comparisons, I run Naim and although I am using cinnamon and Vodka, was thinking of going to Sigma/omega/vs Music? I am shocked what these cables can even the 60$ cable from modem to router and computer to router. Such a difference, shocking to me actually.

Jeff

It was shocking to me, too, but I've spent the last year and a half studying this area of audio reproduction (i.e., network-based high-end audio) and I have learned there are all sorts of noise factors using Ethernet and USB cables that have only been elucidated in the last 2-3 years. These include susceptibility to phase noise, two classes of leakage current, which cause increased "threshold jitter" and a concomitant increase timing errors due to the noise they put on the ground plane, and also the impact of phase noise from crap clocks in generic consumer-grade networking devices. I feel like I could almost write thesis on this, at this point. BTW, I will be discussing a lot of these noise factors in more detail in my upcoming UpTone Audio EtherREGEN review in TAS that should be out in the December issue.

My advice is to just get one of the Shunyata Ethernet cables; the best one that is within your budget. I did a comprehensive competitive benchmarking of half a dozen or so Ethernet cables last year and even the Venom completely smoked everything else I had rented in to evaluate. It was by such a large margin that I remember laughing out loud one night when I replaced the Vodka, which actually is a nice-sounding Ethernet cable, with the Venom. I mean, it wasn't even close; the Venom blew the Vodka into weeds.

The Delta, Alpha, Sigma, and Omega are all absolutely superb within their respective price ranges, and each one notably outperforms the one below it in the portfolio.

[GuillaumeB]

Originally Posted by kleinbje

Have you compared to chord Company Music streaming?

ChordMusic streaming is just under £4K for 1M here in the UK.

Yes I’ve heard it, it’s a very nice cable. In terms of performance I would say it sits between Alpha and Sigma.

The Omega operates in a completely different league. It’s a dramatic and unexpected jump over Sigma, you almost have to pinch yourself!

We are getting very interesting feedback from dealers in the UK, the Omega Ethernet is really helping to redefine what is possible with streaming. Never has Tidal and Qobuz sounded so good!!

Cheers,

Guillaume

[SCAudiophile]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

It was shocking to me, too, but I've spent the last year and a half studying this area of audio reproduction (i.e., network-based high-end audio) and I have learned there are all sorts of noise factors using Ethernet and USB cables that have only been elucidated in the last 2-3 years. These include susceptibility to phase noise, two classes of leakage current, which cause increased "threshold jitter" and a concomitant increase timing errors due to the noise they put on the ground plane, and also the impact of phase noise from crap clocks in generic consumer-grade networking devices. I feel like I could almost write thesis on this, at this point. BTW, I will be discussing a lot of these noise factors in more detail in my upcoming UpTone Audio EtherREGEN review in TAS that should be out in the December issue.

My advice is to just get one of the Shunyata Ethernet cables; the best one that is within your budget. I did a comprehensive competitive benchmarking of half a dozen or so Ethernet cables last year and even the Venom completely smoked everything else I had rented in to evaluate. It was by such a large margin that I remember laughing out loud one night when I replaced the Vodka, which actually is a nice-sounding Ethernet cable, with the Venom. I mean, it wasn't even close; the Venom blew the Vodka into weeds.

The Delta, Alpha, Sigma, and Omega are all absolutely superb within their respective price ranges, and each one notably outperforms the one below it in the portfolio.

Great post...

[mr_gray]

I agree with Kleinbje. it truly is astonishing that these things make the difference they do. I have an Alpha and Sigma in my system and have ordered an Omega to replace the Alpha. I just have to hear what this is like but I do find the idea of further improvement (substantial improvement) improbable/inexplicable.

And of course this is for an ethernet connection to my server which conveys no music (all music on a hard drive on the server). Think about that!

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by mr_gray

I agree with Kleinbje. it truly is astonishing that these things make the difference they do. I have an Alpha and Sigma in my system and have ordered an Omega to replace the Alpha. I just have to hear what this is like but I do find the idea of further improvement (substantial improvement) improbable/inexplicable.

And of course this is for an ethernet connection to my server which conveys no music (all music on a hard drive on the server). Think about that!

It doesn't convey music, but it conveys noise on the ground plane, noise that can travel all the way down to the DAC. That's partly why the Shunyata Ethernet cables work so well. They also help prevent clock phase noise, as well.

[mr_gray]

Puma Cat thanks for the explanation. I do not have the understanding you do so my approach is that the system is very sensitive to noise and i have focussed 2 contact points with outside world; ethernet and power. So both require best treatment possible in order to listen to the actual music.

Perhaps hubristic of me but I sometimes wonder how many people are actually listening to a sound which is not substantially impacted by distortion. I certainly am stunned every time another wad of distortion is removed from the system. Always more music sounding more and more real every time.

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by mr_gray

Perhaps hubristic of me but I sometimes wonder how many people are actually listening to a sound which is not substantially impacted by distortion. I certainly am stunned every time another wad of distortion is removed from the system. Always more music sounding more and more real every time.

Not at all hubristic from where I sit and listen. "Stunned" has been an apt description of my reaction to the same phenomenon more than once lately, particularly with respect to the get-closer-to-the-performance improvements effected by peeling away noise-generated distortion from the sonic presentation.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by mr_gray

Puma Cat thanks for the explanation. I do not have the understanding you do so my approach is that the system is very sensitive to noise and i have focussed 2 contact points with outside world; ethernet and power. So both require best treatment possible in order to listen to the actual music.

Perhaps hubristic of me but I sometimes wonder how many people are actually listening to a sound which is not substantially impacted by distortion. I certainly am stunned every time another wad of distortion is removed from the system. Always more music sounding more and more real every time.

Not very many.

You are correct that most distortion that can be removed (for the most part) is beneficial. There are some 2nd-order harmonic distortions that people find pleasant to listen, too, though.

Certainly with respect to digital music reproduction, jitter and timing errors are (distortion in the time domain, for example) very notable and unpleasant for most listeners.

I think the important thing to remember that our perception of air pressure waves as "music" is a construct of the brain, much as is our perception of color (i.e., our eyes are not spectrophotometers).

[mr_gray]

i received my Omega E/net cable today.

the Omega e/net cable cost ~ 5% of total system cost.

It cost more than the speakers I am listening to (2nd hand AN-E kit audio note speakers). it also cost as much as my amp (2nd hand SPEC M3EX). the amp is a seriously nice thing. so these comparisons aren't supposed to be favourable.

a recent theme for me has been that i have gone over board on power and cables. the power at my home is very dirty and i have ended up with shunyata this and that. a sigma usb cable for example. alpha interconnects. a sigma XC to the PC.

anyway i must admit that i tried to cancel the Omega. in the above vein i figured i was spending more on cords than i ought. i should spend money on amplifiers and speakers. that's where the rich rewards lay.

OK so these cables take ages to settle in. that's my experience with all shunyata cables to date. Mr Gabriel talks about this. different to burning in. i think he uses the word "settling". so i shouldn't be saying anything. too soon.

BUT, what i am hearing is insane. i run digital and want it to sound like analog.

i think Omega does more to achieve that than anything else i have experienced yet.

it is "startling" what you hear. and it is not accentuation of what was there before or a different "flavour". it's stuff you've never heard before as well as a sense of atmosphere. biggest improvement is bass (my favourite) and a general sense of timing.

it is one of those changes that connects you to the music as opposed to making you think more about your system.

highly recommended.