Meicord Opal Ethernet Cables Hi-Fi Critic Recommended

[MCRU]

The Meicord Opal ethernet cables were reviewed in this month's Hi-Fi Critic magazine (http://www.hificritic.com/), Martin Colloms was very impressed with the cables saying that they delivered un-mistakable improvements in clarity, image depth, all round definition and dynamics.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/themainsman/Meicord/opal_zps514d14aa.jpg (http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/streaming-accessories/308-meicord-audiophile-ethernet-network-cables.html)

Starting at £65.00, see my website (http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/streaming-accessories/308-meicord-audiophile-ethernet-network-cables.html) for more positive reviews.

[Stratmangler]

By what mechanism does this network cable improve the bit transmission?

[MCRU]

By what mechanism does this network cable improve the bit transmission?

Eh?

It is sound quality that matters, not bits! Surely? :)

Attention to quality of termination and the connectors themselves are amongst the USP's of this cable.

[Stratmangler]

Eh?

It is sound quality that matters, not bits! Surely? :)

Attention to quality of termination and the connectors themselves are amongst the USP's of this cable.

Ah, so we're off in the land of fairies and wishful thinking then.

Network transmission is via packets of data.
It's not even mission critical that the bits arrive in absolutely the correct order, within a certain event window, as they're buffered and sorted out before playback.

If the bits are outside a certain event window then the whole thing grinds to a halt.

So I repeat my original question.
By what mechanism does this network cable improve the bit transmission?

[MCRU]

This is not a thread for debates about whether or not ethernet cables make the music sound better, to be brutally frank I am sick to death of subjectivists who have nothing better to do than crap threads spouting mumbo jumbo about data transfer and all the associated crap that has been said a thousand times before and is quite frankly boring. It's a piece of wire, it may make you music sound better it may not, read the reviews, make your mind up, buy it or don't buy it. :)

The bottom line is if you want to try the cables buy them and if they do not do what you want then send them back for a refund, if you want to pick fault with the cables or the seller or the manufacturer go away as I am not really interested.

For people who seriously want to make their music sound better and are using a computer based system then these cables are a must. Today I received the latest feedback from another satisfied customer who now uses Meicord Opal cables:-

Wondercable
The MeiCord ethernet cable when connected between my Gigabit switch and network audio player ( Naim ND5 XS) produced a vast improvement in sound quality with improved bass, clarity and sharpness of vocals and instruments and good timing.

Mr Raphael.

[Stratmangler]

I didn't expect a proper answer from you, to be honest, and I see you didn't disappoint.

Ah well :rolleyes:

[Ali Tait]

Dunno what makes a difference, but the last time a few of us compared USB leads there were clear differences between them. The TQ was easily the best. Also the priciest though. I guess whatever is making the difference would be the same in Ethernet cable?

[Gazjam]

s'possible....

one thing I've learned is don't discount stuff till you've heard it in your own system with your own ears.

[MCRU]

s'possible....

one thing I've learned is don't discount stuff till you've heard it in your own system with your own ears.

That is known as common sense Gaz, sad part is a lot of people have none, they just like a good argument and faceless confrontation, often they have no intention of trying the product and like to ridicule the product and or the company selling it. Pity these people have nothing better to do TBH. :)

[DaveK]

Oh Sh1t, not another objectivistsubjectivist slanging match :steam: :eek:

[MCRU]

The aim is to bring the cable with its properties as close as possible to the contacts of the plug to provide an optimal data transmission. The distinctive physical properties of a data network cable are firstly, that each pair is twisted and secondly, that the pairs are in a defined position to each other. The structure and symmetry properties characterize the impedance, ideally 100 ohm.
The cable design (whether shielded or unshielded) is illustrated by the following picture. What you see at each cable end is a pair at the top, at the bottom, on the left and on the right, like crosshairs. If you rotate both ends of the cable so that both sides of the same colour pair are located at the bottom (e. g. in the picture: blue and white) you will see that generally one pair is on the left hand side and one on the right hand side, thus mirror-inverted, on both cable ends (here: brown-white and orange-white).

http://www.meicord.de/uploads/pics/Bild_1_04.jpg

The RJ45-connector with two different cable managers

This connector removes the above-mentioned problems. Each side has its own cable manager. It is structured like a cross with 4 channels: smoothly the pairs are led to the contacts according to their location in the cord. The symmetry of the cord is maintained!
In a refined way, the pairs of pins 4 + 5 and 3 + 6 are led directly to the contacts without intersection. If pairs come too close to each other, the unwanted crosstalk impends. An important evaluation criterion therefore is the parameter Near End Crosstalk (NEXT).
Which pair is led to which pin is determined by the standards EIA / TIA 568A or B.

http://www.meicord.de/typo3temp/pics/b11a5aa664.jpg

Sharp bend protection

An efficient sharp bend protection prevent a too small bending radius of the cable. The locking extension prevents the breaking off of the tab. At the same time it facilitates the unlocking of the connector. The small width of the design allows an outstanding handling of active components with a high number of ports.

http://www.meicord.de/typo3temp/pics/36765b75fa.jpg

For the MeiCord opal cable we use a wire with the diameter AWG 24/7 for the conductors AWG 24 represents a cross section of 0.22 mm², the 7 stands for seven fine wires. Often patch cables are tailored with AWG 26/7 (0.14 mm²) of AWG 27/7 (0.11 mm²). Due to the smaller cross-section these show a worse performance in the attenuation.

http://www.meicord.de/typo3temp/pics/b3de92bb37.jpg

The selection of a suitable cable with very good measurements and also an excellent plug are no guarantee for a good mix of both. It takes a lot of effort to harmonize the components, taking into account the different parameters. But precisely here lies the problem! A Cat6-plug and Cat7-cable do not automatically result in Cat6!
Our many samples prove the assertion. Sometimes not even Cat5 is obtained. There just a few manufacturers who have the know-how. A quality-assessment certainly is the measurement protocol, but again you have to make sure according to which norm the measurement was performed. The following parameters are always discounted: cycles of operation, contact height, strain relief, bend protection, temperature behaviour etc.

http://www.meicord.de/uploads/pics/Bild_5_03.jpg

Measurement Protocol: What is measured?

There are very few vendors in the market who sell their patch cords including measurement protocol. You should always make sure that the patch cord is measured according to the standard Category 6. Why? Because the requirements (limits) for the measurement of individual components are much stricter than in other measurement models. An example: There is the measurement model Channel Link. Here, an entire system is measured, which consists of a fixed line installation and at least two patch cables. The largest port of the setup here is made up by the installation route and not the patch cable. Moreover, the limits of the channel are well below those of the measurement components. Even measurements up to 500 MHz in the channel do not definitely prove Cat.6 according to the component standard. As an aside should be mentioned here that the Cat6A that forms the basis for the 10 Gbit/s has not been completely adopted in defining the test socket.
We have the MeiCord patch cords measured to the American TIA component standard with a minimum of 1dB reserve (selection). Compared to the ISO or EN Cat6 standard, TIA is 0,1 to 0,4 dB sharper at NEXT, depending on the frequency range up to 250 MHz. A cable-related and individual print-out of the measurement protocol with the most important parameters NEXT and Returnloss, based on the worst pair with graphical representation is provided with each MeiCord opal. The 1 dB-selection prevents disagreements with other instruments and in the measurement tolerances.

http://www.meicord.de/typo3temp/pics/ee2083119d.jpg

[Stratmangler]

That is known as common sense Gaz, sad part is a lot of people have none, they just like a good argument and faceless confrontation, often they have no intention of trying the product and like to ridicule the product and or the company selling it. Pity these people have nothing better to do TBH. :)

When I try the cable and hear no difference, it'll descend into a subjectivist downward spiral of "your hearing is shot" or "your replay equipment doesn't resolve highly enough", or some kind of bollocks along those lines.

It's a pity you have chosen this path David.

Someone else will get the markup on the Okki Nokki I'm intending to buy.

[realysm42]

I don't think that's a strictly fair stance to take; I've changed cables in my ststem and been really glad of the impact on the sound they've had.

I tried the Tellurium Q usb cable and couldn't hear the slightest difference in my system, I told David, he told me who to send it to next to try, no quibbles.

When other people told me they could hear a difference with the same demo item (such as Ali) I don't call into judgement my hearing or my system's ability to resolve detail (or theirs); I'm quite happy to accept that we've got completely different systems and that his experience is as legitimate as mine, albeit different.