The most obvious issue with my ipolex cable is that the bass is too fat. It masks the mid, the sound is pleasant but the gnodal is so much better across the full range and bass is in proportion with great detail and texture. It’s as though I could be describing two analogue cables.

Lots of discussion on the Audiophile Style forum of the Amphenol passive DAC cable being a superior design (but no listening experiences yet). It uses quad-shield 30 AWG twinax 'Skewclear' 2-pair bonded wires and zinc die-cast connectors. They are hard to get in the UK but I found a 3m one on eBay so I have ordered it - it's not long enough for a proper run but I can get an idea of whether a 4m one is worth ordering from the US.

Do report back on that one, Nick. Mine is due on Saturday.

Comparing multiple cables can be daunting but, in the early going, the Amphenol with SkewClear® Twinax Wire sounds very good with no apparent shortcomings.

More time and comparisons are needed but it is indeed off to a good start in my system.

The Cisco compatible(or so they say) Addon DAC cable finally arrived today after a strange experience with a courier service. They refused to leave the parcel without a signature and wouldn’t even leave it with a neighbour.

Well, the Addon cable won’t work or at least not plug and play. I’ve not tried going into the Cisco settings yet to try and see if it will work.

The FS DAC cable just worked out the box and is a big upgrade over Ethernet between switches. Really surprised.

Both the Ubiquiti and Addon cables cause port shutdown.
I’ll have a proper go at the Addon cable tomorrow as that specifically said compatible with Cisco 2960.

I tried a standard Cat6, cat8.1, Amazon Cat8 flat type and an AliExpress ‘Odin’ cable, initially as it came, then later I shortened it and removed the ground at both ends and applied Mad Scientist Graphene. The later was noticeably better.

Then I received the FS DAC cable and this is better again.

The 3m Amphenol cable arrived today, part no. SF-SFPP2EPASS-003 which uses the previously mentioned Belden triple-shielded twinax 'SkewClear' cable and very nice looking die-cast Amphenol connectors. The cable construction is surprisingly thinner than the gnodal.

Because it's only 3m long, it dangles between my EtherREGEN and Signature Rendu Deluxe. I really need a 4m cable length but this eBay purchase was for testing purposes only.

Making some direct comparisons by hot-swapping the cables, the Amphenol has sharper focus with more edge resolution. This also gives a little more spatial definition and perception of depth - not bad considering the already excellent performance of the gnodal.  I'm still staggered at the bass performance of these DAC cables and the Amphenol is up there with the gnodal in this department. The Amphenol is just a touch sharper in the high female vocal range and I suspect some burn-in will fix this. Dynamics are simply knock-out - I keep reeling back from startling dynamic swings in music I know well.

This is from a stone cold brand new cable. Some Tara Labs coming soon.

Looks like I may be special ordering a 4m cable from Amphenol in the US soon.

It doesn't seem to be stocked anywhere in 4m, I've checked DigiKey and Mouser, my usual suppliers*.

However, Amphenol Cables on Demand to the rescue.  It's listed here:
cablesondemand.com/sfp-cables-direct-attach-1

So I've gone ahead and ordered one.  After an evening of listening to this cable, it had to be done.



* I could, of course, just use a 5m one but it's longer than strictly necessary and that upsets my sensibilities

There has always been trade off between detail and soundstage as upgrades to my system occurred. This is the first time that I feel both are present in abundance. Dynamics are exceptional with a rock solid image. And it seems to only get better...