September 23, 2016

  • Chord Company C-Stream Streaming Cable, Part 1

    My three housemates and I moved into the UCSC Crown-Merrill apartments on September 20, 1992. By the late afternoon/early evening, I got a grip on my college stereo, which consisted of the Sony CDP-520ESII CD player; Adcom GTP-400 tuner/preamp and GFA-535 power amp; Monster Cable IL-400 and AQ Topaz interconnects; AQ F-14 speaker cable; and Pinnacle PN-5+ minimonitors. That moment of crystallization occurred, when some radio station played Patty Smyth & Don Henley's "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough." Though it was "only" FM, it sounded damn good, and indicated that this school year -- after three fairly miserable ones -- was going to kick ass.

    Meanwhile, Ron had put together an IBM PC, and was hogging the phone line. You see, his computer used what was then new to us, a dial-up modem. It made a horrifying scream. But when Ron lost connection, he let out an even more blood-curdling scream. Clearly, a phone line was inadequate for moving computer data. Moreover, we could not have foreseen or predicted CAT5 Ethernet cable being used for audio purposes. Alas, here in the teens, that is indeed the case.
    IMG_3144
    Finally, a few cable manufacturers are coming around, to making their own high-end audio Ethernet cables. As of this writing, the Chord Company's entry-level model is the so-called C-Stream Streaming Cable. It is only available in these fixed lengths: 0.75m, 1.5m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m, and 20m. Here in the US, pricing starts at $100 for the 0.75m length. I believe each longer length adds another $25.
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    In 1992, Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot warned about our jobs being shipped overseas. And they were, of course, right. Unlike cables of 1992 being made in the US and UK, the C-Stream Streaming Cable is made in China. Actually, the packaging tries to mislead you, by saying, "Designed in England, assembled in China."
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    Back in 1992, $50 for the AQ Topaz hurt, was a lot of money for us unemployed college students. Working backwards, $100 for today's C-Stream Streaming Cable would have been.........$58.30 in 1992! My three housemates and I would have choked on $58.30 for a phone cable, especially one made in China.
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    Back in the early-90s, if you had said the word "streaming" to ACS, she would have stepped outside our Crown-Merrill apartment, stood on the moist grounds, pissed, and called that "streaming."