Hi-Fi Choice Recommended: Chord Company Clearway streaming cable

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Date: 2022-09-12

Reprint from 《Hi-Fi Choice》

Conventional computer cables use unshielded twisted pairs (UTP) of wires in their design. In order to reduce cable-induced jitter of the digital audio signal, a shielded cable is preferable and the new Clearway has been designed to virtually eliminate the susceptibility to high-frequency noise interference. The Clearway streaming cable employs four high-speed 26AWG OFC twisted-pair conductors, which have been individually shielded from each other. The entire cable is also screened by a shield beneath the outer jacket to offer additional protection. It is terminated with Chord Company’s latest-generation RJ45 connectors, which feature 24ct gold-plated contacts, zinc connector jackets and a non-compression strain-relief system. These connectors also have a slim profile in order to make them easy to use with a wide range of different equipment. Apart from the 1.5m cable reviewed here, lengths are also available in 0.75m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m and 20m.

Difference is clear
To check the cable out, I use the Clearway streaming cable to connect a Cambridge Audio Azur 851N streamer to a Gigabit switch in my computer network and play music stored on a Thecus N2810PRO fileserver that is also connected to the Gigabit switch via a short Cat6 cable. The sockets on my Gigabit switch are very close together, but I have no problem fitting the Chord slim profile RJ45 into a spare socket. My music and, in particular, a 24-bit/192kHz PCM WAV file recording of Rimsky Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol from the beautifully recorded Chasing The Dragon album España, play faultlessly from the Cambridge 851N over the Clearway streaming cable. The clarity of each instrument in the orchestra is very evident during this powerful performance. In summary, this is an excellent audiophile streaming cable at a very reasonable cost.