Ethernet cables

I would wait for cat8

Yes, there is a noticable difference between different ethernet cables. Its not about just cat 6 or 7. Ive tried a few and found a combination of brands worked best for me.

Oh boy.... another Ethernet Pandora Box opens

The best thing is - borrow the cables and test, test, test. Do not buy based purely on recommendation of your dealer.

As someone who finds it difficult to accept that "different" Ethernet cables can sound different, can I ask those of you who 'believe' a question.

I can just about accept the possibility that although the underlying data will always be the same (unless you have a faulty cable), there may be situations in which  different Ethernet cables may allow different levels of RF noise into the signal path which may or may not have a subjective or real effect on sound quality. In the event that there is a sound quality difference of this sort between different types or makes of Ethernet cable, what part of the network really matters, and would therefore benefit from an 'upgrade'? Would it just be the final leg of the network chain (i.e., say, switch to streamer), or would there be added benefits of also 'upgrading' earlier legs of the network chain such as router to switch, or NAS to switch? 

I personally found the switch to nds cable made most difference but the nas to switch made a noticable difference too. The combination of both really seems to have removed a bottleneck in my system. I wont even try to explain why the cables work as I have no idea, but I have a good set of ears and a revealing system and they work really well for me. 

oldneil posted:

Is there a difference in SQ between ethernet cables cat6 and cat7 ?

My dealer wants me to buy cat7, claiming they are much better, I think it's Nordost.

Why would your dealer want you to buy cat 7 cable when you don't even have a streamer? I suppose you could put it in the bathroom to dry your smalls.

Any dealer who 'wanted' me to buy anything would rapidly become my ex-dealer. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

oldneil posted:

Is there a difference in SQ between ethernet cables cat6 and cat7 ?

My dealer wants me to buy cat7, claiming they are much better, I think it's Nordost.

Why would your dealer want you to buy cat 7 cable when you don't even have a streamer? I suppose you could put it in the bathroom to dry your smalls.

Any dealer who 'wanted' me to buy anything would rapidly become my ex-dealer. 

I'm a streamer owner soon, and I've heard there's a difference between ethernet cables and even network switch (ala Netgear).

The general view on this is that it is the wire from the switch to the streamer that makes the biggest difference, followed by that from the nas to the switch, followed by that from the router to the switch. When I did mine, I found that the wire from the nas to the switch made as much difference as that from the switch to the streamer.

All three of my wires are Audioquest Cinnamon. I neither know nor care why they sound better than ordinary cables, but they made a very positive difference in my setup, and that's what matters to me. 

Remember that many years ago all amplifiers sounded the same, all speaker leads sounded the same, and racks made absolutely no difference. 

The only positive factor of between these cables for different manufactures is  the quality of the cable used quality of plugs and finally the terminating method .cheap audio questt cables seem to fit the bill. Fit at switch and forget it.

I quite liked what the Chord C-stream Ethernet cables did in my system (NAS + UnitiLite) so I bought a couple. I felt that they offered a decent improvement over using standard Cat6 cable to warrant my purchase, they encouraged a little more in the timing department and seemed to reveal a little more. 

However I hated them when I first tried them as I put one in the wrong way around. There is a dot on one of the connectors which indicates the source end. I found that in the case of streamed music, the Source is actually the router or switch, and not the NAS/Server as one would expect. 

Hope this is helpful for you in some way!

audio1946 posted:

.........   quality of the cable used quality of plugs and finally the terminating method.

Same here not sold with the idea of Cat7 Audiophile cables... It's data delivering to my understand. More like you have the data sent to the streamer to do the decoding it's a file right?  

To be honest I didn't have a chance to try it out tho. Again hearing is believing we should all try to find some cables and do a A/B testing instead of debating something we can never proof on theory or paper.

I have a feeling in the near future when everyone else is tried with this Ethernet cable debate then something new might come up... maybe the next trend will be updating the power source of your Synology NAS? ��

Nic Chan posted:

. maybe the next trend will be updating the power source of your Synology NAS? ��

Conside me a trend setter then - I've upgraded my NAS power supply already

Adam posted:

"Consider me a trend setter then - I've upgraded my NAS power supply already"

Could I ask why?

I have tried cat 5e, cat6 and now chord company c-stream cat7 cable and there's no difference in sound quality on the muso. I got the cat7 to stop audio drop outs on the radio and it hasn't even cured that.

Adam Zielinski posted:

Nic Chan posted:

. maybe the next trend will be updating the power source of your Synology NAS? ��

Conside me a trend setter then - I've upgraded my NAS power supply already

Mine is powered/plugged through a mains conditioner which is connected to the mains via Powerline, why not, and not sure it makes a blind bit of difference except to my own sense of doing it cause I can..and Synology drives are SSDs, again why not. It 'feels' better pyschologically if nothing else :-) I'm doing everything I can to maximise the signals purity, even if most could call it all bunk, I'm doing it anyways.

Melco do a dedicated ethernet cable for HiFi purists at £60 for 0.5m and up from there depending on length, shrugs shoulders and thinks he might buy some, and a dedicated 10GbE switch, and ethernet to fibre converters. 

Mike-B posted:

The SQ difference in ethernet cables is small at best - the price is HUGE

There is no justification in the price differences that can be found around the various ethernet cable prices, 5m of perfectly good well made Cat6 can be bought for less than the price of a CD or www.download.  The more simple & less complex construction of Cat5 will be cheaper than the more highly specified Cat6,  add a screen & its a bit more,  add an audiophile label & it multiplies by x10.     

Cat7 is not an internationally agreed standard,  the proposed stnd is supposed to run to a bandwidth of 600 MHz; the cable might do this, but its very doubtful it will go to 600 MHz when the RJ/E-45 plugs are installed.  Keep in mind audio streamers have 100Base-T(X) data standard & Cat5e (100MHz) is perfectly OK. 

As to SQ,  I have recently changed from Cat7 to Cat6,  the new cables have a different sound in my system & as a cable sceptic I am surprised. Its more open with a richer & more natural feel to the sound with a better sense of space, clarity, detail & sound stage. Its obvious to me because I'm so familiar with my own system sound, but it is subtle & I doubt would be so audible to that many others.  But the point is I've "downgraded" Cat7 to Cat6  ....

.... & its better.  

Buy some cheap Cat6 & run that for a while,  Blue Jeans USA (or UK) are an excellent brand & are supplied with a test certificate.   Then if (IF) you think you can do better,  get a home demo from the dealer.

Then next question ........  err what network player do you have,  its not in your profile 

Mike  I'd be interested in how I can get hold of this cable? I've been on Bluejeans US site but is there a UK version ? I notice the cable is made by Belden products.

Mike..

There are many suppliers of Cat N cable in UK. Try a company called CPC (CPC Farnell) - you should find enough choice to keep you occupied for a few hours trying to tell what the difference is...

Innocent Bystander posted:

There are many suppliers of Cat N cable in UK. Try a company called CPC (CPC Farnell) - you should find enough choice to keep you occupied for a few hours trying to tell what the difference is...

I'm only interested in the quality of the cable not whether it sounds a bit "different" . I suppose the colour will come into it for me as I don't like white so only black will do. :-/

Blue Jeans have a choice of 9 colours  :-)))

<troll>

I wonder what cables LINX use.. 

</troll>

Sorry couldn't help myself... Seriously though plenty of suppliers of high quality Cat6a and lower cables in the UK.  They are used everyday in data centres up and down the country so if that's what you're looking for there is no need to be ordering from USA.

PS. I'm not telling people if cables make a sound quality difference or not, buy what you feel makes a difference AFTER you audition it!

Mike-B posted:

Blue Jeans have a choice of 9 colours  :-)))

Black, indigo, stone wash, cowboy's bottom.....

Mike-B posted:

The only problem is the UK people only sell Cat5e,  whereas USA has a better selection that includes Cat6 & Cat6A.      However,  if you order from UK, its made & gets shipped from USA,  so just order from the better selection available from USA

Yes its Belden,  but they use different RJ45 plugs,  so don't get tempted to thinking Belden from Amazon is the same.  & your assembled patch cord is tested for TIA conformity by Blue Jeans & you get a test cert. 

Mike, are your sure :-) in the world of Ethernet copper cables, there are many UK suppliers and apparent huge stocks of  Cat 6 ( and obviously 5e) and even some Cat 7 but the latter is more limited no doubt because of lack of industry support/recognition. I suspect the majority are made in the Far East.... But in the world away from hifi forums Ethernet cable cables are just about commodity and readily available .. and for the vast majority where specification is important you choose the cable type that meets your environmental requirements.

One UK cable supplier we use

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/...on-cable/cat6-cable/

Simon