Where from?
And why 24awg?
Nothing exotic so just off fleabay 
24awg is thicker than 26awg. I can see no benefit in running thinner cable.
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There was some talk on the exotic cable www’s about the pro’s&con’s of cable size, solid vs stranded & silver vs copper. I did not take much notice & it was all flowered up language & not much technical reasoning. No doubt there is an effect of some sort, but if the cable actually conforms & performs to the TIA/ISO standards, am I bover’d ???
My MeiCords conform & I have test certs to prove it, & it has 24AWG (0.22mm) stranded wire.
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Fatter is always best.
That’s what I tell my wife anyway!
And 26awg isn’t Cat5E spec; the spec is 24awg.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable for full spec.
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I am going to get a 4m ethernet cable to replace the Ugreen solid core one that is so twisted/coiled that I cannot stop it touching other cables.
Should I get a Meicord one, or a Blue Jeans cable, or other brand?
And should it be shielded?
Stranded?
Silver?
Please do report.
You must be ‘Objective’ and admit if the E3 cable sounds better than the E700 cable - ideally also compare to a good quality Meicord or Blue Jeans cable for a fairer test.
There will be a lot of pressure on your ears/expectations to tell you either:
A. that the expensive cable is better (otherwise why would you have bought it)
and also:
B. that the cheap cable MUST sound a lot worse - therefore you might be shocked if the cheap cable sounds the same and over rate how good it is compared to your low expectations.
All this would be much more interesting if you can find a friend to conduct a blind test
The choice is all yours JimDog.
I can recommend MeiCord simply because its what I’ve ended up with after a few test trails of various boutique type cables, plus a longer period with Supra Cat7.
Not tried BlueJeans but I read good things
You really don’t need screened ethernet in a normal domestic environment, but no harm if you do. MeiCord is not screened, it’s deliberately so because they found a screen doesn’t sound as good in their cable.
Stranded is best for patch cords, solid is normally only used for installs within the structure of the building.
I don’t see any point in silver with ethernet, it seems to be used to justify the loony toones pricing of some brands.
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Thanks Mike - what cat do you use now - 5e or 6 or 6a?
Meicord’s site says - interesting, but I’m not sure what it means!
Could it mean they are bringing into question their own policy on not shielding hifi ethernet cables??:
# Outlook
We will increasingly deal with the still new measuring methods according to the new Cat6A component standard for patch cords. What does the practice in that regard look like? Shielded or unshieldes at Hifi? High NEXT-reserve = great sound? Questions that need to be resolved. Assume that we will get to the bottom of these things.
It also says: TAXFREE EXPORT! 19% Tax will automatically be deducted on the invoice.
So maybe I should hold off for a few weeks!!
Jim - I use a Meicord cable between Melco and Network Player. Nicely made if rather stiff (best left on a radiator for 1/2hr to soften up and then it can be dressed nicely whilst it cools). Between Cisco switch, Roon Nucleus and Melco, I just use these off the shelf cables from Farnell - CAT6 and unscreened. As with mains cables, there is a lot of foo out there…
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Thanks TallGuy. Sneaky sods have marked up as 5e though 
There was clearly an issue so I grabbed the nearest cable that was long enough (5m). It was certainly better and more natural sounding, this was late last night though.
However I’ve found a solid core 5e (homemade) using cable I got from a computer datacentre. You can still hear the natural sibilance but no harshess or emphasis. This is the best cable I tried so far! It’s really good 
Marking nonCat5e cable as Cat5e.
That’s a great example of why not to get a 3 Euro ethernet cable.
thanks James - about your idea of getting a very long (6.5m) extension block, do you have any brands that are good value and work well - presumably something without switches, lights or surge protection…?
I use MeiCord & that is CAT-6
The MeiCord site “Outlook” is musing on what the application of the CAT-6A standard will do. This does not mean anything is changing other than possibily the test standard they use.
MeiCords CAT-6 is UTP & as such supports 250HMz. CAT-6A is 500MHz. However as Naim & whatever NAS you have are all 100MHz, that means all you need is CAT-5e (100MHz). Bottom line is no matter what ethernet you have, it will all work with Naim - period.
Any sound change/differences (if any) are not related to the category rating; maybe the cross talk (NEXT) is lower, maybe that has an affect - NB: I did say maybe.
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My error. It’s not marked at 26awg. 
It should be pointed out that the changes in sound are down to RF loading of the Ethernet port (as mentioned in much more detail by SiS) and nothing to do with TCP data transmission. So a £25 quid cable may not sound any better, and could even be worse.
Hence grab a few cheapies and see which sounds better.
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Jim - replied in the Mains block thread.
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i will try to be the most objective and honest as i can. Will try it from the router to the switch and also from switch to my streamer.
If it sounds better, i will get some cash solding the diamond.
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for now, i found the meicord very good sounding for its price. It was more softer and natural vs the audioquest vodka, 3 times more expensive. But the vodka was more dynamic and had more bass.
The audioquest diamond have both characteristics, and more…
The cat 7 audioquest forrest, hana, and other brand i don’t remember, were recessed, lean, less resolved and open, bright sounding.
next test: cat 5e in a few days.
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I’m going to get one of those right now…
thanks
Jim
I have 3 Miecord (Router, RasPi and TV), where around £50 each (i think) - its is ok but was not much better than the Amazon £5 ones i used, bit more dynamic I guess as unscreened.
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