Ethernet cable. Cat6 or 6a

Come on guys, another Ethernet cables battle.
You are not tired to go on it again?

2 Likes

:small_blue_diamond:Michaelb,ā€¦I respect your opinion,.because youā€™ve tested yourself in your system.

But here you point to the usual problem,.many just love to discuss,maybe provoke.
But they havenā€™t tested in their system,.so of course they donā€™t know what theyā€™re talking about.

/PederšŸ™‚

Thanks that is a very kind offer.

1 Like

From a twisted pair spec pov. CAT 6 is all you need.

Others can tell you about the ā€œsoundā€ of Ethernet cables if you happen to be in that camp.

2 Likes

No, thatā€™s strictly against forum rules to sell or to loan out anything to other members.

1 Like

Better in terms of a digital cable means capable of higher speed and/ or longer distance error free transmission of digital data.

In terms of digital cables in audio, it means nothing more than it just happens to shape the noise in a way that in your system and environment you feel causes less interference with your DAC or network player; nothing more, nothing less!

1 Like

Thanks for clarification Richard.

Ethernet cables donā€™t have a sound as such* as the analogue music signal isnā€™t being transmitted, just digital data (and that sounds just awful!).

*. If you can actually hear an Ethernet cable something has gone terribly wrong. For your own safety, switch everything off at the mains consumer unit, then unplug everything even remotely connected to that Ethernet cable before powering the house up again.

1 Like

Ooops! Sorry. I knew about sales but thought a loan to try stuff out would be different. Fair enough: I suppose it could be abused.

@StuW Sorry about that, too! I obviously shouldnā€™t have suggested itā€¦

3 Likes

:small_blue_diamond:@Michaelb,.@StuW,ā€¦There is a Naim group on Facebook,.where you can get in touch.

/PederšŸ™‚

1 Like

Try JuiceEbitz cat 6 cables. The sound fine to me. Cheap and well made. The connections are a good sign. I did look at the BJC stuff but you have to add postage etc. And unless you are buying a bit, it makes a single cable pricey ( for an ethernet cable).
Iā€™ve not done A/B comparisons but the price and build attracted me to JuiceEbitz. I never had a poor cable from then.
I did like a previous posters comment about bass extension with some ( ethernet) cable. If only Iā€™d known this rather than invest my my PMC 20-26s and a modified MF A300cr power amp! But at least I know why my bass extension sounds as good as it does !

Iā€™d just get some BJC cat 6a. They are good cables and wonā€™t break the bank. As has been said above I preferred them to cables costing about twenty times as much. Fit and forget. Lifeā€™s to short to worry about wires.

3 Likes

ā€œLifeā€™s to short to worry about wires.ā€
Heresy! Youā€™ll get banned from the forum with that sort of sense :slightly_smiling_face:

In the well known Ethernet thread, around 40% of people preferred cheap Ethernet cables vs 60% preferring audiophile ones ( vodka, diamond, chord indigo, Sarum t , Music, and WireWorld).
These numbers tell of course nothing, because the systems are different and the number of people testing not big.

I tried personally the Blue Jeans cat 6a and find it very good for the price, on the same level as the 3 times more expensive Meicord, and better vs more expensive Audioquest Forrest and Cinnamon.

I find the Vodka much better vs the Blue Jeans. However, on some systems and set up, the Vodka can sound a bit forceful. So I can easily understand that the Blue Jeans can be preferred.
The Diamond is in another league. But very few persons have tried it.

I believe that Ethernet cables have a sound. Not directly, because they donā€™t carry the signal, but indirectly they have an influence on the sound, as the switches.

1 Like

BJC Cat 6a is all you need. Itā€™s the preferred cable. Thereā€™s a chance youā€™ll prefer a much more expensive boutique cable but not likely.

1 Like

:small_blue_diamond:Xanthe,ā€¦I Wroteā€¦

ā€œAnd it was within this price-segment you were looking.
There are better,.much better cables,but then they also cost a lot more.ā€

Xanthe,.I donā€™t care about the technical rewrites.
But I understand of course how you see it from a technically view.
But I think everyone understands what I mean when I write ā€¦ā€œThere are better,.much better cablesā€.

When I plug an ethernet/streaming cable into my system,.or someone elseā€™s system.
Sounds it better or worse than the previous cable,.thatā€™s the only thing that counts.

And as I wrote earlierā€¦

"As well,.we have tested 31 much more expensive ethernet/streaming cables,in lots of different music-systems around Sweden.

The differences in soundquality-level may vary a little from music-system to music-system.
ā€¢But the soundquality difference Between,.the respective cable is the same."

/PederšŸ™‚

Yes, I have a couple of BJC 6a under a metre and I think they are weak links in my Ethernet chain because they are too short.

I use 3x 0,75 m Ethernet cables and the sound is marvelous.
@Darkebear, who has one of the most revealing system here, uses also short Ethernet cables.
Theory and experience, you can choose.
In other audio forums, people with more than 100 k systems use also short path expensive lan cables. Not only for financial reasons.

It is worth personally experimenting, as there are sonic and musical effects that until you hear them in your system you will tend to think do not exist or are very small.

I found you can ā€˜tuneā€™ the system with different sorts of cable. I found shorter ones - if you choose right - gave me a more emphatic and insightful presentation. Some were poor or awful - you need to experiment and determine what works for you and your system, if you wish to get optimal results.

Iā€™ve heard very long cables work well in some systems, but so far, Iā€™ve not managed to replicate that in mine and it lost focus and bass bloomed over-full in my system.

DB.

2 Likes

Thanks again everyone. There are a couple of reasons I enquired about cable categories. One is for sound quality, one is foe cable management and one is to figure out a streaming issue. Hopefully my explanation wonā€™t be too long winded. When I installed my streaming network I ended up with a mixture of cables. For cable dressing I wondered if shorter runs would be OK for certain applications. I am happy to use 2 metres between NAS - switch - 272 if indeed I find those beneficial. I have sketched a diagram of my network which will hopefully make sense. I will post this then follow up with my questions.