ETHERNET CABLES

It never ceases to amaze me how digital experts ignore RMi/EFI and ground level distortion. The issue isn’t at all about lost bits but rather about these distortions affecting timing and the subsequent D/A conversion. That’s why cable shielding and the quality of the conductors (dependent on purity of the metal) have such a big influence, The more distortion is travelling along the cables the harder the subsequent error correction circuits have to work, which in turn results in additional timing errors, not lost bits! And accurate timing is crucial for transmitting the spatial and attack and decay information in the analogue domain.

I like to use this little device for grounding my shielded Cat cables, when the piece of equipment the cable is being connected to doesn't provide a true earth ground.

Ethernet grounding adapter kit

Since we're on the subject, and even though Cat 7 or Cat 8 cables are not mentioned, some may find this article informative:

What makes a good Ethernet cable for audio applications?

Here's what audioquest has to say about one of their lowest quality ethernet cables. This is the one I'm positive I heard an audio performance improvement on. It was easy for me to perform numerous quick A/B comparisons, when switching back and forth to my standard Cat 5 patch cable, and this Pearl. Call me crazy, but I know I heard a sonic improvement.

audioquest Cat 7 Pearl cable

I just wanted a better ethernet cable from my router to my new iMac so after perusing all the articles and reviews, I found a one meter Cat 8 cable on Amazon for $8 that’s gotten 4.7 star reviews. Heck, they even printed out the Fluke measurement results.

At that price and not getting one for audio purposes, how could I pass on it? But if it were for audio purposes, I’d try out the ones that "sound" better.

All the best,
Nonoise

Head on down the cable deniers rabbit hole.

My gear sounds awesome with every improvement I made.

Have a great day.