my ethernet cable?


Hi all-

Another beginner question. So I am planning to set up a device (either an Auralic Aries or a Sonos with Empirical Audio's Synchro-Mesh and Dynamo power supply) to stream Tidal. When I was having a TV installed last year, I had the guy pull an ethernet cable to my stereo cabinet with this purpose in mind. I thought I was being smart to ask for him to get and install cat 6 instead of 5e, which was what he usually uses.

Later I read that cat6 can be a lot trickier to install correctly, and sometimes its safer just to go with 5e. (and I note the adapter plate on the wall actually says 5e.) And then I read this article from Blue Jeans cable about how most of the cat6 cable on the market is crap.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/is-your-cat6-a-dog.htm

So all of this has me wondering if I should buy some cat6 from blue jeans (or even 5e given installation quirks with cat6?) and have this redone? Or is there a way to test the quality of the cable I have and know whether or not it is up to the task?

It seems a bit excessive to replace the cable, but on the other hand, that will cost a fraction of what an Aries streamer does, or a year's subscription to Tidal, so I am wondering if I shouldn't make sure my fundamentals are all solid before proceeding.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Margot
mcanaday
Hi Margot,

Wow! The Blue Jeans article is certainly eye-opening, and everything it says strikes me as technically persuasive. But on the other hand keep in mind the following:

1)As long as the ethernet link conveys the bits reliably and consistently, the fact that the cable may not meet cat6 or even cat5e specs is irrelevant. By its nature data transmission via ethernet cannot affect sonics as a result of jitter, waveform degradation, or other such issues that can certainly have relevance in the cases of S/PDIF, AES/EBU, USB, etc., unless the problems with the ethernet link are so severe that dropouts occur. See the paragraph entitled "Jitter and Networked Audio" in this paper by Steve Nugent of Empirical Audio. (Scroll down to just past the middle of the page).

2)Regarding testing the quality of the cable, the one suggestion that occurs to me, if practical, would be to network two computers together such that the cable is included in the path between them, and transferring a number of large files back and forth from one to the other.

3)My perception has been that anecdotal reports of dropouts or other performance problems with wired ethernet connections in home environments seem to be exceedingly rare.

4)One or two members here whom I consider to be particularly credible have reported in past threads that in their systems a perceivable sonic benefit was realized by upgrading their ethernet cables from unshielded cat5 or 5e to shielded cat6. Presumably that resulted from the shielding providing a reduction in RFI or digital noise being radiated or coupled from the cable to unrelated circuit points or grounds within the system. That kind of effect, however, if it occurs at all, figures to be highly system dependent and placement dependent. If you do end up replacing the cable I would suggest asking Blue Jeans if they can supply a shielded variety, but my instinct would be to not go to the trouble of replacing the cable based on that consideration alone.

Best regards,
-- Al
Margot,

If you are worried about the installation of the cable you can hire a certified cable company to test the cable with a cable scanner. There are cable installers and then there are trained certified cable installers. A trained certified cable installer would have tested the cable and supplied you with a copy of the test results.

If the installer installed CAT6 cable and terminated it on CAT5e RG45 jacks then you basically have a CAT5e Ethernet cable.

Do's and don'ts of installing CAT5e and CAT6, CAT6a cables.

Here is a video on testing cables. Note there is a lot more to testing a cable than just checking for continuity.

With a good tester the test scan will fail, if during the installation of the cable the cable was kinked. Even if the installer caught the kink and straightened it out the cable can fail the test or pass but only marginally.

If the termination of the cable to the RG45 jack was not done properly, that will show up on the test. The wire twist of each pair must be maintained right up to the point of connection to the punch down connection on the jack. No more than a 1/2" of the twisted pairs of the finished termination should extend beyond the outer jacket. Improper termination of the cable to the jack can make a big difference on how the cable will test and preform.

So you can hire somebody to test the cable for you or first just try the cable and see how it performs. It may work just fine for your application.
Jim

Jim and Al,

You guys are the best. Thanks so much. So it sounds like my first step is just to go ahead and as long as I don't hear drop outs, don't worry about it. If I do hear drop outs, then maybe I want to get some shielded cat6 from blue jeans cable, if possible. If I end up there, Jim, will most electricians know about how to terminate correctly etc, or should I try to track down a certified cable installer? with enormous thanks to you both,

Margot
Oh, one other follow up:

If I do end up having drop outs and needing to replace the cable, I assume I only have to replace the line that goes to my stereo? (ie: I can leave the line that runs to the computer and the line that runs to the TV as is.) Or will this affect the performance of the new cable I have installed as well?
Thanks! M.