Cat 5 - 6 -7 or 8

Thanks all, one more question: Does the cable need to be shielded through the entire house or is it just the shorter that runs from the wall outlet to the router, switch, audio equipment, etc?

Personally, I'd just stick to cables around the audio rack.

@eric_squires,

your answer applies in low density, rural areas. Anywhere else, and in particular near radio and telephone masts I'd stick to shielded.

@high-amp ,

If you are wanting the best quality sound, then use a grounded cable from the box into your house.

I found some nice Cat 7 cable for cheap and ran it directly from the Fios Box to my equipment. Having it grounded as far as I can possibly go, provides peace of mind.

Having Cat 7 allows for any future streaming demands.

B

While in general (eg from router to computer) shielded is preferred, if you are connecting a component (eg DAC) to a network switch or directly to a router or computer, check with the manufacturer of the component before deciding.  I recently acquired a dCS Rossini DAC.  I asked the manufacturer for recommendations re an ethernet cable.  The response:

"Thank you for contacting dCS. I hope you are enjoying your Rossini so far, if you have had a chance to try it out?

The short answer is that no, there is no sonic benefit to using 'audiophile' Ethernet cables in an audio system. A basic, unshielded CAT5e or CAT6 cable is all you need. 

The longer answer is that such 'audiophile' cables can introduce a host of problems that are simply not present with an appropriate cable - the main two being that they frequently cause ground noise issues in audio systems resulting in a drop in audio quality, and the very rigid cable paired with overly large connectors can cause damage to the Ethernet port itself. Take a quick look at our FAQ on this here.

The mindset to take with your network and with streaming is that you are aiming for a network which is stable and reliable, not one which sounds good. With Ethernet, using standard networking gear the sound quality takes care of itself. 

I hope this makes sense, but please feel free to let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to elaborate. "

Incidentally, dCS has been excellent in terms of customer support, quickly answering email questions.