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  3. 180853-96

Ethernet cables

I’m of the opinion given what I’ve read that Ethernet cables, along with everything else in the streaming chain, can make a significant difference in ultimate streaming performance (please those who think it’s just 1s and 0s please stay out of this).  Due to this I bought a Wireworld Starlight 8 Ethernet cable because it seems much better than generic cables but certainly far short of the higher $$$ Ethernet cables (the WW platinum would be an obvious case in point).  My question is, with the Starlight 8 how much good can I expect over lower-priced or generic Ethernet cables and how much more performance can I expect from stepping up to better Ethernet cables?  Please be specific if you’ve directly A/Bed the Starlight 8 versus better cables as that’d be very useful and helpful info.  Thanks!

soix
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,176 posts
 

With Ethernet the most influential for sure is at the end point or where the Ethernet hub Isand the hub very important also forthe money the Uptone audio ether regen 

is a great buy , I use the AQ diamond ad a end point cable ,and the very nice a bit Warner Final Touch Audio ,which BTW make excellent usb cables like their Callisto 

and top Sinope .  Digital is very picky ,I had a Wireworld starlight which is excellent for $200 but not even close to the others above yes the AQ diamind is $1k retail 

but refines the signal.

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,765 posts
 

I’m using Cat 8 cords I found on Amazon and they seem to be everything I need. I actually bought 4 of them!

Cat 8 Ethernet Cable, 2 Pack 6ft RJ45 Connector with Gold Plated F/FTP Patch Cord, Gigabit Internet Network Cord, High Speed LAN Cable 40Gbps 2000Mhz for Router, Modem, Gaming, Xbox, POE, PS3, PS4 https://a.co/d/2llQ7b6

 

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,974 posts
 

@soix Video Possibly of interest: this isn't the cable but the switch: 

 

baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,424 posts
 

I use Belden ethernet cable cleaned up via an optical system. I can't imagine a more expensive ethernet cable being better since it comes out cleaned after the optical wash.

cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 

All ethernet cables, as long as they are within the correct specs will work with no difference.

Even with lots of noise present, error correction protocols will take care of the situation (read  convolutional codes, Viterbi decoding).

As for jitter etc, those do not matter since Ethernet is an ASYNCHRONOUS bit stream.  The router/bridge assembles the packets properly before forwarding it.

Remember this stuff works at up 10s of gigabits correctly.  At audio frequencies, the medium utilization will be no more than 3-5%.

 

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