PS Audio Discussion Forum

Dear fellow forum readers:

Since PSA, consumers, the music, audio and computer industries are embracing music downloads and it’s getting darn tough to find good CD store anymore. I have decided it is time to crawl from under my old computer rock and for 2010 begin building a home music server system.

I have purchased a PWT/PWD combo and will purchase a Bridge and PSA NAS when they are released. My question at this point in my build process is which Ethernet cable will be best Category 5e or Category 6. Knowing that this forum has some excellent audiophiles, computer techs, engineers, and electrician readers I figured this would be a great place to ask.

Further background; I plan on installing plenum cable myself using my air duct system. The cable will go from a router in my basement to PSA gear on the second floor, a computer in another room on the 2nd floor, and to a home theatre on my 1st floor.

I believe a wired system would be better than unwired. I plan on using the Ethernet system for music only at this point. I understand some people believe Category 6 cable is overkill, but I also understand it has less crosstalk, will this be an issue for my application? As an audiophile my concern is primarily how everything affects sound, and less about speed of data transmission.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

When I set up the computer based side of our audio system, I researched the same question and ended up with a claimed cat 7 cable which had an extra layer of shielding over a cat 6 cable. I’m still not convinced of the benefits of this overoverkill but am convinced of the benefits of cat 6 over cat 5e. The ready terminated 30m ethernet cable had to follow a tortuous route from the Apple extreme router through a ceiling, along the loft space of our bungalow, along the roofspace over the garage, outside through a plastic pipe duct (weather protection) and back into the house through a wall, finally connecting to a minimac situated on the system racks.
The whole process took a whole day of drilling, routing and threading cables - I also installed a separate TV aerial cable at the same time to fed an EyeTV tuner also connected to the minimac.
I chose the hardwire method for speed, reliability and because wireless was largely unobtainable due to interference from the various boxes of electronic hardware stacked on the racks.
Cat 6 is IMHO well worth the nominal extra outlay for peace of mind. We get no crosstalk, interference or other nasties when listening (or viewing) from our NAS attached to the router. The system has been running for over 2 years now with no problems apart from a dead NAS - aren’t back ups a good idea?
Good cables are an accepted part of audio systems so why not a little extra spent on computer cables - although for different reasons.
Hope this helps.

I have an Ethernet cable running from a switch and passing behind (and in between signal-, power- and speaker cables) my A/V and HiFi system to my Apple TV and Airport Express.
No need to say I am worried about isolation, shielding and interference.

So as I read here, using a higher category cable not only increases speed but also shielding?
I already replaced all Cat 5e cables in the house with Cat 6 cables, except for the two longest ones that run under the floor all the way through the house, since I can’t get to those anymore.
I was going to replace the one that runs behind my system with a Cat 5e cable from AudioQuest, since I thought this one added extra shielding. Now it seems that this would not give me an advantage?
Maybe I should replace that one with Cat 7?
Or does anyone know of Ethernet cables that are extra shielded and for specific use in a hifi system?

Maybe a hint Paul, why not offer quality shielded etherent cables to go with the upcoming Bridge and NAS ...

As far as I know, a higher spec CAT cable has no effect on speed - this is determined by the ethernet hardware - the higher spec cable relates to shielding, quality of the conductor and termination leading to consistency and reliability of signal transfer ie as for any cable. However, I am open to being corrected by those of greater knowledge than I which probably covers about 99% of the population.

Thanks for the response guys.

My reading so far suggests Cat 6 cable is about speed. As an example I have posted this link, but as mentioned the associated equipment is also important. My quandary was in trying to pick a cable that will be somewhat future proof and good in a audio environment where it would be running through and around power cords, interconnects, power conditioners etc.

http://www.cat-5-cable-company.com/faq-cat6-v-cat5e.html

Even better read;

http://www.lanshack.com/cat5e-tutorial.aspx

I had never heard of Cat 7 cable until recently

Ok, so I was part right (and part wrong). Our ethernet is Apple gigabit and i thought the extra cost of the best cable available was worth it. If my memory serves me right, I think cat 5 was GBP 35, 5e GBP 40 ish and cat 7 with the extra shielding was just over 50. Given how the law of diminishing returns usually applies with a vengance in hifi terms reference cost vs performance gains, I thought go for it as it would be a once only purchase and no matter how many sources of interference the cable would be up against, the signal would survive unscathed.
Either way it seems to work ok, all I need now is a good DAC between the computer and the amp which in relative terms will make the cable cost irrelevant.
I figure if I hire the kids out to the local chimney sweep for a few more weeks, I should be getting close to affording a PWD and then all my priorities will be sorted.

For me the difference between Cat5e and Cat6 was simple, Cat5e had issues in my application, Cat6 didn’t. I’ll use Cat6 for everything from here on.

brodricj - 22 January 2010 12:09 AM

For me the difference between Cat5e and Cat6 was simple, Cat5e had issues in my application, Cat6 didn’t. I’ll use Cat6 for everything from here on.

Good to know, thanks for the response. I’m strongly leaning toward the Cat 6.

Sorry to be late.  We have already learned that CAT6 (and eventually CAT 7) are simply different cable configurations and builds that allow better bandwidth.  If I were wiring my home right now I’d definitely go with CAT 6.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I picked up some bulk Cat 6 cable last Friday, but was to busy an then too lazy to install it this weekend.

Just to clarify my earlier posts on the subject of cat5/6/7 cables.
I’ve found the invoice etc.

I purchased 30m of ready terminated cat 6 shielded and foiled cable using Datwyler LSOH 7702 cat 7 1200mhz cable with individually foil screened pairs. for the princely sum of GBP 39.72 including carriage just over 2 years ago. For that price why worry - just buy the best you can.

http://www.universal-cables.co.uk/uploads/pdfs/Cat6 SFTP12-Cat6a SFTP Patch Cables.pdf