I truly have a hard time believing that these "special" ethernet cables make a difference. I've NEVER seen a single packet error (out of countless millions sent -- just type 'ifconfig' on a Unix-based system and it will show you the number of packets transmitted/received successfully, and the number with errors) on my Cat 6-based home network. Ethernet is designed as an interference-rejecting connection, and higher-level network protocols (TCP) have error detecting capabilities built-in.
Regular ethernet cables are acceptable for large data centers that need flawless, rapid communications. Why do we expect/think that adding some additional fancy shielding makes a significant sonic difference for our audio applications? Even gigabit ethernet (well within the capabilities of Cat 6 cable) is overkill for CD-type audio streaming. More fancy ethernet cables, such as Cat 6A or 7 allow for higher frequencies and can do 10Gbps+, that's true.
But to believe that an expensive, custom ethernet cable makes a difference for a short, packet-based digital transmission system over a short distance is quite a stretch.
OK, time to raise shields for the onslaught of the people who will criticize me for not being a "true believer".
Michael
Regular ethernet cables are acceptable for large data centers that need flawless, rapid communications. Why do we expect/think that adding some additional fancy shielding makes a significant sonic difference for our audio applications? Even gigabit ethernet (well within the capabilities of Cat 6 cable) is overkill for CD-type audio streaming. More fancy ethernet cables, such as Cat 6A or 7 allow for higher frequencies and can do 10Gbps+, that's true.
But to believe that an expensive, custom ethernet cable makes a difference for a short, packet-based digital transmission system over a short distance is quite a stretch.
OK, time to raise shields for the onslaught of the people who will criticize me for not being a "true believer".
Michael