The basic difference between Cat 5 and 6 cables is bandwidth. A Cat 5 is capable of 100 Mbps and the 6 can do 1,000 Gbps. However, 5 is more than adequate for the transmission speed needed for audio playback, so that particular item shouldn't be an issue. However, if you are getting what you perceive to be a sonic benefit from the shielding of a Cat 6, then you'll be giving up some of that if you hook a 5 in series with a 6. However, EMF/RFI is not an on/off or black/white phenomenon. There are shades of gray in terms of how much isolation each cable offers. I'd suspect that while a 5/6 combo run is not as insulated as an all 6 run, it would probably be better in this regard than an all 5 run. For me, it is not something I'd spend much time worrying about. However, I know others can obsess about such details, so it is up to you to figure out what works for your setup.
A cat 5 would probably work fine, but does it impair and reduce quality of the audio and video being streamed? What a cat 6E work better? And longer-term I guess it would be better. We know the video Signal may be fine, but the audio signal which has always been compressed in the past is now receiving more attention toward being uncompressed and with this would a cat 5 not work as well since many of us Herein are using a very revealing soundsystem when watching movies. |
As noted, it is up to you to decide whether or not you can hear (or see) a difference between Cat 5 and 6. Unlike the dynamic range for perceived volume where you need headroom above the average playback volume for peaks, the streaming signal doesn't exhibit that trait. If you are watching a 4K video streaming at 25 Mbps, you don't need another 50% or 100% for headroom. 25 Mbps is the max. If you want to play 192K/24 music, the max stream rate will be under 5 Mbps. With a 100 Mbps connection, you'll be 20 times that. Not sure why one would need more if that is all you're doing. My two cents is, if there is a sonic issue, it has more to do with EMF/RFI than speed. The really high speed connections are great when you are transferring big files and want them to download or upload as quickly as possible, but that's not a real-time playback issue. And, as noted before, higher speeds can be nice when you have a lot of people in the household online at the same time, each doing their own thing. Who else is going to be using your particular run of Cat cable? |
Yes I have a highly resolving system. So using 6E is much more advantageous to use versus any lesser Cable due to shielding. Isn't it all about the shielding at this point? A lowly cat 5 probably has all the capacity you need but it's all about the noise impacting sound, either for streaming movies or hi-fi. Is all that a good interpretation? Thanks, Great comments |
@peter_s -- regardless of what other people hear, or think they hear, it is always going to be up to an individual user as to whether something like this makes a difference or not in their system. And, one other thought not mentioned previously, in this particular case, the extra expense to run an all-6e cable is virtually nothing compared to what is often spent on stereo equipment. Unless, of course, one is devoted to finding a super-exclusive audiophile Cat-6e cable. But that's a whole 'nother topic... |