2. digital
  3. 174989-148292

Mixing Ethernet Cables

Hello All,

I have a question about mixing ethernet cables of different ratings.  My house was wired 20 years ago with Cat 5 cable.  My listening room is in the basement which is two floors away from the router.  Wifi to my streamer has been OK but occasionally drops out so I would like to connect my streamer via ethernet.  Running a new cable (Cat 6a or Cat 8) from the router to the streamer would be very expensive (labor cost).  I can split existing Cat 5 in the basement with a switch and run a patch cord from the switch to the streamer.

Would running Cat 8 from the switch to the streamer be of any benefit given that the signal is only Cat 5 from the router to the switch?

Thanks.

ma128

Showing 1 response by dbphd

dbphd
1,633 posts
 

You might want to look into a Goggle MESH network. The nodes feed ethernet cable to the components. Our router is upstairs, the Mac Mini server that runs Roon core is downstairs; one streamer is upstairs, the other downstairs. The sound quality is excellent. The streamers are Ayre QX-5 Twenty and ultraRendu with Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC. Files Roon shows as 192/24 or DSD are played as that by the streamers.

db

More to discover