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

@audphile1

How is Cat 6A obsolete?

Seeing as how streamers that cost thousands of dollars already use obsolete processors and gigabit Ethernet, I think most audiophiles will be ok.

1. Cat8 is the current version. Copper Ethernet for home use is unlikely the future

2. Running cables in walls is nearly a thing of the past with the introduction of mesh network. 

1. Yes Cat8 is the highest rated cabling but guess what - Gigabit Ethernet has been around for a long time (~1998) and only in 2027 is it projected to overtake 100 Mbps. See https://www.lightwaveonline.com/home/article/14302651/gigabit-ethernet-service-adoption-continues-to-rise. It will be a long time before 10G interfaces become the norm in home networks.

 

2. I agree that Wi-Fi is excellent, but there are some audiophiles who insist on wired connections nonetheless. (I use a mesh Wi-Fi setup myself.) However, my Wi-Fi 6 mesh node negotiates a ~2.9 Gbps link with the base station for the dedicated wireless backhaul. This is about 30% of the theoretical maximum. I bet Wi-Fi 7 setups will struggle to reach speeds beyond 10 Gbps. Most likely copper will still be the way to go if you want maximum throughput at reasonable cost.

@yage I get around 250-300 min speed with EERO. That’s more than enough to stream music or movies.
Positioning the access point about 1-1.5m away front the streamer gives me the flexibility to experiment with high quality Ethernet cables. 
Running copper thru the wall doesn’t. Unless I add a switch and I prefer not to.