The Shunyata Research OMEGA-X-Ethernet Cable

Perfect timing! I am auditioning Ethernet cables as we speak, and without a doubt I hear a difference. I was a software engineer for thirty five years with much of my time spent working on operating systems or at the device level. I understand well how and why data networks and protocols function, designed a few myself. But all bets are off when you start using an industrial technology in the delicate and sensitive world of high end audio. 

Let me ask you this, why did they need to change the Ethernet cable specification so drastically between cat 6 and cat 8? More shielding, metal termination connected to shielding, grounding, more twists in the pairs. Noise and interference. And these are what affects your audio system, even when the data arrives 100% intact.

Feel free to continue your willful ignorance, but most of us know that everything matters.

@zlone --How would a data cable produce noise and interference on an audio signal? Can it be measured? In your own words, please expand on how this affects sound quality. If it can be measured, why are these datapoints not published by the cable manufacturer? 

@grunge1000 The cable does not produce noise by itself. It acts as an antenna that can channel outside interference, and then there is just the inherent noise of high frequency electronics. Cat 8 standards are needed to successfully transfer data at high volume, read high frequency, needed for faster networks. 

Look inside high end digital equipment and you might see dividers or optical isolators between various boards that are used to prevent noise bleeding into the signal. This is not by accident. And I am quite sure the engineers at Aurender, Innuos and Antipodes could all share their measurements and explain how they have worked to remove noise from the digital chain.

How does it affect sound quality? Mitigating noise reduces your noise floor. The importance and effect of this cannot be quantified in words, only by hearing the results. 

@devinplombier 

Cable manufacturers bloviate at length about subjective parameters because that’s what audiophiles understand (faster bass, deeper soundstage, inky black noise floor, etc), whereas objective parameters like LCR go way over most folks’ heads, and that would not make effective marketing.

Also... no one really cares. Folks are prompted to buy expensive cables by dog whistles only they can hear, then they reverse-justify their actions using tall tales of magical sonic improvements.

At the end of the day, a cable manufacturer has little incentive to show that their cables are different because that’s not what sells them.

This is GOLD!

@zlone 

The cable does not produce noise by itself. It acts as an antenna that can channel outside interference, and then there is just the inherent noise of high frequency electronics. Cat 8 standards are needed to successfully transfer data at high volume, read high frequency, needed for faster networks. 

Look inside high end digital equipment and you might see dividers or optical isolators between various boards that are used to prevent noise bleeding into the signal. This is not by accident. And I am quite sure the engineers at Aurender, Innuos and Antipodes could all share their measurements and explain how they have worked to remove noise from the digital chain.

How does it affect sound quality? Mitigating noise reduces your noise floor. The importance and effect of this cannot be quantified in words, only by hearing the results. 

This is all very true. In very cheap and poorly constructed digital cables, noise rides along and can potentially cause more problems. This is because they are very poorly shielded and act as antennas. The very same thing happens with very cheap digital cables - such as PMMA (plastic) TOSLINK (that are typically free-bees) and random brand RCA digital cables. I always go for glass fiber TOSLINK and robust, triple shielded (if in a noisy room with a router etc.). digital cables.

My Son is a Network Engineer, he used these cables for his exam, and in his home lab: Amazon.com: CAT8 Ethernet Cable, Hagibis 360° LAN Network Cable with Zinc Alloy RJ45, Braided 24AWG 40Gbps 2000Mhz Patch Cord High Speed for Gaming, PS4, Xbox, Modem, Router, PC, Laptop : Electronics 

He is a CCIE and has been teaching me about computer networking since he learned it about 8 years ago. 

Better to pay for quality if it’s inexpensive anyway. I would avoid no-name brands or extremely cheap ethernet cables, as some may be poorly tested. I always research the brand before I buy. We use these cables extensively in the home.