CAT 7 - Ethernet Cable - Revelation Audio Labs - USA -

[bhagwan]

Hello All !

I needed some CAT 7 Cable to connect my 2 computers;
This is with J Play Mini - Version 5.1 Download | JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows

I actually wanted to order these cables :-
AUDIOQUEST RJ/E DIAMOND ETHERNET CABLE at Music Direct
But they were a bit too steep in price & I was not sure how they would perform - demo was not possible - so I had to buy 'blind' rather 'deaf'

Hence, I decided to water down my cost by calling for a cable from someone whose Cables I have used in the past - the Firewire & USB Cables [I still have] !

What I called for was :-

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These are made in USA - Revelation Audio Labs - Florida - CAT 7 Ethernet Cables.

They just arrived.

I will use them - soon.

Will connect & take pics & post soon.

 

[denom]

Very sad to see the 'condition' of the parcel of purple snakes, courtesy our postal service. Explains the delay also in you starting this thread, since all have been anxiously waiting to hear about these snakes for a long time.

Let me wear my 'fire-proof' suit first before I write further

I have this snaky feeling that these purple snakes are gonna 'work' in bhagwan's dwarka. Yes, quite certain of this occurrence. I will offer oil as my humble offering when I visit bhagwan's dwarka.

Hope my flame proof suit survives the heavy fire that is gonna be unleashed

Bhagwan, pls shed light on the performance of the snakes, thanks!

 

[Shivam]

Will wait for your opinion after you have heard them.

I use wi-fi which works comfortably and error-free till 24/96 flac files on my humble setup.

 

[bhagwan]

Very sad to see the 'condition' of the parcel of purple snakes, courtesy our postal service. Explains the delay also in you starting this thread, since all have been anxiously waiting to hear about these snakes for a long time.

Bhagwan, pls shed light on the performance of the snakes, thanks!

Yes, the Post did 'delay' it a lot;
1 month by EMS is too long...
None the less, now the Cat 7 Cable is with me - I shall connect them between the 2 computers.

How they shall perform, I have no idea;
This is 'new' territory for me.

I just know that USB Cables & HDMI Cables made HUGE differences when I switched from 'generic' ones to Chord & vDH - night & day....

So, will the Ethernet Cable make any difference in sound - I do not know.
I do not want to speculate - I will install - listen - let it 'burn-in' for a while & then switch back to my 'generic' CAT 5 / 6 Cables & 'listen'
Will also call a few 'audiophiles' over [ones whose opinions I respect] & then decide - what I should keep - Generic or Revelation Audio Labs.

What ever performs well, will stay - the other will go....[no love for any or hate for any - pure performance will 'rule'] !

p.s. Why the Fire Suit ? I did not get the context - please do shed some light - shall truly appreciate

Hope my flame proof suit survives the heavy fire that is gonna be unleashed

 

[denom]

will the Ethernet Cable make any difference in sound - I do not know.
I do not want to speculate - I will install - listen - let it 'burn-in' for a while & then switch back to my 'generic' CAT 5 / 6 Cables & 'listen'
Will also call a few 'audiophiles' over [ones whose opinions I respect] & then decide - what I should keep - Generic or Revelation Audio Labs.

What ever performs well, will stay - the other will go....[no love for any or hate for any - pure performance will 'rule'] !

p.s. Why the Fire Suit ? I did not get the context - please do shed some light - shall truly appreciate

I will shed the light when I am also called for a 'meet & greet' arranged in honor of the purple snakes. Kindly invite others also other than the 'audiophiles', to see, hear & touch the snakes, at yours & their convenience preferably not on 6th/7th of August(Nag Panchami) to state the obvious
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nag_Panchami

 

[bhagwan]

Will wait for your opinion after you have heard them.
I use wi-fi which works comfortably and error-free till 24/96 flac files on my humble setup.

Shivam, I too used to use 'generic' CAT Cables.
This was got only because in my new J PLay Mini V5.1 there are 2 computers involved & this is used to connect the 2 computers - maybe like some 'umbilical' cord.
Hence, if these cables make any change to the SQ ? I do not know;
This is a pure experiment - I will use / compare & then decide if Ethernet cables actually make any difference to the sound or not.

I will surely keep you informed.
If you want to experience it first hand - you are most welcome home for a listen. That way, you shall form an opinion based on what you listen to; Just a suggestion...

 

[manniraj]

p.s. Why the Fire Suit ? I did not get the context - please do shed some light - shall truly appreciate

I think what Thad meant was that he is venturing into the territory or offending the people who believe in audiophile changes using cables (ethernet) when as per him nothing changes

 

[bhagwan]

I think what Thad meant was that he is venturing into the territory or offending the people who believe in audiophile changes using cables (ethernet) when as per him nothing changes

Who believes that Ethernet cables change the sound ?
I am not a 'believer' of anything - until I listen;
Only then do I decide on 'pure' merit.

Nothing to me is 'right' or 'wrong' until it is 'experienced.
Let me connect the cable / listen & then decide if a change in a Cat 7 Cable can make a change to the sound;

I will surely post my reviews here.

My intention of doing this is just to lift the smoke.
I do not think / believe [either way]
This is a 100 % experiment.

If a cable change makes a difference - so be it....
If a Cat 7 Cable does not make a difference - then so be it...

Either way is OK with me;
I am not connected with any Cable Manufacturer in any manner.

I have just got this cable - to do an experiment - it will be 'evaluated' & the results I will put here - if someone benefits from it - good - if it amuses others - so be it;

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Who believes that Ethernet cables change the sound ?
I am not a 'believer' of anything - until I listen;

Appreciated, but in this case, reading (preferably before buying ) might be beneficial. In the world of audio, some of the strangest things might turn out true, but in the world of networking there is only a well-defined and well-understood technology.

I looked at the Revalation Labs site. I couldn't find the cat7 cable, but noticed the cat5. Appearances can be deceptive, especially inside audiophile-attractive sleeves, but have they flattened the cable? It seems improbable, but could they have taken the twist out of it?

Network engineers might have something to say about that. I was watching my network guys and, seeing that after stripping the cat5 for termination in the patch cabinet they very carefully made sure that the twist of the cables remained right up to to the termination. I asked them why. It seems it is an essential part of the noise/crosstalk rejection design of the cable, and, of course, their job must, bitter end to bitter end, be up to specification.

So, maybe that's just a sleeve, and there's a real cat5 cable inside. But maybe people ought to be a bit careful what they spend vast amounts of money on and who they pay it to. As the Americans say, just sayin'

And by the way... "solder-free..." All those RJ45 connectors are solder free.

 

[gopib]

Good revelation, this post made me read up on CAT 7 and refresh my basics. Looking at the specifications of CAT 7 it seems there is some merit in using it for audio - of course it is the same "electrical engineering". Nothing changes.

here is the wiki

"Class F cable (or, unofficially, Category 7 cable) is a cable standard for Ethernet and other interconnect technologies that can be made to be backward compatible with Class D and Class E. Class F features even more strict specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Class E. To achieve this, shielding has been added for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole. Besides the foil shield, the twisting of the pairs and number of turns per unit length increases RF shielding and protects from crosstalk. Class F is recognized for all the country organizations members of ISO.[citation needed]
The Class F cable standard has been created to allow 10 Gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of copper cabling (also, 10 Gbit/s Ethernet now is typically run on Cat 6a). The cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the earlier standards. Class F can be terminated either with 8P8C compatible GG45 electrical connectors which incorporate the 8P8C standard or with TERA connectors. When combined with GG45 or TERA connectors, Class F cable is rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz.[1]"

The link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_7_cable#Class_F_cable

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

it seems there is some merit in using it for audio

That would be a different matter, and a different experiment. Here it is not being used for audio, it is being used for ethernet networking. That, and only that, is the reason why its audiophilication is irrelevant, unnecessary and... well, you know what I think!

 

[arj]

... well, you know what I think!

yup..loud and clear hyeah:

 

[keith_correa]

<snip>I looked at the Revalation Labs site. I couldn't find the cat7 cable, but noticed the cat5. Appearances can be deceptive, especially inside audiophile-attractive sleeves, but have they flattened the cable? It seems improbable, but could they have taken the twist out of it?

Network engineers might have something to say about that. I was watching my network guys and, seeing that after stripping the cat5 for termination in the patch cabinet they very carefully made sure that the twist of the cables remained right up to to the termination. I asked them why. It seems it is an essential part of the noise/crosstalk rejection design of the cable, and, of course, their job must, bitter end to bitter end, be up to specification.<snip>

There's no need to take out the twists to flatten CAT5 cables. If the twisted pairs are laid side by side they still remain true to the CAT5 spec. I think that is what they have done.

 

[jls001]

audiophilication

I thought the correct term was 'audiophilisation'?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

That depends on how amplifized you want it!

 

[IndianEars]

There's no need to take out the twists to flatten CAT5 cables. If the twisted pairs are laid side by side they still remain true to the CAT5 spec. I think that is what they have done.

The number of twists per foot ( or per meter) are a critical factor in the design and data carrying capacity of Category-5 (CAT-5) cables.

I have Belden's Teflon Cat5e (E=Enhanced) cable where the pairs have the 2 strands Bonded with the twist, so that the twist does not get undone.

Cat5 is also called also called UTP: Unshielded Twisted Pair... (that name fully describes its construction)

The poor cross talk Between the Pairs limits the Cat5 cable's data capacity.

Category6 (Cat6) cables use the same 4 twisted pairs of the Cat5 cable, but all 4 pairs are physically separated from each other by a plastic "+" shaped separator running the length of the cable. The Physical separation reduces Inter-pair Cross talk, resulting in higher data speed delivery.

In Category 7 Cables:

• Each of the 4 pairs are individually shielded
• Also there is an overall shield around the 4 pairs.

This prevents Cross talk between the 4 pairs and also noise plunging from outside the cable.

Clearly Cat7 cable implements good audio practice !

 

[arj]

so there Are cable difference even in Computers and even ins networking a cable is not a cable is not a cable and comes with some solid engineering backing it.
really great discussion !

 

[arj]

I thought the correct term was 'audiophilisation'?

some do give it an Audiophallic twist as well...as painful as it may sound

 

[ranjeetrain]

I am gradually changing all my CAT 5 cables to CAT 6. Even some CAT 5 cables perform better than other CAT 5 cables. But that all is evident and can be proved by transferring large chunks of data through those cables at any time, in any set up so long as the system is not the weaker link. In simpler words, I see an evidence of performance gain, which is not arbitrary, can be reproduced at demand and it can be experienced by any and everyone.

With current generation of computer hardware, and current generation of digital audio files, an Ethernet cable connecting two computers can't be a weak link.

Even a 64/384 (384 K samples with 64 bit samples) will only need a 3 MBps or 24 mbps data connection. Even the cheapest of CAT 5 cables should be able to exceed that performance requirement by a clear margin.

So, my reasoning says I shouldn't expect to 'hear' any difference in audio application. HOWEVER, I clearly 'experience' a performance gain in networking applications with better Ethernet cables.

 

[captrajesh]

I am not a 'believer' of anything - until I listen;
Only then do I decide on 'pure' merit.

Nothing to me is 'right' or 'wrong' until it is 'experienced.

Very well said. Theory being theory, will remain theory and theories get revised more often than not.