Caelin, what's your view on ethernet cables?

[Lee]

Hi Caelin,

I've been reading about ethernet cables and wondered what your view on this category is? Are there any plans to offer a Shunyata ethernet cable?

Hope I'm not putting you on the spot. I was just curious what your thinking was.

Thanks.

 

[CGabriel]

Ethernet cables definitely have audible differences. Beta tests are in process with very interesting results.

 

[Lee]

Ethernet cables definitely have audible differences. Beta tests are in process with very interesting results.

Thanks, Caelin. Keep us posted.

 

[Ekmanc]

Great news, I had to resort to buying some Audioquest ethernet cables this past week... Don't wanna have to branch out like that again

 

[Kumi]

Ethernet cables definitely have audible differences. Beta tests are in process with very interesting results.

hi Gabriel,

any updated information for shunyata ethernet cable?
when will it be lanuched?

 

[Ekmanc]

It is my understanding that they were shown in Munich this past weekend.

 

[Kumi]

It is my understanding that they were shown in Munich this past weekend.

any photoss?

 

[GuillaumeB]

We've just launched our new range of ethernet cables! Conductors are Shunyata's own Precision Matched Z wire and both Alpha and Sigma feature C-Mode filter tech. All three cables are treated with KPIP and come in 1.5M lengths as standard.

Here are some pics:



Cheers,

Guillaume

 

[Kumi]

We've just launched our new range of ethernet cables! Conductors are Shunyata's own Precision Matched Z wire and both Alpha and Sigma feature C-Mode filter tech. All three cables are treated with KPIP and come in 1.5M lengths as standard.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 54073 View attachment 54074 View attachment 54072

Cheers,

Guillaume

Hi Guillaume,

What is the material of conductor? Silver or copper?

Is it CAT 7 or 6?

Thanks

 

[GuillaumeB]

Hi Guillaume,

What is the material of conductor? Silver or copper?

Is it CAT 7 or 6?

Thanks

The cable is technically Cat6A spec, and conductors are copper with PTFE dielectrics.

Cheers,

Guillaume

 

[stevebythebay]

Guillaume:

Just wondering about the connectors on the cables. Have you tested these with a Roon Nucleus player? I've noticed that some cables, including the WireWorld Starlight that I'm currently deploying, have trouble, due to their connectors not locking in place. In looking at your pics, and the ones on the Shunyata site, I'm thinking you're also using one of these Metz or Telegartner connectors. The Wireworld uses Metz while I think Audioquest may use the Telegartner. Are all versions of the new Ethernet line use the same connector?

 

[kennyb123]

I've noticed that some cables, including the WireWorld Starlight that I'm currently deploying, have trouble, due to their connectors not locking in place.

I ran into that same issue with my Starlight Ethernet cables. My run of Chroma, which was subsequently purchased, had a slightly different connector that worked just fine, I inquired with my dealer. He arranged to have my Starlight cables swapped for Starlight cables that had the newer connector.

 

[stevebythebay]

Interesting. When did your dealer provide a newer Starlight cable? I’d gone through a swap within the past year, directly working with the folks at WireWorld, but it made no difference with respect to the Roon Nucleus. The connectors were exactly the same as before. Did the type of connector change for yours? What was the problem you found with the Innuos? Was it not locking in place?

 

[kennyb123]

Interesting. When did your dealer provide a newer Starlight cable? I’d gone through a swap within the past year, directly working with the folks at WireWorld, but it made no difference with respect to the Roon Nucleus. The connectors were exactly the same as before. Did the type of connector change for yours? What was the problem you found with the Innuos? Was it not locking in place?

It was last September when I took this photo. I received the replacement not long after. The connector on the left was from the WW Chroma and the right was the original WW Starlight. I was using a Mac Mini as my music server back then. The original Starlight wouldn’t lock into the Mac Mini, but the Chroma would. The replacement Starlight’s connector matched the Chroma and would lock into the Mac Mini.

 

[GuillaumeB]

Guillaume:

Just wondering about the connectors on the cables. Have you tested these with a Roon Nucleus player? I've noticed that some cables, including the WireWorld Starlight that I'm currently deploying, have trouble, due to their connectors not locking in place. In looking at your pics, and the ones on the Shunyata site, I'm thinking you're also using one of these Metz or Telegartner connectors. The Wireworld uses Metz while I think Audioquest may use the Telegartner. Are all versions of the new Ethernet line use the same connector?

All the Shunyata Ethernet cables use a Belden Cat6a connector, the Sigma uses a metal shielded version. I haven’t tried connecting to a Roon Nucleus but they fit in everything else I’ve tried, including switches and i5 sonicTransporter.

Guillaume

 

[cjf]

Curious what the Roon Nucleus is doing differently with their ETH implementation that results in various cables not connecting properly? Is it safe to assume that a bog standard ETH cable would work fine?

I ask because I've got an IBM Thinkpad Laptop with the opposite issue. Any ETH cable I plug into it tends to refuse to release itself from the port. Plug it in and pray that you can get it back out again

 

[stevebythebay]

All the Shunyata Ethernet cables use a Belden Cat6a connector, the Sigma uses a metal shielded version. I haven’t tried connecting to a Roon Nucleus but they fit in everything else I’ve tried, including switches and i5 sonicTransporter.

Guillaume

So, this is a Cat 6a implementation? And is it for all versions? Is cable shielding being implemented for EMI via a drain wire or other means? Or is the use of the metal connector on Sigma being used simply due to other properties it offers? I'm guessing the latter, since there are potential problems with ground loops.

 

[stevebythebay]

All the Shunyata Ethernet cables use a Belden Cat6a connector, the Sigma uses a metal shielded version. I haven’t tried connecting to a Roon Nucleus but they fit in everything else I’ve tried, including switches and i5 sonicTransporter.

Guillaume

Just wondering: is the cable length of 1.5 meters chosen based on one or more features described in your literature, that is PMZ, KPIP, and/or the CMode filters? I know that other cable design specs seem to recommend longer/minimum lengths than a meter, due to reflections, while others have experimented and discovered that longer Ethernet cables seem to be better than short.

 

[GuillaumeB]

So, this is a Cat 6a implementation? And is it for all versions? Is cable shielding being implemented for EMI via a drain wire or other means? Or is the use of the metal connector on Sigma being used simply due to other properties it offers? I'm guessing the latter, since there are potential problems with ground loops.

Apologies for the delay in responding.

Shunyata built their own version of CAT7. But after extensive testing they determined that shielded ethernet was not ideal for audio purposes. This is because the entire end-to-end system has to be "properly" shielded to be effective. It this is not done then the shield simply creates a capacitive bypass for the signal and it exacerbates common mode noise transmission across the conductor.

The choice of metal connector on the Sigma model is down to improved sonic performance and reliability.

Guillaume

 

[GuillaumeB]

Just wondering: is the cable length of 1.5 meters chosen based on one or more features described in your literature, that is PMZ, KPIP, and/or the CMode filters? I know that other cable design specs seem to recommend longer/minimum lengths than a meter, due to reflections, while others have experimented and discovered that longer Ethernet cables seem to be better than short.

1.5 meters is the minimum length due to performance related to time domain reflections and driver gate timing. The cable has a constant characteristic impedance curve (see PMZ tech) to minimize the introduction of cable associated jitter effects.

I have always found that anything shorter is just a pain anyway and it's nice that we don't have to pay more to get a decent working length of cable. Most of my other cables here are 1.5 or 2M.

I should add that I helped beta test these cables and had a reasonable collection of other brands here already (usual suspects but for obvious reasons I don't want to list them). Through my network of dealers I also got to test against cables I didn't have. Basically our Venom ethernet cable compares really well to some of the best out there, the Alpha takes things up a notch (it beat a £4k cable in one dealer demo) and Sigma is just insane!

Guillaume