[DLStryker]

I am getting ready to run a 70' ethernet cable from the router to my streaming device.  I purchased shielded cable.  Should I ground the shielding of the cable?  I just listened to one of Danny's videos and he mentioned grounding the ethernet cable and I "think" was saying it is not a good idea.  I was planning on running a dedicated ground from the ethernet cable directly to earth ground (not using the ground in an AC outlet).... if that makes any difference. 

The AI response is that shielded ethernet cable should be grounded so it does not act like an antenna attracting noise.  Should I ground?  Not ground?  Get an unshielded ethernet cable and not have to worry about grounding?

[DLStryker]

BTW, Danny's video where he mentioned ethernet grounding is titled "What every audiophile already knows-If they actually listened".

[Craig Young]

I have not thought about this before. I had to google this and learn about it. My dac has a long run which uses ethernet signal for roon music and the run is without shield. My Mac is the same distance and when I serve computer USB to my dac it sounds just as amazing also.

Kinda going off track here. I have a USB super speed isolator and when I tried to use it and my music sounded bad. I don't think that grounding my ethernet will improve the music enough for me to ever hear any difference. I just stick to my roll of cat 5e unshielded cable.

[corndog71]

My understanding is that shielding is not a panacea.  Ethernet cables operate at much higher frequencies than analog cables.  Most professional installations use unshielded ethernet cables and can stretch hundreds of feet.  You probably don’t even need anything higher than regular Cat5.  Consider Blue Jeans cable for properly terminated and tested to spec cables.

[newzooreview]

I had a Blue Jeans CAT 5 cable running 60 feet from my switch to a Mac Mini. The switch kept reporting dropouts on that cable.

I bought a 70 foot Linkup brand CAT 7 cable with double shielding. These are individually tested and supplied with a printout of the test. This cable solved the dropout problem.

The Mac Mini is not involved in the audio playback system, but the switch that it is connected to is part of the audio system.

For the connection from the switch to the streamer, I installed an ethernet to ethernet optical isolator to minimize electrical interference. An ethernet filter following the isolator provided further improvement.

The ethernet cable does not carry 0s and 1s. The 0s and 1s are interpreted from voltage variations in the cable. There is error correction, but packet resend requests can increase noise in the cable and effect timing. And noise on the cable can leak into the system and effect the DAC.

After trying some inexpensive and some expensive variations, there were benefits to improved cabling, the optical isolator, an ethernet switch with a good clock in front of the streamer, and a filter on the ethernet cable before going into the streamer.

[Danny Richie]

The difference that I was referring to was on a firewire cable.

If the shield is grounded on the end that is connected to the rest of the system then it adds power to the shield as it is on the ground plan of the whole system. That effects the signal and causes a loss of air, space, and top end detail. It also makes the sound stage very flat.

If the shield is grounded on the hard drive end then it has no adverse effect.

It sounds even better of the shield and PVC is all stripped off of it.

[DLStryker]

Do you have your Linkup CAT 7 shielded cable grounded?  I'm just trying to learn from other's experiences.

I have no ethernet cable in place now.  So, I have to do a new install and would like to do the "best" install that I can as I go through the process.

I have to go from inside the house, out through a brick wall.  Then a 50' run down the outside of the house.  Then through a brick wall into the house.  Then a 20' run inside the house to the switch/streamer.  It is basically impossible for me to do an A/B test with two different types of ethernet cables.

Dave

I had a Blue Jeans CAT 5 cable running 60 feet from my switch to a Mac Mini. The switch kept reporting dropouts on that cable.

I bought a 70 foot Linkup brand CAT 7 cable with double shielding. These are individually tested and supplied with a printout of the test. This cable solved the dropout problem.

The Mac Mini is not involved in the audio playback system, but the switch that it is connected to is part of the audio system.

For the connection from the switch to the streamer, I installed an ethernet to ethernet optical isolator to minimize electrical interference. An ethernet filter following the isolator provided further improvement.

The ethernet cable does not carry 0s and 1s. The 0s and 1s are interpreted from voltage variations in the cable. There is error correction, but packet resend requests can increase noise in the cable and effect timing. And noise on the cable can leak into the system and effect the DAC.

After trying some inexpensive and some expensive variations, there were benefits to improved cabling, the optical isolator, an ethernet switch with a good clock in front of the streamer, and a filter on the ethernet cable before going into the streamer.

[Rusty Jefferson]

Convert to fiber optical at your router and make the long run with fiber, and convert back to ethernet at the rack (if needed). This completely eliminates ground and noise issues and drop outs. Plenty of options out there including Sonore, a site sponsor here.