My Sablon ethernet cable has been a relatively unglamorous member of the product range for several years now. Pretty much unchanged since inception, bar a tweak in Summer 2018, yet it has typically been preferred to top models from mainstream manufacturers costing twice as much.
Just as I managed to achieve some great upgrades to the usb cable over the Christmas holiday season, the present lockdown period has given me the opportunity to turn my attention to the ethernet cable.
Following a similar approach to before, I went back to the basics and evaluated a variety of different cabling options to check out developments. Some of the options assessed included a high spec Cat 8, a silver plated Cat 7 and a handmade option using the same superb conductor as the usb cable. None of these outperformed my existing cable, so clearly that made it through to the next round.
Shielding. Not something I typically like however ethernet cables tend to benefit on account of the exceptionally high frequencies they carry. I therefore added a fifth layer to the cable. Small incremental uptick, with the noisefloor being reduced. No bad effects, so a good move overall. Next!
So what’s left to look at? Only the plugs and since I already used the Telegaertners surely that was good enough?!? Seemingly not….as it appears they had recently released an enhanced Cat 8 specification model whilst my eye was off the ball.
Ok but what exactly does that mean? Well, Cat 8 has a bandwidth of 2GHZ which is FOUR times that of the original Cat 6A / 500MHZ ones. Ultimately these measurements are meaningless in isolation, however since my cable was already gigahertz capable these plugs truly uncorked its potential!
Sonically speaking, the noisefloor has tumbled which confers more detail and an extended dynamic range with greater slam. The presence and density are significantly improved, with more dimensionality and palpable tonal texture. Ambient / micro details have more solidity and ‘pop’. All these aspects are evident in abundance within just 24hrs from new and develop incrementally as time subsequently passes. Gorgeous and mellifluous. Bombastic and musical as hell, the energy and grainlessness are really quite impressive. If anything, the delta of this reworking is larger than I managed to achieve on the usb cable...this one will keep your enjoying your music!
They say that every day is a school day, so what has this process taught me? Well, in this particular application technical specifications appear to trump conductor material. Up to a point that is as to achieve Cat 8 spec involves twisting the conductors tighter, which to my ear also had the side-effect of strangling the life out of the cable. The superb conductor I use elsewhere in my range was a fail in this application, so I wouldn’t be seduced by conductor material / purity claims for this type of cable.
But what about the Gigas? There are two at play here, gigabits are the speed of the signal and gigahertz which is the bandwidth of the signal that is being passed through. Need I say more about which is the more important?!? The latter, bandwidth, determines the quality of the signal you get to hear.
Price wise, there’s a bit more cost in parts and time however it will remain in the mid three hundreds, inclusive of worldwide shipping and a 10% discount for multiple / repeat orders. As a consumer I hate add-on charges, especially when you get stiffed with inflated shipping costs, so I suspect others do too.
As the time taken to rebuild existing cables is greater than making new ones and often requires two way international shipping, I will offer concessionary pricing to existing owners.
Shipping from early May, I already have several demo cables in circulation so drop me a pm / email to see if we can schedule an audition.
Just as I managed to achieve some great upgrades to the usb cable over the Christmas holiday season, the present lockdown period has given me the opportunity to turn my attention to the ethernet cable.
Following a similar approach to before, I went back to the basics and evaluated a variety of different cabling options to check out developments. Some of the options assessed included a high spec Cat 8, a silver plated Cat 7 and a handmade option using the same superb conductor as the usb cable. None of these outperformed my existing cable, so clearly that made it through to the next round.
Shielding. Not something I typically like however ethernet cables tend to benefit on account of the exceptionally high frequencies they carry. I therefore added a fifth layer to the cable. Small incremental uptick, with the noisefloor being reduced. No bad effects, so a good move overall. Next!
So what’s left to look at? Only the plugs and since I already used the Telegaertners surely that was good enough?!? Seemingly not….as it appears they had recently released an enhanced Cat 8 specification model whilst my eye was off the ball.
Ok but what exactly does that mean? Well, Cat 8 has a bandwidth of 2GHZ which is FOUR times that of the original Cat 6A / 500MHZ ones. Ultimately these measurements are meaningless in isolation, however since my cable was already gigahertz capable these plugs truly uncorked its potential!
Sonically speaking, the noisefloor has tumbled which confers more detail and an extended dynamic range with greater slam. The presence and density are significantly improved, with more dimensionality and palpable tonal texture. Ambient / micro details have more solidity and ‘pop’. All these aspects are evident in abundance within just 24hrs from new and develop incrementally as time subsequently passes. Gorgeous and mellifluous. Bombastic and musical as hell, the energy and grainlessness are really quite impressive. If anything, the delta of this reworking is larger than I managed to achieve on the usb cable...this one will keep your enjoying your music!
They say that every day is a school day, so what has this process taught me? Well, in this particular application technical specifications appear to trump conductor material. Up to a point that is as to achieve Cat 8 spec involves twisting the conductors tighter, which to my ear also had the side-effect of strangling the life out of the cable. The superb conductor I use elsewhere in my range was a fail in this application, so I wouldn’t be seduced by conductor material / purity claims for this type of cable.
But what about the Gigas? There are two at play here, gigabits are the speed of the signal and gigahertz which is the bandwidth of the signal that is being passed through. Need I say more about which is the more important?!? The latter, bandwidth, determines the quality of the signal you get to hear.
Price wise, there’s a bit more cost in parts and time however it will remain in the mid three hundreds, inclusive of worldwide shipping and a 10% discount for multiple / repeat orders. As a consumer I hate add-on charges, especially when you get stiffed with inflated shipping costs, so I suspect others do too.
As the time taken to rebuild existing cables is greater than making new ones and often requires two way international shipping, I will offer concessionary pricing to existing owners.
Shipping from early May, I already have several demo cables in circulation so drop me a pm / email to see if we can schedule an audition.