Ethernet cables: any length limitations

[Chaconne]

From an obvious electronics know-nothing: I may need to run long lengths of ethernet cable from my wall outlet to my router/gateway/modem and then on to my streamer. Are there any length concerns in terms of being vulnerable to signal loss, RF interference, etc.? (I'm thinking I'll need two lengths of cable, each about 15 to 20 feet long.)

 

[DVDdoug]

Did you Google? 20 feet is short.

100 meters is the "standard". There may be variations depending on Ethernet speed and cable category ("CAT").

 

[NTK]

For 1 Gbit/s networks (1000BASE-T), the maximum length per segment for Cat 5, 5e, and 6 cables is 100 m. (Reference)

For 2.5 Gbit/s networks (2.5GBASE-T), the maximum length per segment for Cat 5e, and 6 cables is 100 m. (Reference)

For 10 Gbit/s networks (10GBASE-T), the maximum length per segment for Cat 6 cable is 55 m, and 100 m for Cat 6e 6A cable. (Reference)

Most (if not all) new Ethernet cables for sale these days are either Cat 5e or better. What's inside your walls may be of the older varieties.

 

[Chaconne]

Thanks, folks. Looks like I'm good!
(I did not Google it because I didn't think I could get a response that dealt with ethernet in a high-end audio environment. I figured folks here would have more specialized knowledge than the internet at large.)

 

[LTig]

Thanks, folks. Looks like I'm good!
(I did not Google it because I didn't think I could get a response that dealt with ethernet in a high-end audio environment. I figured folks here would have more specialized knowledge than the internet at large.)

1 GBit/s Ethernet is totally overkill for high-end audio in a home. AFAIK modern digital mixing consoles use one cable (250 m on a roll) for 64 or more channels in parallel.

Edit: for another perspective: I use 15+ years old Notebook (Lenovo Edge 11, Linux) with a very slow CPU and a USB-2 port (480 MBit/s) to record 22 channels with 48/24 data rate from my digital console (Zoom Live track K20) onto a slow 2.5" hard disk.

 

[amirm]

Off-topic but I recently had to upgrade my home network to 2.5 Gig and in certain cases, 10 gigabit. Our ISP provides 1.3 gigabit per second so the old Gigabit network was the bottleneck. My Wifi access point using that, easily reaches near Gigabit speed on my laptop. So while audio doesn't remotely use that kind of bandwidth, if one is building a new network, might as well provision it for 2.5 Gigabit or better. The cost is minimal.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Thanks, folks. Looks like I'm good!
(I did not Google it because I didn't think I could get a response that dealt with ethernet in a high-end audio environment. I figured folks here would have more specialized knowledge than the internet at large.)

Stereo audio is fine on 10Mbit/s Ethernet.

 

[voodooless]

I did not Google it because I didn't think I could get a response that dealt with ethernet in a high-end audio environment

Why does it matter what goes through the cable? If it works for loading a spreadsheet, it works for audio...

 

[davmol]

At that length you can use almost anything but not much point buying cat5e anymore. I run standard cat6 cable for about 70m through 5 switches from front of house to the back of the garden and it still has no issues reaching 2.5gbps. longest single run is about 40m. The main thing if cutting to length is to invest in a good termination / crimping tool and don't go too cheap on the plugs, it's a false economy.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Stereo audio is fine on 10Mbit/s Ethernet.

Digitized audio isn't bandwidth intensive at all. That's why USB DACs still use 2+-decade-old USB 2.0 in 2025.

 

[somebodyelse]

The main thing if cutting to length is to invest in a good termination / crimping tool and don't go too cheap on the plugs, it's a false economy.

Most people are better off buying pre-terminated cables of the right length.

I'd also suggest using unscreened network cables for audio unless you really know what you're doing. The screen gives the possibility of ground loops, while interference isn't usually a problem in a domestic setting.

 

[Everett T]

1 GBit/s Ethernet is totally overkill for high-end audio in a home. AFAIK modern digital mixing consoles use one cable (250 m on a roll) for 64 or more channels in parallel.

Edit: for another perspective: I use 15+ years old Notebook (Lenovo Edge 11, Linux) with a very slow CPU and a USB-2 port (480 MBit/s) to record 22 channels with 48/24 data rate from my digital console (Zoom Live track K20) onto a slow 2.5" hard disk.

I can run 3 16x8 stage boxes of of one Cat6 back to the board with no problem.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The main thing if cutting to length is to invest in a good termination / crimping tool and don't go too cheap on the plugs, it's a false economy.

Most people are better off buying pre-terminated cables of the right length.

It is easy to do with the right tools. Using RevConnect one can swap male and female connectors post hoc.

I'd also suggest using unscreened network cables for audio unless you really know what you're doing. The screen gives the possibility of ground loops, while interference isn't usually a problem in a domestic setting.

 

[somebodyelse]

It is easy to do with the right tools. Using RevConnect one can swap male and female connectors post hoc.

I know - I have the tools and know how to use them. But I also find flat pack furniture assembly easy while many people regard it as some sort of dark art. You need to make quite a lot of cables to see a return on investment for the tools too. For most people I don't think it's worth it

 

[voodooless]

It is easy to do with the right tools

I f*cking hate adding the connectors! It’s always a pain and usually screw up . It’s not the tools, it’s me If I were to do this for a living I’d be miserable all the time time

 

[Berwhale]

It's easy to terminate solid core cable. But solid core cable is inflexible and designed for fixed installation. Stranded cable is more flexible, but its also more difficult to terminate reliably. So I always buy pre-made patch cables, it's just not worth the hassle of making them yourself.

I flood wired my entire home with CAT5e about 15 years ago with at least 2 ports presented in each room. It was quite gratifying to see it all working at 2.5GbE last year when I upgraded my switches

 

[kyuu]

Off-topic but I recently had to upgrade my home network to 2.5 Gig and in certain cases, 10 gigabit. Our ISP provides 1.3 gigabit per second so the old Gigabit network was the bottleneck. My Wifi access point using that, easily reaches near Gigabit speed on my laptop. So while audio doesn't remotely use that kind of bandwidth, if one is building a new network, might as well provision it for 2.5 Gigabit or better. The cost is minimal.

Luckily, unless one has shoddy terminations there's no need to worry about your wiring for 2.5g. Any network cabling from the last couple of decades or so should be cat5e or better, and that will support 2.5g no problem in a home situation. If you're house is rocking cat3 or lessor then you'll be running some new wiring. Those were probably intended for analog telephony, so the topology will be all wrong anyway.

Anyone running new cabling may as well run cat6 or cat6a as the additional cost is minimal. There's no need for shielded cables in a home situation, just get UTP.

For the OP's question, as already indicated there's zero need to worry about 10 or 20 foot patch cables. That's a big nothing in terms of ethernet cabling. Unless you have spare wire and terminations lying around, and are skilled at terminations, just get any half-decent pre-made patch cables of the length you need and you'll be set. It doesn't matter if you're running audio through it, bits are bits. The cable doesn't care about where the bits came from. I'd recommend some basic Monoprice in whatever color suits your fancy.

 

[Mnyb]

Most people are better off buying pre-terminated cables of the right length.

I'd also suggest using unscreened network cables for audio unless you really know what you're doing. The screen gives the possibility of ground loops, while interference isn't usually a problem in a domestic setting.

Yes the only ones I e had the tabs fall of is my home made ones , it’s worth considering when pulling wires in th crawl spaces under your house . Nowadays I just try to buy pre made ones if possible.

Also in hindsight I should have bought a better quality cat5e cable they start to get stiff with age .
Functionally they are more than ok for all our internet needs and audio at the same time .

And yes no screens.

 

[Berwhale]

Anyone running new cabling may as well run cat6 or cat6a as the additional cost is minimal

Not if you have recently skip* dived unopened 300m (1,000ft) boxes of CAT5e as part of a datacentre exit

(NA=dumpster)

 

[kyuu]

Not if you have recently skip* dived unopened 300m (1,000ft) boxes of CAT5e as part of a datacentre exit

(NA=dumpster)

Ha, fair enough. We have plenty of boxes of cat5e floating around where I work and I have zero issue using it for new runs. If we're considering anything beyond 1g, we're probably going to be running fiber anyway.