Ethernet cables: any length limitations

[Berwhale]

...pulling wires in the crawl spaces under your house.

I've seen electricians aggressively pull Ethernet cable through buildings like it was mains cable, it's not. The pairs in Ethernet cable are twisted at different rates to minimise crosstalk, if you stretch the cable, by pulling it too hard, then you can introduce issues with one or more pairs. There are also things like minimum bend radius to consider.

I remember one company, that thought they were saving money by employing sparkies to install their network, ended up paying a certified cable installer 3x as much to rip it all out and put it in properly

 

[Berwhale]

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.

My 2.5GbE switch upgrade also included the introduction of a 20m steel armoured OM3 'backbone' between my study and loft switches (I liberated a box of Cisco SFP-10G-SRs during the aforementioned DC exit, so it seemed rude not to use a couple )

 

[davmol]

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

I agree it's the best way if there's no requirement to pass the cable through walls and ceilings. I hate terminating ethernet cables so much that I usually spend extra to buy long pre-terminated cables and then cut them, so that I only have to terminate one end after feeding it through the hole in the wall

 

[Kal Rubinson]

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

I know but you can find deals. I got this kit, new, for less than half advertised price from a guy in Turkey via eBay. It makes consistent and secure connections just where I need them.

 

[Everett T]

I agree it's the best way if there's no requirement to pass the cable through walls and ceilings. I hate terminating ethernet cables so much that I usually spend extra to buy long pre-terminated cables and then cut them, so that I only have to terminate one end after feeding it through the hole in the wall

I have nerve damage in both hands and other than Cat6a SFTP, and other foil wrapped versions, I have little issues terminating standard Cat5e and standard Cat6 for most residential needs.

I run two to three to every drop I have in each room, cheap and versatile.

 

[Mr_RGB]

Bought this cheap RJ45 crimper termination kit. Seems to work well and included a cable tester which is very important if you are terminating your own cables. For me the Pass Thru connectors are a lot easier to use. I find it kind of relaxing to terminate cables...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JYTBDXN

 

[PristineSound]

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.)

There is nothing special with "high end audio" when it comes to Ethernet. The audio data is like any other data. Absolutely, positively NOTHING SPECIAL about it.

Which also means do not fall prey to "audiophile" ethernet cables or Ethernet switches.

 

[Chaconne]

Why does it matter what goes through the cable?

I have no idea. Which is why I asked the original question!

If it works for loading a spreadsheet, it works for audio...

But thanks for providing an answer! And thanks to all the others. Some provided way more information than I asked for, and I'm sure it will be helpful.

 

[kyuu]

Some provided way more information than I asked for, and I'm sure it will be helpful.

Providing way more information than anybody asks for is what we ASRians live for!