CAT8 initial findings:
Got a couple of patch leads from Goobay, made in China, info here:
https://www.reichelt.com/gb/en/patch-ca ... _pdn&nbc=1
Standard, off-the-shelf, nothing special. These are solidly constructed with nice metal plugs and this stuff is thick and really stiff - no bending it easily around corners. Pricewise it costs about one-tenth of the AudioQuest Cinnamon CAT7 cable for a similar length.
Having firstly fired up my office laptop with a 2m run of this replacing a CAT5e lead, I immediately noticed that the old Dell felt supercharged - as if there had been something slowing it down all this time and it was free to get up to full steam. A good sign. Actually been noticing this all over - moving up to higher-spec ethernet leads speeds up the accessability of each device and the network feels generally quicker and snappier in usage.
So, now to get a music installation hooked in. This means threading the wire through a small hole in a plasterboard partition wall which I usually do by wrapping painter's masking-tape (the paper stuff, easy to remove and leaves no residue) around the plug of the new cable and attaching it to another wire already in place with some slack - then pulling through carefully from the other side. Works every time.
The thick blue CAT8 does look really serious, but it was too much for the tiny Tinkerboard that got lifted up onto its side by the rigidity of the new ethernet monster! Still, it'll work that way as well, I thought.
Firing up the TB I ran through the same couple of test tracks that I used last week: Vangelis, Gilgamesh. The CAT8 has BIG presence, massive bass, loads of information. There is an in-your-face, authoritative feeling with a wide solid soundstage. But ... I felt I was missing something.
Switching back to the AQ Cinnamon, it sounds muted and polite in direct comparison. However it is more 'musical' with clearer presentation of instruments, atmosphere and delicacy are better maintained. 'What a relief - I haven't spent all that dosh for nothing!'. Despite the psycho-acoustic, placebo-effect claptrap that will probably be fired off in my direction - I don't WANT things to sound better if I have paid more money for them. I just want things to sound better, full stop, and am usually very excited if I can do that for a minimal outlay. I might even have been more chuffed if the CAT8 had swept the AQ under the carpet.
Putting the CAT8 into the second system, feeding the Allo DigiOne Signature in place of the recently-transferred CAT6 link DID make a considerable difference and lifted the sound on this setup up to a new level of control and detailed performance. What I am going to do is to leave the CAT8 in the second system for a week or 2 to run-in a bit and then try it out again against the AQ Cinnamon. I have read that these leads do need some burn-in to get them sounding smoother and that is the quality I am missing at the moment.
I can say that:
CAT6 sounds a lot better than CAT5e
CAT8 is a big step up from CAT6
Silver-plated CAT7 audiophile lead is more refined and musical than standard CAT8 (for now).
Gotta go now, there's a big order of Snake Oil coming in at the drugstore and I want to stock up before it sells out!