I don't think you actually read what the site says or given it some thought.
Tough pitch copper, copper-clad aluminium, and OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) can all be used to produce data equivalent Cat-x cables.
Typically Ethernet data cables use solid conductors for ‘in-wall’ applications and where data needs to be transmitted over long distances, whilst data ‘patch chords’ typically use stranded conductors for optimum flexibility.
Atlas choose solid core OFC for audio applications for optimum performance, as they suffer less from inter-strand distortion and capacitive variation.
Sure - means that you can use it for 200m rather than 100m. Solid core copper also means that bending it is a dance with the devil.
The more efficient the dielectric the more bandwidth potential the cable will have, of course this is balanced out in the ‘real’ world by cost factors, which leads producers to use inferior less-compliant materials that don’t crush’ as they are being twisted and wound.
Atlas use Polyethylene and foamed Polyethylene to produce our streaming Ethernet cables, experience gained developing our USB and HD video products showing these are stable wide-band materials that guarantee great audio results. The key is precise control in manufacturing so that the balance between tight twist ratios and symmetrical twist patterns are maintained.
LOL it's PE. That's about as cheap as it gets.
Sure you can question why they diden use
Data cable manufacturers have focused on the humble twisted pair to drive data speed and bandwidth forward. With its inherent common mode rejection properties, it’s a cheap method of production, so a winner in the data field for years.
However as you push the bandwidth of the twisted pair you soon get to a point where further twisting offers no more benefit – at which point you need to add cable screening to enhance rejection performance.
As the bandwidth requirement of the cable increases so does the shielding required to deliver the specified performance, specified as:
- U/UTP - Unscreened / Universal Twisted Pair
- U/FTP - Unscreened / Foiled Twisted Pair
- S/FTP - Screened / Foiled Twisted Pair
Atlas has always paid particular attention to shielding and screening, our dd (dual drain) and Grun technologies are specifically intended to address the ways in which such issues impact on performance. The Mavros streaming cable features our Grun Coherent Earthing System as standard.
Bandwidth is
not a problem. Hi-res audio is at 192kHz @ 24 bits: with 2 channels, that's 8.8 megabits per second. Cat5 easily hits 100 megabits per second. Double that if you want to for error correction and redundancy and headers (or whatever snakeoil you also want to throw in): it's
never going to saturate Cat5, let alone Cat 6.
A plug is a plug is a plug? No. Again, what’s acceptable for a low-cost cable for data is quite different from the standards required for high-resolution audio.
We use very stable polycarbonate shielded plugs with robust gold plating up to 10 times the ‘Industry norm,’ even on our entry level products.
Our Mavros streaming cable utilise precision diecast Zinc connectors for the highest quality connection. These connectors also have precision pin alignment optimised for multiple secure insertions.
Sure, nothing to do with audio quality though unless you have repeated insertion/removal cycles. The weird thing is that the reason they give is a non-sequiter.
In the bulk data cabling world, a cable of ‘bandwidth X’ is typically mated with a mis-matched plug of ‘bandwidth Y,’ often using uncalibrated hand tools, which frequently over-crimp the plugs (applying uneven crimping pressure applied across all four pins), resulting in inconsistent product to product performance.
Again, sure, but that's QA to ensure that the cable is working to begin with.
Such cables typically fail ISO/TIA certification standards. Even a fully-tested and bandwidth-guaranteed Cat6 cable terminated with a Cat5 plug will only deliver Cat5 performance.
Is a Cat6 or 6A cable a better choice for audio than a Cat5e product?
All else being equal, the wider the bandwidth of the cable, the easier it should be to extract the data. However all the factors discussed above come into play, so a cable using high quality components and precision manufacturing to certified standards will typically outperform a less carefully manufactured item of nominally higher spec.
Sure, because of poor manufacturing, your Cat6 just turned into Cat5. Who cares? Your audio is
not saturating Cat5 to begin with anyway.
Atlas cables are hand-assembled using our precision-calibrated ‘triple prong’ insulation displacement connection method – we made our own tool for the job – for consistent, effective piercing of the dielectric & conductor bonding, and to accurately control the plug contact height.
Sweet - nothing to do with audio quality.
The result is a high-quality cable which performs precisely as specified – we employ Fluke patch-cord certification tools to guarantee bandwidth performance. All our streaming Ethernet cables are individually certificated for guaranteed performance.
Sweet - nothing to do with absolute performance, but great for QA to ensure it's not broken and within the ethernet spec.
As stated above, the bandwidth requirement of the cable increases so does the shielding required to deliver the performance. However, when you plug the shielded cable into your system, the screens are typically connected at each end, and the ground current drain path is defined by the equipment. In the audio world we all know that this is an undefined path, if you can make this drain path more predictable across the system, you gain the potential for better sound quality.
The Grun connection allows any RFI/EMI conducted in the cable’s outer screen to be drained to earth in a defined and predictable way via a Grun ground cable and adapter (supplied(, generally attached to the equipment’s ground terminal or chassis.
Performance can typically be raised further using an optional Grun mains adapter which provides for connection of up to three Grun cables to an unused mains socket or via a distribution block.
Great, except that's only a problem if grounding is a problem for your devices. If it is, get a better device.
All in all, these cables solve one problem at best: $#itty engineering from DAC companies. If DAC manufacturers weren't so sloppy, these cables would do absolutely
nothing more
.
I have no idea why audiophiles think they're so special that they consider problems in things even industrial and laboratory settings do not consider a problem.
Reminds me of the Sony audiophile SD card: it actually does lower the EMI noise when it's in use. Thing is, if your device is affected by the EMI noise from the SD card, device is $#1t to begin with and doubly so for any audiophile.
