You're correct. Cat7 is the new wiring standard and will carry current ML signals as well as the larger signals of the future. Today you'll still connect your speakers with PowerLink or MasterLink heads, but the cabling will be Cat7. In the future, products will move to RJ45 jacks.

So the cabeling from jack to jack will be Cat 7 and from the jack to the B&O equipment a B&O cable with one ML plug and one Cat 7 plug ?

Olof wrote:

So the cabeling from jack to jack will be Cat 7 and from the jack to the B&O equipment a B&O cable with one ML plug and one Cat 7 plug ?

Yes!

You use an "installation cable" from RJ45 patch-panel to RJ45 jack and a "product-cable", one side RJ 45, other side either ML or PL available in different lengths.

NIC -  Cat 7/Class F - New Installation Concept:
The new infrastructure can be used for current (analog)  ML and PL signals and digital signals like Ethernet for internet, video-streaming and, in all likelihood ;-) - the next generation digital Linksystem and speakers.

BUT - if you want total flexibility and want to patch every component centrally in your technical room, bear in mind, a TV + Vidoclient (e.g. Apple-TV) + Audiosystem + BeoMaster5 + Dolby Speaker setup + some spares for future components means 20 or more Cat7 cables running to the patch-panel located in your technical room.  Adequate dimensioning of cable conduits is mandatory!

If Iam understanding you guys correctly...in near future or even now we can use the generic ethernet cables Cat 5/6/7 - those blue and white cables in any IT infrastrucutre to connect the B&O speakers to the beocenters

For Example:

I could use the Cat 7 / ethernet cable with one head as say ML connecting to the beosound 4000 and then the other head a masterlink connecting to a beolab 2000. Is it correct and possible now?

In a beolink setup then all I need is two ML heads and the Cat 7 cable...has any one tried this with success

Thanks

sodoi18 wrote:

If Iam understanding you guys correctly...in near future or even now we can use the generic ethernet cables Cat 5/6/7 - those blue and white cables in any IT infrastrucutre to connect the B&O speakers to the beocenters

 

For Example:

I could use the Cat 7 / ethernet cable with one head as say ML connecting to the beosound 4000 and then the other head a masterlink connecting to a beolab 2000. Is it correct and possible now?

In a beolink setup then all I need is two ML heads and the Cat 7 cable...has any one tried this with success

Thanks

No. Not correct. Cat7 is a unique type of cable. Cat5 & Cat6 will not work. At this point, Cat7 is available from Bang & Olufsen. 

As for it being able to work currently, absolutely. We've used it in installations and in the showroom and it works exactly the same as a Master Link or PowerLink setup does. 

As stated above, though, there are different types of the Cat7 cables for the different applications within an installation so consult your B&O dealer before you go pulling things through walls. They will help you formulate a wiring plan and also clarify the wiring topology for you. 

I am assuming that the CAT 7 is all point-to-point for now.

Not a daisy-chain like the ML is and the MCL was.

Am I right to presume that at some point in the future signals maybe able to co-exist and we will get back to a daisy-chain/ring capability ?

TripEnglish wrote:

No. Not correct. Cat7 is a unique type of cable. Cat5 & Cat6 will not work. At this point, Cat7 is available from Bang & Olufsen. 

As for it being able to work currently, absolutely. We've used it in installations and in the showroom and it works exactly the same as a Master Link or PowerLink setup does. 

As stated above, though, there are different types of the Cat7 cables for the different applications within an installation so consult your B&O dealer before you go pulling things through walls. They will help you formulate a wiring plan and also clarify the wiring topology for you. 

Err sorry, but No. Not correct, right back at ya.

Cat 5 and 6 will work perfectly for distributing masterlink and powerlink as the op requested.  Granted, B&O sugest that you use Cat 7 and I would always run this where possible, but for an existing Cat 5 installation it will work fine.

The suggestion for Cat 7 comes primarily for future proofing, and to give the extra bandwidth required to run video etc in the future.  Cat 5 and 6 are more than adequate for basic powerlink and masterlink distribution.

rednik wrote:

 

Err sorry, but No. Not correct, right back at ya.

 

Cat 5 and 6 will work perfectly for distributing masterlink and powerlink as the op requested.  Granted, B&O sugest that you use Cat 7 and I would always run this where possible, but for an existing Cat 5 installation it will work fine.

 

The suggestion for Cat 7 comes primarily for future proofing, and to give the extra bandwidth required to run video etc in the future.  Cat 5 and 6 are more than adequate for basic powerlink and masterlink distribution.

According to this thread, not all Cat 5 and 6 works "perfectly"... at least if you have a BL3500 in the mix.

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/p/10922/81475.aspx#81475

Short story shorter, you need *shielded* cat 5 or 6.  I believe Cat 7 is shielded by default so this is not an issue.

Stan

The biggest difference w/ CAT7 is that each pair is shielded to eliminate cross talk...

8 wires / 2 per pair = 4 pairs independently shielded.