PowerLink RJ45, Supra Cat8 Cable

18 replies
P(
pig30n (archived2)
Bronze
40 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 10:58 GMT
#2149265

Hi all and Happy new year!

I’ve bought my first high end BO speakers this Christmas, a pair of BL18’s and a BS Core.

I was in 50% for the looks and 50% sound. They do both very well, especially looks, although I’m thinking of adding BL19 already. They need some help for the low ends.

The dealer doesn’t carry BO PowerLink cables, other stores were close, thus I’m running them on a cheap 2€ cable found at my local home improvement store. They work, but there’s some barley audible buzz noise after 24h. If I reboot the Core the buzz goes away.

I’ve finally got a pair of Supra Cat 8 RJ45 cables, made in Sweden but patched locally by the dealer.

Ingo
Ingo
Bronze
129 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 14:03 GMT
#2149266

Happy new year,

he is the man who knows

https://soundsheavenly.com/

CU

Ingo

 

CU
Curly
Bronze
458 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 14:21 GMT
#2149267

Agreed. Steve can help.

One other idea, though. I also had some electrostatic feedback or buzzing from my Core and BL18 setup. And I was using double shielded Cat7. The easiest way to get rid of it is just to use Toslink cables. So that’s what I did. No difference in sound to me and because they’re fiber optic cables, there is no possible electric interference.

CU
Curly
Bronze
458 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 14:23 GMT
#2149268

PS

As an experiment, I also bought a $100 Audioquest “audiophile” Cat7 cable and the buzzing was so much worse than my much much cheaper generic Cat7 that they were not usable. I returned them immediately. So rather than play this cables game, I just went to Toslink. Works perfectly.

P(
pig30n (archived2)
Bronze
40 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 17:12 GMT
#2149269

That’s exactly what I’ve experienced with Supra Cat8 cables. Buzzing sound, like static noise.

I suspect the shield wire needs to be loose at one end.

I guess the Audioquest cable has the same construction. These “audiophile” cables are mainly used for connecting a NAS to the router.

BTW, what cable did you used for the optical connection?

Audioquest ones go pretty steep. :)

 

CU
Curly
Bronze
458 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 18:07 GMT
#2149270

I used a basic Toslink cable from Monoprice.com.

At first I was embarrassed by the idea of using such an inexpensive cable in my expensive B&O setup but then convinced myself that spending more money on cables, especially optical Toslink, wouldn’t generate any difference in sound that I would be able to hear. Frankly, I think this is one of the benefits of B&O, much like not needing to worry about pairing amps with speakers and worrying about power conditioners, etc., we don’t need to spend big money on interconnects or mains power cables. For us, these things are simpler. And then I told myself not to be a snob. :)

CU
Curly
Bronze
458 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 18:28 GMT
#2149271

It’s a small but enthusiastic and helpful community. Welcome!

P(
pig30n (archived2)
Bronze
40 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 18:57 GMT
#2149272

Alright then. So no fancy cables.

One thing I know about optical cables is that they all sound the same except the ones that use quartz fiber, ridiculously expensive. (500$/meter for Audioquest Diamond)

I need to run these cables underneath the skirting and there’s a corner at some point. So I think the optical solution will not fit for me because of the 90 degrees bending.

SoundsHeavenly was closed for Holidays until today. I needed some sort of cables during this time :).

MI
mibook84
Bronze
2724 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 19:48 GMT
#2149273
I am using Cat 7 SF/FTP cables which is soft and easily bendable. They sound good with my beolab 50 and is very inexpensive without ground noise issues. I would recommend buying that.

Cat 6/7/8 is far from all the specs needed as there is many kinds of cables that can be cat 6/7/8, shielded or unshielded in many different ways. It’s a jungle. Most regular cables are unshielded because most devices isn’t grounded. So to not introduce dangerous feedback, unshielded cables are most common.

Confusing sadly but at least expensive cables isn’t the best always, rather the cables that are made in big numbers are probably better as they are made automaticallly by machines and the more expensive audiophile cables might be handmade with bigger risks for failure on the cables.
P(
pig30n (archived2)
Bronze
40 posts
Posted January 2, 2021 at 19:52 GMT
#2149274

So I removed caps from one of the cables and indeed the shield is not connected to the caps.

It’s loose on both sides (attached photo).

The question is, should I tell the dealer to connect both ends or just one end?

or
BeoWorld Gold Membership card
Join BeoWorld

Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits — including our monthly prize draw.

Become a Member

December 2026 Prize Draw

Gold Members Only

As a Gold member you're automatically entered into our exclusive prize draw — your chance to win iconic Bang & Olufsen products. A unique benefit of BeoWorld Gold membership, every draw brings a new opportunity to win something special.

View Prize Go For Gold