Best Ethernet Cable For Long Audio Runs
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- The newest soundtools cable, SuperCAT XM is specifically designed to allow exceeding the longest recommended cable lengths for various data formats.
SoundTools will guarantee this cable to carry AES50 for 110 meters (100 meter cable + coupler + 10 meter cable)
We have so far tested AES50 at lengths operational without pops or drops of 150 meters. We will test MADI, Dante, A&H, and other formats soon.
Our recommendation is to have 20% cable buffer, so with a cable length of 125 meters, you can safely operate 20% below the 150 meter operational maximum.
The advantages include:
Dependable cable runs up to 125 meters with AES50 and the ability to reliably use in rack extensions and couplers even when the snake is 100 meters.
SuperCat XM will be less expensive than SuperCat Sound
This is a tremendous service for relevant users. I’m in the market for a main snake for my Dante system and it makes a lot of sense to go as far into safe territory as possible. To me, one single dropout, ever, is one too many. Thanks a lot for doing this, Dave.
Thank you and agreed
run fiber if it is dante
Yes agreed if you are ok with the added cost, complexity and latency of adapting to fiber, it's well worth it if you're doing long runs and exceed 110 m or so.
The DN 9610 or 9620 convert to and from and you only need a couple extra jumpers somewhere to plug in the power supplies and somewhere to put them.
Or you could just use a cable and plug it into both consoles no problem and have it work.
Just depends.
Typically the simplest solution that solves a problem with the least vulnerabilities and lowest cost and a highest reliability may be the way to go
@@andrewvickers6847 To do fiber correctly is a significant increase in cost. It is a change I can implement at any time in the future. Dante has no particular affinity for light. Not sure why you’d suggest it so confidently. Fiber’s benefits become very real in networked systems. It has its uses. The system I’m describing is a simple two-nodes. Wasted money to go fiber.
I hope it will be soon available in Europe, I love Soundtools products !
Awesome and it will be or is. We made it available to all SoundTools dealers last week. If you ask whichever dealer is closest to ya, I am sure they will sort ya. You can email soundtools@ratsound.com and they will assist as well
I'm a studio rat, but I learn so much from the live world and especially you. Thank you brother! If you're ever around Melbourne Florida, lets go surf! 🤙🏼
Thank you and yes, awesome! Would love to paddle out in Florida, never have there.
@@DaveRat I actually skimboard 😆 I build them myself because I weigh 225 so I need a small surfboard. I make them a little thicker at 52", so I can get out there. Our break is further out than yours.
Post a link of where I can see pics!
Looking good!!! 🙂
🤙👍🤙
Dave, you are a "Super Cat!!!!"
Haunted and thank you!
Thanks for your work mate. 🤙
Awesome and thank you!
I'm ready to buy today! Where should I look for first availability?
There should be a link below the video let me know if there's not.
Also here's a direct
sales.ratsound.com/products/supercat-xm-110-meter-bundle
And thank you awesome let me know how it works for you!!
This blows my mind! I recall your videos from a few years back analysing the problem and no matter what you did there were always issues with drop outs. I have to ask, what’s motivated you to find a working solution to this issue? Are the same tests you did in the previous videos looking at X/M32 repeatable with no issues? I’m an eager customer in the UK!
Yes the same tests are repeatable with no issues. The motivation was bands coming in with X32 and m32 consoles to our festivals and having issues and not having a good solution for them.
Also for Sahara tent at Coachella the snake run is 110 m 120 m ideally.
So I wanted to design a cable that would allow the X32 m32 bands to use their gear for that stage.
And have the ability for our company to supply it dependable working solution.
And after asking around it seem there was a significant interest in the cable so I made it a sound tools product as well
@@DaveRat At this stage, you’ve put more effort into finding a solution than Music Group ever have. In my view they appear to have washed their hands with it. Looking forward to the cable becoming available, I’m an eager customer in the UK. Will it hit shelves before this summer?
Yes I believe that's true. In fact there may actually be interest from music group and we're looking at possibly making a less expensive version with a PVC jacket to OEM to them.
As far as availability it should have links below or with you in the UK contact the UK sound tools dealer and they can get it for you. We just released info to them last week and orders are coming in from dealers now and if you ask what I'm sure they'll get it for you.
If not email us it sound tools and we'll work on sorting out
@@DaveRat That’s awesome! Don’t give it to them cheap. Lol
Ha, well, SoundTools is about quality products currently made in US, Mexico and Germany, modest profits and maintaining a stellar reputation.
Our prices may not be low enough for them to accept, but it won't be because we are up charging them.
I'm an electrician apprentice and we mostly use Cat6A or Cat7 for installation of network sockets. I'm curious as to how you use these in audio, is it for multitrack streaming? Are these different to the normal Cat6A I know of, like is the PVC maybe more durable since it's made to be moved and such?
I'm just a hobby producer at home so I now the normal audio cables, but haven't done anything bigger than using a mixer board for some live events outside of that.
Very cool! Do you find Cat6a and cat 7 to be stiff and on flexible?
This is polyur thane jacket not PVC. Stronger, wider temp range, more flexible and more durable
We use it to connect audio consoles to stage audio or to each other among many other uses. We transport hundreds of audio channels and it needs to be wound up and redeployed hundreds of times or more.
@@DaveRat Thank you for the quick answer.
Yes the ones we use might be more stiff than the one you're using.
They're a bit fragile and can't be bent too much or they break as they are meant for permanent installation.
Yes that's the challenge. All the cables that are super fast data are terrible for portable live. Which is why I ended up making this stuff
Cool 👍
🤙🤙
Looks hot!
Are those two heatshrink tubing ends for putting labeling under, or are my eyes deceiving me?
Yes, those are on shrunk heat shrink so you can label the cable!
Stupid question...is it step proof? I had a few 100m cables (before they lowered the AES50 spec to 80m) that worked fine until someone managed to step on a portion that wasn't in a cable ramp. If this cable solves that then take my money!
Yes! It actually carries AES50 140 meters, we spec it at 110 meters so it has a huge buffer. So it can be abused and still be dependable.
Cat6a is too long due to the extra twist @ 100 meters...how are you getting around that? I love your products...but need to understand how you are beating that limitation.
I will have another video coming out soon that shows the actual tests with a fluke DSX 5000 cable certifier that shows that 110 meters of super Cat XM cable beats all of the specifications published for AES 50!
As far as how we did it in the design it's a combination of the number of twists, The type of insulators, The wire gauge, The spacing of the conductors, And every other factor that control over.
The critical spec is a return loss of 24 dB maximum at 100mHz and the super Cat XM actually is even within 1 DB of that spec at 120 meters.
@@DaveRat Thanks! I'm looking forward to that video. If anyone was going to figue this out, it was going to be you! I've got alot of purple SuperCat that I LOVE!
Yeah this is definitely thicker 7.9 mm, not quite as flexible as the super cat sound blue stuff we make, but the data capabilities of this is next level!
Any advantages versus running Dante Rat man?
I did Dante tests both as a Yamaha interconnect and with a cable certifier, and the XM meets or exceeds the specs for solid conductor Cat5e cable.
Still doing more testing but so far it looks like the 110 meter runs of XM are ultra safe and reliable across the board for anything spec'd CAT5e.
It gets tricky as different protocols are sensitive to differing specs.
We will release a grid with specs and various assets of the SoundTools cables soon
@@DaveRat Very good stuff! One thing I do appreciate using Dante with the M32 style mixers is it seems to simplifies the routing for me. Especially when using separate monitor and FOH consoles.
Yes Dante gives you more control over routing and is more stable than AES 50 on longer lengths. The downside is that Dante has longer latency and AES50 the latency is almost non-existent.
@@DaveRat Do you know how much latency compared? Is it negligible and just measurable? Or will the latency be obvious and get a guy into trouble? I guess what I’m asking is, is there enough latency using Dante for it to be an issue? Another downside of Dante is you need a computer to do the routing as well as the virtual sound card software and Dante controller software.
AES50 is like 62 us or .062 ms. Dante will depend on the number of hops but is typically 1ms or so.
It's not usually a big deal as 1ms is just about a foot in the real world. But cumulatively, it can be an issue. Maybe the console has 1 or 2 ms latency, maybe a digital in ear pack adds some or digital mic and soon you have 3 or 4 or more ms. This delay can be a bummer for in-ears.
So no biggie but worth being aware of