Over the past several years there’s been a revolution in the way people store, distribute, and access digital media, including photos, movies, and, of course, music. No longer dependent on physical media, our media is often data that’s moved from multiple devices to multiple locations. For audio applications and protocols, audio over Ethernet offers the virtues of high-speed, low time delay (latency), significant distance capability (328 feet without an active booster or repeater), and extremely low-jitter, bit-perfect communication.How effectively these promises of Ethernet translate into real-world performance depends upon the quality of your Ethernet cable. AudioQuest's Forest RJ/E is a high-quality Ethernet cable featuring Solid 0.5% Silver conductors, solid high-density polyethylene insulation, gold-plated nickel connectors with 100% shield coverage, and CAT7 high-speed data capacity. AudioQuest’s digital cables start with Solid Long-Grain Copper (LGC) conductors. Each successive step up the line adds increasing amounts of silver plating and reaps the associated cost-effective performance benefits: improved noise-dissipation for clearer, cleaner, more naturally beautiful sound. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications like digital audio. These signals, being such a high frequency, travel almost exclusively on the surface of the conductor. As the surface is made of high-purity silver, the performance approaches that of a 100% silver cable, but at a price much closer to solid copper cable — a cost-effective way of manufacturing very high-quality USB cables. Solid conductors eliminate strand interaction, a major source of distortion in cables. 0.5% Silver Conductors: Increasingly thick layers of silver plating are applied to AudioQuest’s Long-Grain Copper (LGC) conductors to improve Noise-Dissipation. Placing the superior metal on the outside of the conductor produces the greatest benefit on overall performance. Geometry Stabilizing Solid High-Density Polyethylene: Carefully selected and optimized for its ability within an Ethernet cable to minimize distortion and preserve dynamics. Individually shielded pairs minimize crosstalk between pairs (a Cat7 requirement). Overall shield around all pairs minimizes outside interference. Gold-Plated Nickel Connectors with 100% Shield Coverage: Premium, wide-bandwidth connectors further reduce distortion and complement efficient noise-dissipation for clearer, cleaner sound. Directionality: All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical, and therefore directional, grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it will cause distortion. The correct direction is determined by listening to every batch of metal conductors used in every AudioQuest audio cable. When applicable, arrows are clearly marked on the connectors to ensure superior sound quality. Frequently Asked Questions Is the AudioQuest Forest RJ/E directional?Yes. Due to the non-symmetrical grain structure inherent in drawn conductors, radio-frequency (RF) impedance varies with direction. AudioQuest tests each conductor batch to determine the orientation that best drains RF noise away from sensitive components. Directional arrows on the connectors indicate the correct path of signal travel. Is this Cat7 cable backwards compatible with standard network components?Yes. While manufactured and tested to Cat7 standards with individually shielded pairs, the RJ/E Forest utilizes precision-engineered RJ45 connectors compatible with standard Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6a network sockets on routers, network switches, and hi-fi audio streamers. Why are solid conductors preferred over stranded conductors for audio networks?Stranded conductors cause magnetic and electrical interaction between individual strands, which introduces timing errors and high-frequency distortion. Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion entirely, preserving subtle dynamic nuance and phase coherence.
