I assume CAT 6 works equally well as it is not shielded - the same as 5e
Some CAT6 is shielded, some is not. You need to check if it is CAT6 UTP ( unshielded) or CAT6 FTP ( shielded, F= Foil).
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CAT 6 from Blue Jeans
Could well be but I cannot find any reference of the BlueJeans Cable web pages which deals with shielding to confirm this. This cable, although manufactured by Belden, is custom made for BJC so I cannot find the information via another route.
Is there any way of confirming this aside from an intended buyer contacting them directly?
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Thanks Martin…it was Wayne that answered my email.
Are you you happy with the cable in your system?
Thanks
David
Cisco Business 110 Series CBS110-8T-D Unmanaged Switch
No fiber, but an excellent switch.
Hi David, yes, I’m happy with them - all cat 6 actually I made and error with my 5e comment. Very well made in my opinion, and comes with their actual test report via an expensive Fluke meter. I also got BJC to send me the details on how to interpret that report as their web page is broke on that specific link.
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Hi Pete
I received an email from Wayne at Blue Jeans, who confirmed that their Cat 5e are unshielded by default.
You are correct, I too could not find any reference to unshielded in their cable description.
Anyway it’s sorted now.
Just a further perspective - noting I’m not an electrical engineer and reserve the right to make naive statements. Hopefully those more knowledgeable will chip in. First though, BJC did tell me 6a was the only one with foil, I bought 6 not 5e as I said.
But back to this floating shield - as I understand it Reiki Audio - whom contribute here, pursue a floating design in that at one end is not connected to the shield. It’s also ‘directional’ in that the connected terminal is not connected at the dCS end - rather to the switch.
same stated on Roy Gregory’s GY8 site in his extensive and enthusiastic reviews of Reiki’s stuff.
I note also Reiki’s switch has both a metal housing for the RJ45, is 5V dc - not a 3 pin safety earth, and has a grounding post. I assume that any antennae effect of the shield will communicate RFI initially back to the switch, not the dCS, the switch has a transformer and is therefore galvanically isolated to this noise, but RFI via the metal case connection might then be directed to earth or a grounding box if one chooses to utilise that ground lug. Does that ring true?
In fact - it makes me wonder a lot about these ground posts on equipment that are becoming more prolific anyway. CH Precision feature them on their kit, my Russ Andrew’s wall sockets have them plus every multi way power strip I own. What’s the intention? Surely if I wired all such posts together back to the wall I’m duplicating safety earth? Possibly in a dangerous way if wrong cable spec is used? And does all this not depend on ‘earth’ being one direction in terms of noise? With all the car chargers, solar panels, etc around now it seems to me that ‘safety’ earth might be a source of the microscopic noise that we all fear is impacting our music adversely.
Perhaps then that’s why all these ground boxes - active and passive, proliferate? I was advised by an individual I respect on these issue to connect such ground lugs to a passive sink - I.e one of those boxes filled with magnetite or whatever.
Not meant to derail this useful thread but I think it’s an interesting area.
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Unfortunately Martin, it’s not true. 
The gist of the issue is that while the shield is supposed to provide electromagnetic shielding to protect the Ethernet signal from external noise without introducing unwanted noise from internal currents of the twisted pairs, electromagnetic fields interact with shields very differently depending on the frequencies involved.
High frequency signals, both emanating from the Ethernet signal pairs and from EMI/RFI externally, require a closed circuit in order to be effectively damped, that means grounded on both ends.
When only one side of the shield is grounded, w.r.t high-frequencies, the shield does not behave like one would imagine a normal wire would that conducts signals to ground (which is what Reiki and many other Audiophiles imagine), but instead has significant inductive impedance which causes the shield to behave like a monopole antenna. Increasing common-mode noise which cannot be drained away, nor is it able to contain EMI.
The bottom line is really quite simple - Don’t use shielded Ethernet cables at home. If for whatever reason you believe you have RFI/EMI issues that warrant a shielded Ethernet cable, then ensure your Ethernet Switch and your Audio gear share the same ground-plane and use a properly shielded Ethernet cable.
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And further to Anup’s point I would like to remind everyone that the ethernet cables we supply with our products are shielded. The reason for this is that a shielded cable is required for the product to perform as it did when it passed the tests required for EMI certification. Notwithstanding this we still recommend unshielded cables for the final connection to the dCS unit itself for optimum sonic performance.
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@AndrewS , that is quite my an important point and one that is not widely known. It is important as several posts have indicated that quite a few users, especially newcomers, use the cables that come in the box.
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Good to know about the stock cables. Thanks @AndrewS
What’s not fiber is all BJC Cat 6 unshielded in my system.
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Hiya Greg
I am interested to know why you decided on BJC Cat 6 and not 5e? I have just ordered BJC 5e, which Fedex tells me, is winging its way across the pond to me. Have I ordered correctly?
Hope you had, or are still having a great Thanks Giving Day! 
Thank
David
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David, don’t worry, you have ordered the correct cable.
CAT6 UTP is also fine for your purpose but iany advantage over 5e is not relevant for the transmission of audio related data in domestic circumstances.
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I agree CAT 6 UTP is the one to go for (5e is fine too). I’ve tried other ethernet cables in the past and this is indeed the best option. One thing I would add is that there’s no point, in my experience, of paying extra for supposedly ‘special’ CAT 6 cables like BJC etc. The cheap one from that retailer named after a South American river is just as good. As long as the cable has been tested and certified CAT 6 it’s fine. I did try some BJC, but the much cheaper one is indistinguishable.
@Merlot52 David - no particular reason at all. Most likely because 6 was higher than 5e
@poco-a-poco BJC comes with a test certificate indicating it meets specification. The Amazon one does not. As simple as that. The Amazon ones work just as well as I have them sprinkled throughout the house. I thought I would treat my Vivaldi to a “posh” BJC cable😉
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And likewise Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
I ordered Cat 6 to standardize all my cables here at home, not just audio. Pete is correct: for home audio, no greater bandwidth than 5e is necessary. But we’ve got a “lot of network” in our house, so I wanted to have a store of Ethernet cables of different lengths and colors that could be suitable for any application.
I guess I have to chuckle about people referring to BJC as being more expensive. But they’re American made and certified by BJC. I like knowing what I’m getting, and paying a fair price for the labor that produced it, and buying it from a company that appears dedicated to providing good value.
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I agree. More expensive?
I paid £35 which included the Fedex postage of £12. I’m very happy with that? 
Paying £2-4K is what I would call expensive.
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Yeah, I was lightly making fun of the expense comparison between Amazon and BJC cables. IMHO, BJC cables are the bargain of the industry.
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