Perfectly explained, thank you. 
Yes you can get benefits from a decent switch. I noticed a good improvement in my setup going from a standard net gear to an EE 8Switch.
I have a Supra Cat8 which I really rate; better than my BlueJeansCable.
Both are cheap enough in longer runs.
I’ve heard good reports of Supra cables…Not sure that I could justify spending £450 on a switch though.
Buy online try and if no good, return. If it makes a worthwhile difference then keep the item
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IMHO, and as a DCS owner, this is one of the topics where a DCS engineer or moderator should weigh in and state for the record, if it is the case, that DCS has conducted tests on various ethernet cables and sees no reason for spending on “audiophile” ethernet cables.
I am interested in the response…
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They did actually;
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[quote="[FAQ] Do I need special Ethernet cables for my dCS product? Mosaic FAQs, post:1, topic:1312"]
This means that provided an Ethernet cable has passed certification
[/quote]
What body certifies practical cables as having met the standard? AFAIK ( until someone tells me better) an IEEE committee sets the standard but the cable manufacturer decides whether his cable meets it ( more or less 
). AFAIK There is no independent laboratory testing and certifying such cables.
Of course there are Pete, plenty of independent Cable certification labs and integrators all around the world in fact.
Ethernet cables that get installed in Enterprises and Data Centre are usually fully certified, either through independent labs, or by the systems integrators.
Vendors like Fluke (among others) sell Ethernet cable compliance certification test equipment.
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Good idea…I may email James@dCS
I see Pete has already kindly linked to the FAQ on this, but just to reiterate, you don’t need audiophile network cables.
Until the network data hits the DAC or the endpoint, it is just network data, not signal; it behaves no differently to any other network data being sent via TCP. If there was any sort of improvement that could be made to the integrity of the data packets being sent over a network by introducing additional shielding to the cable or different material conductors or any of the additions such audiophile cables tend to include, it would have been picked up by the IEEE and incorporated into the Ethernet spec as, for example, it would save banks billions a year in random lost transactions.
Aside from this, audio (even hi-res audio) is so low-rate compared to what most residential networks can handle that there is no reason to need anything above CAT5e for speed purposes. Purchasing a CAT7 cable doesn’t help anything other than lightening your wallet when it comes to audio. To put it into context, both Andrew and I have access to almost any cables available on the market, and we both use cheap and cheerful Ethernet cables from Amazon.
Networks are one of the few places where keeping things as simple as possible is usually the best way to go. You are striving for a network which is stable and reliable, not one which sounds good. Much better to put that money into some really good AES cables, or perhaps a good bottle of wine or whiskey for the evening.
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Thank you James for explaining that. You may want to discard the email I sent you, as you have answered the question perfectly.
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Thanks for the information. However is their use mandatory for certification ? I think that your remark ( my emphasis) suggests not "
I have had a quick look at how a few audiophile ethernet cables have been specified by their manufacturers. Some claim Cat.x. Some use weasel wording to imply that they meet Cat.x. Others are honest enough to say that their “streaming” cables cannot be called " ethernet" cbles at all but then go on to list why (materials) their cables are superior 
. What fun!
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A switch? I was fairly cynical but was given an English Electric (Chord cables) for trial, I placed this between my router and my Bartok.
The trial lasted less than 20 minutes and I bought it.
The increase in quality was small but noticeable.
I remain impressed, having a/b’s several times since.
It’s not a great financial leap and the return is just.
Certainly, give one a go.
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Well, there’s specs compliance, and then there’s certification. The two aren’t quite the same; an Ethernet cable can be CATx specifications compliant but not necessarily certified.
Most Ethernet cable retailers buy spec compliant Ethernet cables in raw spools or custom moulded/terminated form from wholesalers like Belden. The raw cables are repackaged and terminated with appropriate RJ45 heads and the finished cables are compliance certified (or not, depending on their target end customer market).
Some cable wholesalers do also sell retail, like Nexans for example, with their LANmark branded patch cords which are certified at factory. While retailers like Telegärtner certify their Ethernet cables with 3rd party labs GHMT and UL
Cables from those folk above are generally much better than most “Audiophile” Ethernet cables which I’m guessing aren’t certified, just specs compliant cables from wholesalers, repackage and terminate with speciality RJ45 connectors and marked-up 1000%
Mind you, some audiophile Ethernet cables do measure really well, like Audioquest’s RJ/E Diamond, so, should in reality have no problems being certified (but aren’t, probably because of the extra cost involved).
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You guys heard it direct from dCS above, it’s just data bits, but for me I went with a decent $250 CAT8 cable just because it frankly looked nicer than a cheap telephone line looking Cat5… it was purely for the aesthetic… but truthfully 90% of the reason I have nice power cables and interconnects is also aesthetically it looks nicer than cheap plastic cables…
If there is a .01% improvement to sound, well that’s just gravy.
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You might have had a 0.01% improvement… which is effectively zero. But others do get audible improvements; and it’s not always from expensive kit.
The Supra Ethernet cable is cheap, but better than the BJC. Don’t know why and don’t really need t know. I could hear it. Tried it twice now, many months apart, same result. Minor but audiable .
dCS don’t test every possible home setup, they only have so much testing thy can do. So some ppl may get bigger improvements at home.
You have got to listen for yourself and decide… the advice can only ever be a starting point.
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Thanks Jon
oh don’t hold me to that .01% … I just threw that out there so as to reinforce my point that the aesthetic of a nice cable is enough for me to spend the money … albeit I’m not buying the cream of the crop $70,000 speaker cables, and $30,000 AC power cables either… 
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