Has anyone experience with this?

Thomann and others sell adapter boxes which can connect 4 XLR plugs to a single Cat5 cable. If this works well it could be quite useful to have a couple of sets, instead of having to log around the heavy multicore.

What are the downsides? Will it degrade the sound quality of Mic inputs? Will phantom power work (independently on all four channels)? How long can a cable run be before degradation becomes a problem? What kind of Cat cable should be used for this?

Thanks for any thoughts and knowledge...

Tons of info here on this; do a search.

Really? I did a search on Cat and it came up with exactly one relevant thread, which was interesting, but didn't answer all of my questions.

Searching for XLR would be a little pointless, I guess.

Anyway, just to avoid confusion: I am not talking about network audio, this is about completely analogue adapters.

Can you point me to the correct search?

CAT5 'snake' vs Mogami

More crosstalk over CAT5 at line level?

Long Cable Run Advice Needed

Suggestions for XLR through CAT6 boxes or wall mounts?

Ethercon Breakout Box

Thanks!

I am still confused about Phantom power, it seems to depend on the shielding and the correct connection of that shielding inside of the cable. How does one know whether the cable is the correct one?

Thomann sells a Cat5e and a Cat6e cable (30m), both at the same price. From the reviews it seems the Cat5e does not work for phantom. Would the Cat6 work? Or is that a lottery?

Otherwise it seems that there is no detectable quality loss and these adapters work well.

No lottery anxiety required in this case: *Shielded* Cat5, 5e, 6, 6a, etc. is what enables the use of phantom power. Pins 2 and 3 of each XLR are sent through the twisted pairs, while Pin-1 (the ground/common) is attached to the shield, which surrounds all of the pairs within the Cat-x cable.

I have successfully used shielded Cat5e and Cat6a for microphone signals for many years. It has been uneventful, and that's good.

Good to know, thanks.

Is it possible/advisable to use any Cat5e/6 cable (Amazon?) or should one use special cables as sold by Thomann? Prices are quite different...

There has been certainly nothing special about the cables that I've used. The only guidance I can give is *do not* use CCA (copper clad aluminum) network cable.

Always advised to use all-copper wire as opposed to copper-clad aluminum. That is probably what accounts for the price difference.

D.

Been using a lot Thomann sssnake CAT boxes for a while.

I just purchased a 1km reel of CAT6e for wiring.

Be aware the Ethercon and a crappy computer network connector are not the same. Wiring yes, robust physicality no.

If you are not confident with the crimping and wiring the pre made ones are ok. I have several 50ft ones CAT6 sftp.

Shield is need for +48v.

There are test measurements on ASR that show no loss.

There is a fun video on YouTube running it thorough over 1km of cable.

I am still a little confused about the correct cables that work for phantom power.

I understand that UTP will not work.

Am I correct assuming that any variety of FTP will, including F/FTP, S/FTP, and SF/FTP?

Also, I see that Neutrik has ethercon enclosures which can be added to ready made cables, any experience with this?

So yes, FTP Cat cable works fine for the analog XLR boxes. FTP, as you might know, has a foil shield over all four twisted pair along with a drain wire that is, typically, the solder point for the shield. Of course, the RJ45 connectors must be shielded as well. I physically solder the drain wire to the RJ45 for a secure connection although there are You Tubes on how to make that connection when you crimp the RJ45 onto the cable.

I recommend stranded Cat cable over solid if you are using it for location work; much better handling and coiling.

The Neutrik Ethercon connectors work well; I use them wherever I can in my rig. They have some series that will fit onto pre-made cables, but that involves a split strain relief which I don't like. I use these:

Neutrik NE8MX-B-1 Ethercon Cable Connector Black Chromium Housing

These only work on DIY construction.

But I build all my own ethernet cables; way cheaper than pre-made if you need a lot of cables. But special tools are needed and there is a learning curve involved.

D.

Yes, all of those flavors of shielded cable will work.

As for etherCON Neutrik NE8MX-B retrofit shells, that very much depends on the style of plastic boot that is likely already on pre-assembled cable. [It's rare to find bootless RJ45's on pre-terminated cables.]. I can tell you that if you only have to slice off two or four boots to make just one or two EtherCon (note the variations in capitalization) cables, then you're probably going to be alright. If you do more, then the likelihood of ruining a cable goes up significantly. Ask me how I know. Also, your mood will sour and your house plants will droop.

There is a useful normal ethernet to Ethercon D panel that I use a lot, about £15 from Neutrik. Very useful.

I can't find that on Neutrik's site, can you point me? I cannot quite envision what this is.

Thanks!

But of course:

https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/ne8fdp

19" D panels are like £10 off eBay, stick in a box, rack whatever.

I got a few guitar pedal boxes and D-hole punch but it took a while so I went back to 19" panels.

You can even get 1/2 width rack stuff which is great for location recording I find, built boxes with Battery phantom (I'm that snobbish) Ethercon stuff and Analogue for the Mics to plug in.

Should have done that years ago LOL.

if you want pre-made cable and junction boxes the Sound Tools products seem the way to go (though they don't seem to have as much distro in the EU, more Thomann's house brand copies). Also Dave Rat who runs Sound Tools has interesting videos on youtube covering details like the quality of different ethercon connectors, changes made to ethercon connectors and shielding, cable distance run demos, so on... oriented towards his products and a lot of it is geared more towards big venue PA set ups and stadium rock shows, but still plenty of interesting info on there.