Reviews for AudioQuest CAT7 Carbon RJ/E Ethernet Cable Custom

I bought this after buying a SoTM Streamer, and it was an instantly noticeable improvement in Sound Quality in several ways.

I only had a spare CAT5 then, so I used that until purchasing the Carbon. I also have the Audioquest Carbon USB Cable from my SoTM Streamer and Chord Quest DAC. Previously I had the Forest USB cable.

I am pleased with the upgrade.

Affordable -and brings a substantial improvement in sound quality to my streamer over good quality standard CAT 8 . Delivery time and communication is first class.

I wanted to buy a good quality cable to connect my Stack Audio Link 2 streamer to my switch. This was to replace a generic computer patch cable I'd been using to that point.

I spoke to Adam who spent more that 30 minutes with me kindly answering my questions on ethernet cables and other issues. He recommended either the Audioquest Cinnamon or Carbon. I went for the Carbon as it seemed the better option for me and I liked the look of the Telegartner plugs.

I ordered the cable on a Friday morning and it was delivered the next day at lunchtime. Excellent service from Futureshop.

The Telegartner plugs were definitely the right choice for me as they're superbly built and give a very secure connection. As soon as I connected to Carbon there was an immediate increased sense of ease/relaxation about the sound, as if a layer of digital hash had been removed, which you only know was there once it's gone!

Now, I'm about 30 hours into burn in and the cable is starting to open up. All sound metrics have improved substantially...separation of instruments/voices, layering, bass mid-range and treble have far more detail and realism.

In short, the Carbon has brought a substantial improvement in sound quality.

Excellent service from Adam and Futureshop. I'll be using them again soon.

Got two of these to replace some generic CAT8 cables from a Silent Angel N8 switch to an Apple TV 4K and a Roon Endpoint. Was heavily discouraged and laughed at by naysayers against digital cables and almost doubted myself with the outcome. Just to be sure it was not a placebo effect, I listened to the existing cables for an hour before switching over.

At the onset, much more weight across the full range. The longer I listen the more the sound changes. On Day 2, I heard more layering in the sound. Fast forward to Day 4, it started to sound weird like somehow the sound was recessed or cancelling each other out. Suspected the soundstage changed so I added some Rockwool acoustic boards on Day 5 to handle the first reflections and then I realised…. the soundstage has expanded far beyond the 10ft space between two walls.

So all around soundstage improvement with heights, width, depth and layering along with the more prominent micro details which were there but often went by unnoticed. I’d buy it again in a heartbeat.

Excellent cables and the terminals seem really worthy of the extra cost as these seat well into the connection posts on the equipment.

A full sound with balanced yet deeper bass than others standard cables I have used, and good detail across the soundstage. Usual excellent service from Futureshop, many thanks

Having purchased a few analogue cable upgrades over the years, I have heard small improvements in some and none in others. Biggest one was the chord indigo tuned array rca. Lovely powerful sounding cable. But I’ve always been skeptical about digital cables. Purchased the carbon usb and didn’t really notice anything but kept it as thought maybe it’s shielding will help with the jungle of wires behind my equipment. My broadband socket is downstairs which has a 5 metre cat5e run to modem, then 1m cat 6 to router, then another 20m run to access point in the living room upstairs. Last 1m run is between that and my Mac mini. Surely changing the last one metre to the mac won’t matter but what the hell I’ll give it a try. All I can say is I wish I did this when I moved in couple of years ago.

The sound changed so much on the top end it’s laughable. So much refinement and space around the soundstage I’m hearing all kinds of new details and tonal textures. This is giving my system a lovely analogue type sound I’ve been missing. How the hell this works I don’t know..... but now I’m curious as to what the vodka cable can do. Maybe I’ll try the vodka. Either way I’m over the moon.

I read the reviews here and considered the Vodka for my Chord MScaler/TT2 combination ... after seeing the reviews I phoned and spoke to Gary who suggested trying if anything the Cinnamon. I have had Carbon before so went with that but, at his suggestion, upgraded the connectors to the Telegartner ones .... my local Hifi dealer suggested the connectors make more of a difference than the cable itself too ... the cables were ordered at 3pm on a Friday and arrived at 11am on the Saturday ! I can't fault that ... nor, in fact, the cable.

It seems to be an ideal level of improvement over the existing Cat 8 I was using (Amazon but by their standards an expensive one). I tried them back to back and the difference was very noticeable ... not something tbh I expected ! There was just clearer more detailed sound in the AQ Carbon with the Telegartner connectors. Gary suggested if I wanted to that I could return and go with, say, Vodka but I will not be doing that. He was right. This level of improvement is just what i wanted and I would thoroughly recommend the AQ Carbon with the 'upgraded' connectors. Very impressed with product, advice and service.

For a long time I was dissatisfied with the sound quality from my streamer compared to my CD transport. Both feed the same DAC but the CD player sounded much much better. More air, more punch, more detail.

I didn’t honestly believe that an Ethernet cable upgrade would make a difference, but Futureshop have a money back guarantee so I had nothing to lose. And boy did it make a difference. What had been a slightly congested sound suddenly opened up, with more sparkle in the treble, more control in the bass and more air in between everything.

This purchase whet my appetite and I bought a Chord 8Switch too. This brought yet another uplift in sound quality. Having done A/B tests the streamer now sounds as good if not better than the CD transport.

If you’re reading this you’ll know that there’s a lot of angry debate about the benefit of cables. I’ve noticed that those who think they do make a difference have usually let their ears decide, whereas those who don’t usually haven’t. I’d recommend letting your ears decide.

I am very pleased with this cable. It has definitely made a difference. More detail, and better separation than my previous cable. I am amazed at how fast the delivery was,
I ordered with you at 4.00 pm and it was delivered at 10.15 am the next day.

Thank you for the excellent service.

I have experienced a rather harsh sound on my Mac music streaming. Whilst using CAT7 cable I called Glyn at Future Shop for advice on the problem he suggested that I upgrade the Ethernet Cable and following further discussion I chose AudioQuest as my experiences with the product and the UK Sales guy - I chose the Carbon fitted with high grade connectors (an extra £34 but well worth the investment) .

The cable has only been installed for a couple of days so not yet burned in but already there has been a distinct improvement in the instruments placement and a frantic improvement in the noise floor. As ever it’s thanks to Audioquest and Glyn at Futureshop for yet more sound advice. May write again after burn-in.
Thank you guys.