About the Wireworld Starlight 8 Ethernet Cable
Wireworld Starlight 8 Twinax RJ/E Ethernet cable is the sort of stuff you buy once. Maybe twice or more if you have a second or third zone or maybe a holiday home. Compared to Chroma 8, you get silver-clad oxygen-free-copper conductors with silver being recognised as a superior material for conducting tiny electrical signals.
David Salz from Wireworld founded the company with the unique mission of perfecting audio cables through objective listening and scientific tests. No easy task. The pay-off is that each new generation of cables lets you hear more of the original sound than previous cables. After five years of development, Wireworld have released their second generation Ethernet cables and Starlight 8 sits right in the middle of the range. It is the next step in the chain toward A/V perfection.
Flat Out! David's patented flat design was developed through listening tests that compared network cables to a local USB stick. These new "Series 8" cables utilise higher density triple-layer shields and quieter Composilex 3 insulation to maximise audible and visible performance.
"People don't realise how much musical detail is being lost by their Ethernet connections until they compare their network sound to an internal drive or USB stick," states Wireworld designer David Salz. These cables isolate network noise to minimise that loss and provide sound quality that approaches the clarity of a local solid-state drive."
The official network cable categories (ie. Cat5/6/7/8) only include twisted pair cables, so these non-twisted Twinax cables cannot be rated by those test specifications. However, it is interesting to note that the 100Gb/s (QSFP+) Ethernet cables used in internet server installations are also Twinax designs. The patented "Tite-Shield" design utilised in these cables places the conductors in parallel, with each of the four pairs isolated from the others by dense triple-layer shields. This radical flat design is so effective at isolating noise that replacing only the final cable in the network can substantially improve sound quality.
The Series 8 upgrades of these cables involved two critical areas of performance. The density of the triple-layer shields was increased, which reduced both cross-talk and external interference. However, the controlled listening tests also revealed that internally generated 'Triboelectric noise' was still masking too much quiet musical information. Upgrading from Wireworld's proprietary "Composilex 2" composite insulation, used in the original versions, to the newly developed and much quieter "Composilex 3," enabled even finer musical details to be preserved.
The three cables in Wireworld's Ethernet range differ only in their conductor materials. The Chroma 8 is yellow with oxygen free copper (OFC) conductors. Starlight 8 is red with Silver-Clad OFC conductors and the range topping Platinum Starlight 8 is Silver with conductors made of the most conductive metal available, Ohno Continuous Cast solid silver of 7N (99.99999%) purity. With next generation performance and versatility, Wireworld Series 8 Ethernet cables provide audio/video enthusiasts and professionals alike with objectively superior network fidelity.
Silver Clad Copper: Starlight 8 CAT 8 Twinax steps up from Chroma CAT 8 with the use of silver clad copper conductors. Since silver is the most conductive metal, adding a layer of silver over copper can improve performance. Wireworld use the term 'clad' to describe an extremely thick layer of silver. The silver-clad cables have about three times as much silver as some rival silver-plated models. Silver also makes the quietest and lowest loss connections, even when mated to terminals made of other metals. Silver conductors improve resolution, which can reveal coloration caused by design faults, but in the best designs they simply reveal more music.
Composilex 3 Insulation: Insulation materials are considered very important in cable design and designers usually select whatever standard materials they find to work the best. The problem with that approach is that none of those standard materials provide both low loss and low triboelectric noise. To overcome that limitation, Wireworld developed their own composite insulation materials. Now in their third generation, Composilex 3 insulation materials are uniquely blended to minimize both noise and loss, enabling you to hear more musical detail and three-dimensionality than ever before.
Composilex 3 insulation has made great improvements in the performance of Wireworld Series 8 cables. It is totally unique to Wireworld and the incredibly quiet background, tonal purity and expansive soundstaging it provides are a revelation in sonic realism. It works by reducing triboelectric noise, which is caused by static charge/discharge effects generated where conductors touch insulation. The noise is induced by movement, vibration and signal energy. Engineered for the lowest triboelectric noise of any low loss insulation material, including DuPont Teflon, Composilex 3 provides a major advance in preserving tonality, spatiality and dynamic contrast.
Gold Plug Contacts: Wireworld's Ethernet plugs use 24 Karat Gold plated contacts for superior signal transfer. They are also far less likely to tarnish over time. These are some of the best fitting and highest conductivity Ethernet plugs in the world.
In The News
"The Starlight CAT8 is very different sounding Ethernet cable when compared to my AudioQuest Diamond or Vodka Ethernet cables. The Starlight CAT8 is more extended sounding at the high and low end. This cable has a bit of midrange presence that I liked and didn't find to be annoying in terms of brightness. The retrieval of high-end detail is outstanding. The midbass of the Starlight CAT8 is very controlled as is the low end. Dynamic contrasts, both micro and macro, are beautifully rendered and very easy to hear. The Audioquest Diamond and Vodka have smoothness at the high end that some, no doubt, will prefer. But I fi nd the Starlight CAT8 to be the more revealing cable. The soundstage rendered by the Starlight CAT8 is the largest I have heard extending far beyond the lateral borders of my speakers. There is also very good depth reproduction if captured on the recording.
Incidentally, for those of you that feel that there are no differences between Ethernet cables, I did some comparisons with a CAT6 Belden Ethernet cable and the Starlight CAT8. The Starlight CAT8 trounced the Belden in terms of sound quality.
While listening to Fourplay Energy (24/96), I was impressed with the resolution of transient detail and lifelike sense of instrumental body and weight of the music. Even though this was a studio recording, I perceived a tube-like bloom and three dimensionality to the soundstage. There was a micro-dynamic liveliness that I had not previously heard with my other Ethernet cables.
Norah Jones' new release Day Breaks (24/96) was equally impressive to listen to through the Starlight CAT8. The Starlight CAT8 reproduced a purity and liquidity to Norah's voice that resulted in a relaxed presentation that was easy to listen to for extended periods of time. The Starlight CAT8 was a champ at resolving very fine details without spotlighting.
In many ways I find the Starlight CAT8 Ethernet Cable to be an extraordinary performer with the ability to reproduce fine transient detail and dynamics that are lost with other Ethernet cables. The soundstaging capabilities of this cable are impressive and have the ability to be richly layered when called upon. David Salz has come up with an Ethernet cable for the high end computer audiophile that is not only an assault on the state of the art, but affordable as well." Audiophile Style Review
"Wireworld's Cat8 Ethernet cable is designed to propel data at up to 40 gigabit speeds. Starlight exhibited an ease and a lack of tension, plus a heightening of inner detail. With Starlight single note lines or heavily orchestrated sections sang with the clarity and focus of a Zeiss lens - no smear, no smudge. On the transient level, Starlight sharpened the attack off a piano keyboard, and sustained harmonic energy just a little while longer. Did it leave any performance on the table? Well, there is Wireworld Platinum." The Absolute Sound Editors' Choice Awards 2023
About Wireworld
For the seriously music-obsessed, a key gateway to an expanded soundstage, where one comes within grasping distance of the creator's vision, lies in the purest and most sonically invisible of conductors being the medium between their audio setup. In the audio world, few have come close to reaching this flagstone as David Salz, Founder and CEO of Wireworld. For close to four decades, David has led a renaissance in the cabling world, completely reinventing conductor geometries in his quest for high-performance cables that boast even octave to octave tonal balance, while staying bereft of the signature house sounds that colour many a brand creation. We also support Wireworld as a premier provider of leading edge digital and analogue cable technology for home audio and video, from HDMI and USB audio to state of the art high-end interconnects and speaker cables. They have earned their world-class reputation by producing high quality cables based on the use of objective perceptual testing, innovative patented designs, premium materials, and exceptional manufacturing quality.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: Flat Profile CAT8 Ethernet Cable
- Signal Conductors: Silver-Clad Oxygen Free Copper (OFC)
- Wire Gauge: 23 AWG (0.26 sq. mm)
- Insulation: Composilex 3 Insulation reduces interference and greatly improves performance
- Cable Design: Tite-Shield Technology places the conductors in parallel, with each of the four pairs isolated from the others by dense triple-layer shields
- Plug Contacts: 24 Karat Gold Plated
- Available Lengths: 1 Metre; 2 Metre; 3 Metre; 5 Metre and 7 Metre
- Manufacturer's Warranty: Lifetime Warranty - Does not cover misuse or abuse
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE