XDAB Cables should be exclusively CAT 6 Shielded.

MediaMatrix pays a premium for what appears to be a simple patch cable, but it is not simple.  Our cables are made to an exacting standard and then tested to ensure quality.  The failure rate of our included XDAB cables is essentially 0%

Recently we have been asked if "better" cables could or should be used, the answer is no!

CAT 6 vs CAT 6a and CAT 8 have different amounts of twisting from pair to pair to better eliminate crosstalk, which means that differences between pair length comes into question.  Because the XDAB is running MUCH faster than Ethernet data and is also clocked within the data pairs, timing (which is impacted by length) is critical.

Think about the length limitations that we have; Ethernet data will travel 100 meters while the XDAB can only go 3 meters on a single cable or 8.2 meters cumulative length.

CAT 6 shielded is exclusively recommended.  And because few vendors do a good job of making patch cables, they should still be tested to standards before use!

Fergy