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[dave briar]

Allen and Heath recommends shielded cable.  No idea if it requires it.
https://support.allen-heath.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4403615333009-General-Recommended-cables

We connected our QU-24 and then subsequently our SQ6 to the 24x12 stagebox via a plain old unshielded Cat5 cable — likely not even Cat5e — for five years without a single issue. When we remodeled recently we ran four shielded Cat6 and that works fine as well.  Length of run and electrical influences enroute may be a confounding factor. 

[Matt Vivlamore]

Which non-Music Tribe consoles require shielded CAT cable?
Mac

A lot...

Per the Allen Heath, in the AR2412 & GX4816 manual... "Cat5e (or higher) STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) cable should be used, ..."

Per Avid, in the S6L use guide: Shielded Cat 5e (350 MHz) or better Ethernet cable with Neutrik etherCON connectors are required

Per Yamaha on the QL/CL manual: Dante PRIMARY/SECONDARY connectors Used to connect to other Dante audio network devices, such as an Rio3224-D I/O device. Use standard Ethernet cables with Neutrik etherCON CAT5e compatible RJ-45 plugs.
NOTE: Use STP (shielded twisted pair) cable to prevent electromagnetic interference. Make sure that the metal parts of the plugs are electrically connected to the STP cable shield by conductive tape or comparable means.

[Brian Jojade]

Saying that console REQUIRE shielded cable is like saying balanced audio lines REQUIRE shielded cables.  It may work some of the time, or even most of the time. However, if there's outside interference, noise could enter the system and cause issue.  Some equipment is more sensitive than others to noise.

The X32 systems are extremely sensitive and can do really REALLY bad things with bad cables.  Heck, even STEPPING on a cable and having the conductors inside shift can cause an X32 to go full nuclear for a moment.  It's not fun.

[Andrew Broughton]

Saying that console REQUIRE shielded cable is like saying balanced audio lines REQUIRE shielded cables.  It may work some of the time, or even most of the time. However, if there's outside interference, noise could enter the system and cause issue.  Some equipment is more sensitive than others to noise.

The X32 systems are extremely sensitive and can do really REALLY bad things with bad cables.  Heck, even STEPPING on a cable and having the conductors inside shift can cause an X32 to go full nuclear for a moment.  It's not fun.

I've never heard of any other consoles other than the Behringer and non-pro Midas (and maybe Heritage-D) that have problems when using unshielded CAT5e/6 cable. Of course, just that I haven't heard of such issues doesn't mean they don't happen, so  I'm not saying that you SHOULDN'T use STP if you can. Doing so you'll be covered for all situations.
However, the severe issues when using UTP are particular to the MT line of consoles, and may be continued with the Heritage-D as well; too soon to know yet...

[Russell Ault]

Saying that console REQUIRE shielded cable is like saying balanced audio lines REQUIRE shielded cables.  It may work some of the time, or even most of the time. However, if there's outside interference, noise could enter the system and cause issue.  Some equipment is more sensitive than others to noise.

The X32 systems are extremely sensitive and can do really REALLY bad things with bad cables.  Heck, even STEPPING on a cable and having the conductors inside shift can cause an X32 to go full nuclear for a moment.  It's not fun.

I think this is an important distinction. Many console manufacturers recommend STP for their network connections, but ultimately Ethernet (even Milan/AVB) is just Ethernet, and Ethernet is designed to work happily over UTP under all sorts of conditions. The X32 and its ilk are the only consoles I know of that actually require STP, and the reason for this has nothing to do with AES50 and everything to do with Behringer screwing up the implementation's grounding design so badly that using anything other than shield-cabled-with-bonded-EtherCONs will practically guarantee ESD-related failures.

-Russ

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