Can I use a Cat 6 cable or 7 for example? Is what I’m asking to connect the players and 1800?
You CAN use CAT6 or 7 cables BUT, I think Denon would need to confirm if the hardware is setup to utilize CAT6/7. Replacing the CAT5 cable with a CATx cable would still work but if the hardware doesn’t utilize the capabilities of CAT6/7 then you’re only getting the same transfer speeds as CAT5 I think.
At these short ranges the cable type does not really matter. Cat5e is enough. So Cat6 or 7 also.
I only own Cat6 cable. Haven’t had an issue.
I cannot find in the specifications whether the network speed of the X1800 and SC5000s is 100MBit/s or 1GBit/s (1GBit/s equals 1000MBit/s). My impression is that it is 1GBit/s. Anyway, you will not benefit from any cable above Cat5e. Cat5e supports up to 1Gbit/s whereas Cat6 and above support at least up to 10GBit/s, which is not supported by the Denon devices. You might find differences between Cat5 and Cat5e cables. Older Cat5 cables support only up to 100MBit/s.
I would only add (If you agree @Capsicum) to look through your cables and use the shielded ones. Not sure if it would be of any benefit in this case but I use shielded cables where I can when it comes to my DJ gear.
The support has to do with the guaranteed speed at 100 meter maximum cable length. An older CAT5 will do speeds of 1Gbit if, lets say, using a 5 meter cable.
Anyway, CAT5e and above will do fine. I would prefer CAT5e even, because CAT6 and CAT7 cables are less flexible if you need to roll them up often.
@Shain and Reese I totally agree with both of you. Shielded cables make sense because there are so many cables close to each other (audio, power, network). For these reasons I use 1m long Cat6 cables.
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Thats a good point. Can’t find a spec listing anywhere. Time to run iPerf and find out.
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Cat 5E (don’t forget the E) should be perfectly fine for all DJ purposes. Supporting Gigabit up to 100 meters (300+ feet). Plenty of speed to transmit multiple 4K video streams simultaneously, so no worries there.
Should you require greater lengths, Cat6 would be the next logical choice. All in UTP (U for Unshielded). Should you worry about outside interference, get STP (S = you guessed it: Shielded) cables.
The most vunerable part is the actual connectors in a device. If you need to unplug your cable on a regular basis, use a short extension cable that you leave attached to your device. That way if something breaks you can just replace the extension cable (keep a spare one in your DJ backpack!) without having to have your device serviced.
Furthermore use cables that have good bending protection (tule?) as the will generally break first near the connector if the are attached “cold”.
Finally, if you want highest quality cables, look at the ones used in live sound to connect digital snakes (stagebox/breakout box). They are extremely sturdy rubber or silicone covered shielded cables. Typically Cat6 because they opt for the extra mechanical strength of the thicker copper core. Be ready for a bit of extra struggle if you plan to fabricate these heavy duty cables yourself, they fight back a lot more than regular ethernet cable.
As always just my 3 cents worth.
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why would anyone want to put the SC5000 100m away from the x1800? 
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My guess is; A. They are Tyrannosaurus Rex B. They are Godzilla C. They are King Kong
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