Allen & Heath AH10886 Etherflex Cat6 Cable Drum, 262 ft / 80 m, etherCON

Allen & Heath AH10886: 262 ft of Road-Ready Cat6 on a Portable Drum

The Allen & Heath AH10886 is an Etherflex Cat6 cable drum carrying 262 ft (80 m) of flexible network cable terminated with locking Neutrik etherCON connectors on both ends. It is the digital-audio link that connects the pieces of an Allen & Heath system, running console to MixRack, MixRack to stagebox, and rack to rack over a single rugged Cat6 line. Wound on a sturdy reel, it deploys in seconds and reclaims just as fast, so setup and teardown stay quick and the cable stays tangle-free between shows. For any engineer running SLink, gigaACE, dSNAKE, or Dante, it is a purpose-built cable that treats the network connection with the reliability the audio deserves.

Why etherCON and Etherflex Matter on a Live Network Run

This drum uses Neutrik etherCON connectors, a locking connector system that wraps a standard RJ45 in a rugged metal shell so the link cannot be pulled loose by foot traffic or vibration, and so the fragile plastic RJ45 tab is protected from being snapped off. That single feature is the difference between a dropout-free show and a mysterious audio glitch mid-set. The cable itself is Etherflex, a flexible, stranded Cat6 designed to be coiled and uncoiled repeatedly on tour, where rigid solid-core install cable would fatigue and fail. Cat6 construction provides the bandwidth headroom these audio-over-network protocols rely on for stable, low-latency transport. Together the connector and cable make a link built specifically for the abuse of live production rather than a static equipment closet.

Deploying the AH10886 in an Allen & Heath System

At 262 ft (80 m), the AH10886 is sized for the runs where that length is exactly right, and the reel makes managing it effortless. In practice it links an Allen & Heath control surface to its MixRack over SLink or gigaACE, ties in an AB168, DX168, or similar stagebox over dSNAKE, or carries Dante between networked devices, all over the same locking Cat6 line. Because the cable is pre-terminated and wound on a drum, there is no coiling by hand, no field crimping, and no guessing about connector quality. Paying it out from front of house to the stage takes moments, and reclaiming it at the end of the night is just as fast. It is a cable management solution as much as it is a cable.

Who the Allen & Heath AH10886 Is For

The AH10886 is for touring engineers, install integrators, and production companies who network Allen & Heath systems and want a purpose-made, road-ready Cat6 link instead of an improvised patch cable. If you have ever lost audio because someone kicked a bare RJ45 loose, or fought a stiff cable that would not coil, this locking etherCON drum solves both problems at once. The 262 ft length suits large venues, festival stages, and distant front-of-house positions, and the reel keeps it organized show after show. For anyone building or touring a modern digital audio network, it is the reliable connective tissue that holds the system together.