cat5 cable for internal wiring

[jimmytwos]

i'm in the process of renovating a pair of rega el8 speakers and i'm thinking of rewiring them internally with cat5 cable, anyone tried this?

cheers, jim

[nightanole]

Nothing better then rewiring with non ofc 24 gauge that melts when you look at it. you would need 16 pieces to make 12 gauge. Id stick to solid core the same gauge as your speaker wire, just like everyone recommends. If you still want to use cat5, at least use the solid core stuff.

I cant wait for cat5 audio cables to be on mythbusters. The stuff does not belong anywhere in analog equipment. Some guy spend hours braiding together 32 pieces of the stuff back in 1995 and now some people think its great because its hard to do and looks nice.

[scanspeakman]

Originally Posted by jimmytwos

i'm in the process of renovating a pair of rega el8 speakers and i'm thinking of rewiring them internally with cat5 cable, anyone tried this?

cheers, jim

Yes, used it for my tweeter. 3 pairs is ok. Works perfect. Replaced the solid core silver wiring I was using. Sound is less harsh then solid silver.

Why it does not belong in audio-equipment beats me... Belongs there more then some of the "high-end"-products which contain more marketing-BS then conductive material.

Scanspeakman

[SY]

Originally Posted by nightanole

I cant wait for cat5 audio cables to be on mythbusters. The stuff does not belong anywhere in analog equipment.

It will be on the same episode as busting OFC.

I use shielded CAT 5 for my phono leads- works perfectly, easy to fabricate (10 minutes), low noise pickup, cheap as can be. What's the problem?

I don't see the advantage for speaker use over plain zip cord.

[AuroraB]

Originally Posted by nightanole

The stuff does not belong anywhere in analog equipment.

Ahh - a perfect digital cable that will only transfer 0's and 1's......?

[nightanole]

Sorry for the rant. Ive just seen unshielded cat5 used in signal wire in car installs at it was horrible due to no shielding. Even the car audio guys are catching on.

It might be fine if its for tweeters, or if you can bunch enough of them together to make 16 gauge or so for woofers, but why not just use standard solid core that stays put and not have to deal with soldering 8 or more leads at once?


I still say zip cord for the win. I Just use the same cable as im using for the outside of the speaker unless the speaker has a really odd interior.

[jimmytwos]

well its been wired up (3 strands, per connector) and....sounds, not sure yet. more listening required i think. its only about 50cm lengths so i doubt it really makes an audible difference? very easy to work with. i even made up a pair of din-phono cables.

[planet10]

I've been happily using single strands of solid core CAT5 for both internal & speaker cable. Mind you in FRs not multiways with XO.

And at least a couple cases documented on thi forum, where the suggestion of replacing 12-18g multistrand zip with single strands of CAT5 have overcome specific problems with the sound.

Speaker wire is very context dependent. One cannot make blanket statements.

dave

[The Space Egg Corp]

Can you guys tell me what Zip cord is ?
It must be a North American thing.
We don't have anything called that here.

Cheers

Simon

[planet10]

Originally Posted by The Space Egg Corp

Can you guys tell me what Zip cord is ?

16g



dave