Cat 5e speaker cables

Here are some speaker wires I built.

I used Cat 5e wire for the midrange and tweeters.
IMG_8718.jpg


IMG_8721.jpg


Separate the white from non white and strip.
IMG_8722.jpg


Rinse and repeat
IMG_8724.jpg
IMG_8726.jpg


Terminate
IMG_8738.jpg
IMG_8759.jpg


Install

IMG_8812.jpg


Then I started on the main cables keeping the cat5 sheath intact but again separate all the colors.
IMG_8765.jpg


Strip and strip and strip and twist
IMG_8767.jpg


Terminate
IMG_8799.jpg


Cover and complete.
IMG_8804.jpg


Rinse and repeat.
IMG_8808%20-%20Version%202.jpg


You'll notice I used simple 12ga wire for the largest drivers in my speakers because it took way to long and my fingers were sore for days. :eek: :snail:
 
My understanding of the principles of what makes a "good" speaker wire might be vague, but I know that lan cable does have to meet specific requirements for bandwidth, capacitance, and inductance... and I assume these to be quite low. Making speaker cables out of these couldn't hurt, as long as you use enough individual conductors to keep the resistance (impedance) low.

I have had the idea of doing this myself, although I planned on braiding large flat cables with them.

Probably more trouble than it's worth, which might explain why I haven't done it yet.

Have you heard any audible improvements compared to what you were using?
 
That looks like a ton of work but the result is very professional.
The big question is, can you hear the difference?

I didn't have much alternative to making my own cables with 2 X 8 way connections for each speaker... and there are way too many connections to these speakers for me to have bothered doing an AB comparison.

My understanding of the principles of what makes a "good" speaker wire might be vague, but I know that lan cable does have to meet specific requirements for bandwidth, capacitance, and inductance... and I assume these to be quite low. Making speaker cables out of these couldn't hurt, as long as you use enough individual conductors to keep the resistance (impedance) low.

I have had the idea of doing this myself, although I planned on braiding large flat cables with them.

Probably more trouble than it's worth, which might explain why I haven't done it yet.

Have you heard any audible improvements compared to what you were using?

You are right, it could have well been more trouble than it was worth.

If I ever make a pair of these speakers for someone else I will definitely NOT be making cables these cables for them unless they want to pay me some good $ for the time required to build them right.

and if the speaker cables are all shorter than 1m (3'3") then the sore finger problem is much eased.

Not so much... The sore fingers were mostly due to the stripping and twisting all the ends for termination. Short cables would still need same terminations. ;)

Large flat cables tend to have high capacitance and low inductance. Some amplifiers will oscillate! Others may merely develop an HF peak. You may hear a difference, but it is unlikely to be an improvement.

Well..... these aren't very flat. :)

My speakers are 100% active so unlikely that the cables would present a more difficult load than passive crossovers in most speakers.

I think if I could measure these cables we would find that the capacitance and inductance of these cables is very very low. Here are the /strand specs taken from Category 5 cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Capacitance at 800 Hz
52pF/m

Inductance
525nH/m

If you wanted to, you could calculate the likely combined impedance and inductance using formulas here.
Series and parallel circuits - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I also just found this interesting cable shootout that might interest some readers. (the reviewer didn't even terminate the twisted pairs properly but Cat5e seems to score very well on all the objective tests)

DIY Cable Faceoff - Results and Conclusion — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Subjectively, I can tell you I'm certainly happy with them and they sound great to me. The technical bits leave me comfortable that they probably sound just as good as almost any cable you can purchase at any price.
 
I made the super-deluxe version of braided cat-5 speaker cables (see DIY Cat5 Speaker Cables ) It kept me busy for a week, I ended up with impressive looking cables. They work just fine for me, but even the owner of that site states that they are fairly high in capacitance, which may be problematic for some amps. It was time consuming braiding all 27 pairs but nice and functional in the end.
 
After trying fat bundles i worked my way to a pair of single strands...

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


dave

So what gauge wire are you using? Solid core or stranded?

And.... inquiring minds want to know;
Does it sound better than "fat" cables? (ie. I suppose "fat" means something like stranded 12 AWG?

Have you had a chance to compare to a single, larger, solid core wire? Have you had a chance to compare to multiple 24AWG twisted pair solid cores?

cheers,
Josh
 
I made the super-deluxe version of braided cat-5 speaker cables (see DIY Cat5 Speaker Cables ) It kept me busy for a week, I ended up with impressive looking cables. They work just fine for me, but even the owner of that site states that they are fairly high in capacitance, which may be problematic for some amps. It was time consuming braiding all 27 pairs but nice and functional in the end.

Kimber cable is relatively high capacitance as well... and seems to get good reviews. I wonder if the higher capacitance helps keep the high frequencies down a bit and could contribute to a slightly downward sloping frequency response to the high end? :confused:

I think if I could measure these cables we would find that the capacitance and inductance of these cables is very very low.

I guess the word "low" is very much a relative term and perhaps I should not have used it here.

I was thinking 56pF per strand was extremely low because in my head I was compared to the values required to affect some sort of crossover. (pF is 1 trillionth of a Farrad). Cat 5 has an effective bandwidth of 350Mhz over 100m so it's hard for me to understand how these levels of capacitance could add up to anything of significance.

But please... feel free to speculate here! I have an open mind and I'm listening. :D

I'm sure other inquiring minds want to know to. :)
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
solid 24g

fat would be multiple CAT5, 10, 12, 16, 18 guage OFC zip. More exotic stuff. In my system i like it better.

We started with 24 strands (3 cables bundled -- similar to OP), then 8 (1 Cat5 cable), then the pair. In my system (and my partners similar system), it kept getting better as it got thinner. None of these systems require lots of current.

I won't say its the best cable in the world (given system dependencies there is no such thing), but it certainly is in the running for most bang for the buck -- especially if you are in IT or know someone who is.

dave
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
It is packing tape.

Tape a piece sticky side up a bit longer than you need to the cable. Put the cable down… increasing specing decreases C, increase L… then another peice of tape sticky side down over the first bit.

This is tricky and no second chances.

I found that if you are swapping speakers around alot they will eventually bteak at the connection.

dave
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users