CAT5 as interconnects? You betcha! I'm happy.
Nothing magical at all, it just that they work were I didn't think they would, and they work well. Here's the story.
We have a music system at work to keep the night crew (me) happy and entertain the day crew. Just a pair of speakers and a vintage Sansui receiver + a CD/Cassette/Radio boom-box. Mostly the source has been streaming audio off the computer or music files on the computer. Simple stuff.
But we recently moved office and the computer is now a long way from the Sansui receiver. What to do? Had to run a long line level pair thru the ceiling. But I hated to buy expensive cable, so I went he cheap route.
At first I thought I'd use leftover telephone cable, but didn't have enough. So it was CAT5 instead. But 40 feet of unshielded cable? Even if it is twisted pair? Ouch!
So I pulled it and put RCA connectors on one end. (Orange and Green pairs). Connected it to the Sansui inputs and HUUUUMMMMM........ A nice loud 60 cycles. But - no buzz, no rizz, no hiss. Just heavy 60 Hz. OK, might as well try to run signal.
Put the 1/8" mini plug on the other end and plugged it into the back of the MAC G5. Presto! No more hum. No noise at all. And the audio signal from iTunes was loud and clear.
None of what I feared came to pass. No buzz, no hum, no hiss, no apparent hi-end loss, no massive cross-talk, no big signal loss.
And more than half this cable is running thu parts of the ceiling with power lines, fluorescent lights, Ethernet cables, cable TV, telephone, thermostat and alarm wires.
Have to say - I'm happy.
No need for expensive cables here. Still quite surprised at how well it works. Cheap, too!
Nothing magical at all, it just that they work were I didn't think they would, and they work well. Here's the story.
We have a music system at work to keep the night crew (me) happy and entertain the day crew. Just a pair of speakers and a vintage Sansui receiver + a CD/Cassette/Radio boom-box. Mostly the source has been streaming audio off the computer or music files on the computer. Simple stuff.
But we recently moved office and the computer is now a long way from the Sansui receiver. What to do? Had to run a long line level pair thru the ceiling. But I hated to buy expensive cable, so I went he cheap route.
At first I thought I'd use leftover telephone cable, but didn't have enough. So it was CAT5 instead. But 40 feet of unshielded cable? Even if it is twisted pair? Ouch!
So I pulled it and put RCA connectors on one end. (Orange and Green pairs). Connected it to the Sansui inputs and HUUUUMMMMM........ A nice loud 60 cycles. But - no buzz, no rizz, no hiss. Just heavy 60 Hz. OK, might as well try to run signal.
Put the 1/8" mini plug on the other end and plugged it into the back of the MAC G5. Presto! No more hum. No noise at all. And the audio signal from iTunes was loud and clear.
None of what I feared came to pass. No buzz, no hum, no hiss, no apparent hi-end loss, no massive cross-talk, no big signal loss.
And more than half this cable is running thu parts of the ceiling with power lines, fluorescent lights, Ethernet cables, cable TV, telephone, thermostat and alarm wires.
Have to say - I'm happy.