InVeNtOr Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Hey my fellow speaker tinkers.... so, i finally got off my lazy butt and made my Cat 5/6 speaker cables. i will say i was surprised at the results. don't get too excited though, i was comparing them to Mil Spec wire (12awg, twisted, shielded). the difference between these two were night and day. i am happy to say that even my wife could hear a drastic difference. the volume seemed to be "louder", clarity was through the roof, and even the bass was kicked up. all this could be heard during an HT demo! usually cable upgrades have to be tested through a 2ch A/B to really hear a difference. most of you know this through my "Power Cable Test Kit" post. anyways, i used 4 pairs of twisted Cat 5 pairs to make 1 leg. then i took 4 legs and twisted them into a Star Quad design. so that's 16 pairs or 12awg. i also did the same thing with Cat 6 23awg and that comes to 11awg. i am going to switch out my Cat 5 cables for Cat 6 because of a few OCD reasons. i like the Teflon jacket more, i like how the colors look (over all appearance), all 4 pairs are twisted the same (cat 5 has 2 pairs twisted more tightly). i highly double there is an audible difference, and i won't even do an A/B test. i used a vice and a drill. took about 1 hour to make the cable, comb out the ends, strip them, and install banana plugs. so, much quicker than braiding them! the final design is pretty cool because the 4 legs twisted together open up a touch and make an air gab in the center. i've read that's a good thing, but i don't know the science behind the answer. again, super cheap, easy, quick, and there is a noticeable sound difference between Cat 5/6 and cheaper speaker cables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron167 Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 If there are no pics, did it really happen? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 lmao! for you, and only because it's you....i'll take a pic tonight of both of them! lmao!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 3, 2017 Author Share Posted June 3, 2017 wow, using Linux Mint and reducing the image kicked my butt! lmao! never had too! i'm so use to "Paint" at work. Cable on top: Cat 6, 11awg Cable on bottom: Cat 5, 12 awg the Cat 6 seems to twist better and stay together a little bit better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 I'm intrigued. Since when has Cat5/6 been a thing for DIY cables? And you say there is an audible improvement in clarity? How much per meter or foot per cable? Can you show some pics of how they are terminated with the banana plugs? Is there a Youtube vid anywhere of this technique? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 29 minutes ago, wvu80 said: I'm intrigued. Since when has Cat5/6 been a thing for DIY cables? And you say there is an audible improvement in clarity? How much per meter or foot per cable? Can you show some pics of how they are terminated with the banana plugs? Is there a Youtube vid anywhere of this technique? Quite a long while. https://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 3, 2017 Author Share Posted June 3, 2017 Thaddeus, that was the exact link i was going to post! lol! WVU80, so as you can tell, VhAudio braided his wire, where as i just stuck them in a vice and a drill. i don't know which way is better or really care, it didn't take me that long to build these and they sound better than what i had. i have 2 pics, the one with banana plugs is with the Cat 5 cable, and the unterminated pic is the Cat 6 cable. you put a small piece of heat shrink at the end, divide up pairs, twist them together, and done. i don't know what the price per foot is, because one of the benefits of building with Cat 5, you can get it for free. i personally only need about 125' to build all 3 front speakers (8' for mains, 4' for center). it's really the labor and time that makes having Cat 5/6 cables a pain. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHall Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Interesting. I have a bunch of this around me. Could be a fun project over the 16ga generic cable I'm using currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Lot of work if you do the braiding. Also Teflon jacketed (Plenum) is a better choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 well, that's why i used a drill and a vice! lmao! i have a 9' Cat 6 speaker cable i made that i'm giving to the person who buys my power cable stuff. i'll be curious what they think of their sound. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InVeNtOr Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 quick update...i sold ALL my left over cables and included my spare Cat 6 speaker cable. so if i contacted you and said i'd let you borrow it, um....well...i can't now! sorry! almost a little sad all my extra stuff is gone! oh well, i'll use the little money i got to buy cycling stuff!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 I made these in 1999. Could not detect any difference through my La Scalas over old monster cable, but it did change the sound of my KLF-C7. Three twisted pairs braided. Solids are + and stripes are -. Ends are separated and color coded with heat shrink and the last 12 inches of the braid are held together with heat shrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Whatever works for Ya. I think that is a great idea for old Cat cable, hell i must have 8 boxs of random cat in my attic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I am a little confused on the building of these wires... could you draw an example of how these pairings are made including the star quad please?Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 ditto. the high frequency performance (inductive and capacitive specs) are due to the tight winding of each par. If you just take a complete cable and connect it as one conductor you dont get any of that benefit. Curious to understand what the theoretical reason for any change you hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.