Looking for Cat5/5E/6 Cable

[Tarhead]

Kind of related to WW'ing as I'm making some speakers so here goes...
I'm needing a total of ~300ft of Cat5/E/6 cheap (or free:eusa_danc) cable for a braided speaker wire project. Shorter sections can work as my longest run will be ~30 ft. I don't really need the "E" or "6" version but can use it...just 4 pairs of 24g. Any surplus spools laying around in this wireless world? Demolition projects? My best deal locally is ~10 cents/ft for a 300ft roll of Cat5E here: http://www.firefold.com/Categories/...e/Cat5E-Solid--Non-Plenum/300-Foot-Rolls.aspx
Please let me know and we can work out something.
Thanks!

 

[wayne]

Mark

I' ve got several hundred feet of cable that you're welcome to. I'll dig it out next day or two. This is in several peices that are 30,40,50, maybe 100 ft peices.


Wayne

 

[max_in_graham]

For the most part wire is wire. However, using a standard cat5 cable for speaker wire is something I would never recommend doing.

Solid wire will definitely handle more current than a stranded wire of the same size, but even 10 watts of energy will eventually cause a physical failure within the wire. The main reason is that the solid wire does not stand up well to the repeated heating and cooling.

The frequency response of smaller wire is also limited in that there is a tendency of high frequencies to move out to the surface of the wire. This is called skin effect.

Additionally, the larger the wire, the lower the resistance. The lower the resistance, the better the energy transfer from the amplifier to the speaker.

I would recommend standard zip cord or a minimum of cat6 or cat7 stranded over any solid core cat5, cat6 or cat7. At least with stranded wire, the heat is transferred to the smaller strands which can dissipate the heat more efficiently.

I think I've still got a bunch of cat6 stranded at the shop. (I hate using it) If you're interested in it, I'll pull you off a 100 feet or so.

Lemme know.

 

[Tarhead]

Thanks Wayne and Max!

I'll post a Pony Express request and give this a try.

It sure sounded good to me when I heard it at a neighbor's house. I'm using 4 strands of 18g solid core hookup wire/speaker from Radio Shack right now and it sounds very good to me too so we'll see (or hear:rotflm if it's better.
Pairing or tripling up runs of Cat5 and terminating to a single lug for positve and doing the same for negative gets you into the heavier gauge range as far as total copper in the conductor and apparently works well for speaker wire. Here's some detail:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff


Mark

 

[rcflyer23]

Thanks Wayne and Max!

I'll post a Pony Express request and give this a try.

It sure sounded good to me when I heard it at a neighbor's house. I'm using 4 strands of 18g solid core hookup wire/speaker from Radio Shack right now and it sounds very good to me too so we'll see (or hear:rotflm if it's better.
Pairing or tripling up runs of Cat5 and terminating to a single lug for positve and doing the same for negative gets you into the heavier gauge range as far as total copper in the conductor and apparently works well for speaker wire. Here's some detail:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff


Mark

Ha you beat me to it. I was going to point out some articles like that. I have heard that you can make some great speaker cables like that. I have seem some guys using I think it was romex as well.. There are all kinds of things out there.

 

[Sweetgum]

www.monoprice.com

 

[max_in_graham]

Notice though, that the cat5 used was indeed stranded and not solid core wire. That's the real key.

While I won't, nor could I, completely disregard the numbers as reported, in a professional environment, the cat5 solution is not something that I would entirely recommend. Primarily due to the quality of the connectors and the connection from wire to connector.

Where the advantage is really coming from is in the braiding technique. The capacitance of the cat5 is already low. In the proper braiding and twist, the capacitance is lowered even further and therefore a better frequency response.

The cost of labor in doing the braid vs purchasing a heavier gauge wire is cost prohibitive for me, but hey, if you can snag the wire for free, go for it!

The reality is that for the most part, wire is wire. As long as you have enough wire diameter to carry a sufficient current load, and the combination of resistance and capacitance is low enough, you will likely be fine using just about any kind of wire.

What's really disgusting are the claims by some manufacturers and distributors that these high dollar (as much as $120/ft!) are somehow superior to common zip cord.

 

[sapwood]

One advantage of braided over solid is flexibility. You can bend solid wire, but it's much easier with braided.

A much devalued $.02,
Roger