CAT5

 

Loudspeaker cable made from category 5 computer network cable

 

 

A dirt-cheap way of making your own high quality loudspeaker cable.

 

The ingredients

All you need is some category 5 computer network cable. I got mine for free as it was leftover from the installation of a computer network at my work. Often when great lengths of network cabling are laid there are leftovers of several meters. For connecting my loudspeakers I needed about 4 metres per side. Each side consists of three lengths of cable so I needed a total of about 24 metres. Furthermore the cables can be terminated nicely with banana-plugs or spades. This will depend on how much money you want to spend and what type of connections your amplifier and speakers can take but anything from bare wires up to high-end gold-plated WBT connectors are possible. I used cheap banana-plugs because I happened to have some lying around and I wanted to make my cables with no cost at all.

 

The recipe

First of all strip the ends of the cables of their outer insulation so that about 50 millimeters of wire becomes visable. Notice that the cable is already made up of twisted pairs.

 

 

Then strip about 15 millimeters of insulation from the individual wires and twist the corresponding colours from each cable with each other at one end. Leave the other end until after the next stage.

 

 

When you have twisted the corresponding colours at one end only then plat the three cables together like girls do to make pig-tails in their hair. Then twist the corresponding colours at the other end of the cables.

 

 

Finally you can terminate the cables at your own discepency.

 

The result

I must admit I was positivly suprised by the “sound” of these cables. They are nice and smooth and detailed in the mid-range and treble. Deep bass is a less strong than compared to a nice thick OFC cable but that is due to the smaller diameter wire used; CAT 5 cable consists of strands of AWG 24 size wire. There is also no sharpness that you sometimes get with cheap silver coated OFC cables. So all in all top of the bill in the quality to price ratio. Even if you by the cable new, you will only pay a few euro per metre.

 

 

NOTE: This design is strictly for the home DIY enthusiast and not to be used professionally without my permission!

 

Tony Gee

The Netherlands

 

May 2001