Wire/Cable ?

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

yes

im gonna re run cat 5 through my car now....

seriously though, i had no idea.

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

yes
im gonna re run cat 5 through my car now....

seriously though, i had no idea.

i'm being serious. cant tell if you're being sarcastic. it makes since tho, i mean cat5 is used to transfer tons of info, so why not sound?

i think i have a lot of cat 5 at home...

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

im serious

id love to get rid of most of my wires.

 

[donpisto 5,000+ posts]

What is some decent speaker wire that I should use once I get everything built? And is there really a difference between say the $10 HDMI cables and the $50 ones?

I pondered this same exact thing a couple days ago when I went to buy an HDMI cable for my 360. I found 2m for $50 at Radio Shack and I found $6 shipped on amazon.com. I went with amazon. First off, if you're not using a bunch of high end equipment throughout, you're not going to notice the difference probably. For example, get yourself some Brax mids and tweeters and use a pyle amp with dual head unit. Think you'll get the performance out them brax they can do? Better off balancing it out.

I highly doubt you will notice a differene, but that is just my opinion.

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

Exotic Speaker Wire

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201005

[broken link inside that thread]

Science of Cables by werewolf;

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7517

Audioholics cable articles

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

i dunno wtf all that shit means. does it mean cat 5 cable> speaker wire? sorry, but i couldn't see the graphs and didnt wanna read a bunch of shit i dont understand...

In a sense yes, it remains static in terms of resistance throughout the 10 octaves of hearing, unfortunately I couldn't see the graph either

yes
im gonna re run cat 5 through my car now....

seriously though, i had no idea.

Not sure if your being sarcastic, but its worth a try atleast for mids and highs that don't require a ton of current carrying capabilities...

i'm being serious. cant tell if you're being sarcastic. it makes since tho, i mean cat5 is used to transfer tons of info, so why not sound?
i think i have a lot of cat 5 at home...

Just give it a shot, CAT 5 is cheap...
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=109-557&scqty=1

Cable has 4 twisted pairs, each wire is 24 gauge, so you can use a twisted pair for the positive and negative...

 

[quakerroatmeal 10+ year member]

Monoprice tends to have good prices.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

Keep in mind that if you are going to try the CAT 5, realize its just like any other wire, which has current limitations. I would suggest using on very short runs, with low power...

Heres a good discussion http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108029&perpage=25&highlight=&pagenumber=1

 

[jco1385 5,000+ posts]

In a sense yes, it remains static in terms of resistance throughout the 10 octaves of hearing, unfortunately I couldn't see the graph either
Not sure if your being sarcastic, but its worth a try atleast for mids and highs that don't require a ton of current carrying capabilities...

Just give it a shot, CAT 5 is cheap...

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=109-557&scqty=1

Cable has 4 twisted pairs, each wire is 24 gauge, so you can use a twisted pair for the positive and negative...

actually i think i have used it before when i had no speaker wire. i knew it would work for the 30w max i was pushin thru my shelf stereo. as for my car, i dunno if i'd go that route. isn't it a solid wire?

edit, i mean solid as in each of the 4 strands is solid

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

re: CAT5 is cheap

Post #3

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201005

This was year 2006 analysis, I don't know if pricing has changed. But CAT5 was

equal or more expensive than the equivalent speaker wire. lol

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

Another issue with CAT5 that I have not seen discussed is crosstalk.

Crosstalk;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosstalk

CAT5 is designed to minimize crosstalk in computer networking, but computer networking signals are very

low in voltage, lets say a few volts.

There is alot of parameters that affect crosstalk. Voltage is a variable. If you were to use

CAT5 cable as speaker wire to carry both the left and right audio channels in the same

cable, the voltage levels are so much higher than voltages found in networking cable.

Lets say an ethernet signal is less than 3 volts.

A voltage from a simple 100w/ch power amplifier can be 10x higher, 40x higher for higher

powered amplifiers. Now there is a huge potential to induce more crosstalk by using CAT5

if you were to use one cable to carry both signal because the wires in side the jacket are

not shield from each other, this is very bad ............ If you had to use CAT5, then run one

cable per channel only.

These wires are insulated, not shielded, but in speaker wire application where huge voltages

manifest, not sweet.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d1/CAT5e_Cable.jpg/800px-CAT5e_Cable.jpg

You can do your own crosstalk test to make sure though. Cable length is also another crosstalk variable to

consider.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

Another issue with CAT5 that I have not seen discussed is crosstalk.
Crosstalk;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosstalk

CAT5 is designed to minimize crosstalk in computer networking, but computer networking signals are very

low in voltage, lets say a few volts.

There is alot of parameters that affect crosstalk. Voltage is a variable. If you were to use

CAT5 cable as speaker wire to carry both the left and right audio channels in the same

cable, the voltage levels are so much higher than voltages found in networking cable.

Lets say an ethernet signal is less than 3 volts.

A voltage from a simple 100w/ch power amplifier can be 10x higher, 40x higher for higher

powered amplifiers. Now there is a huge potential to induce more crosstalk by using CAT5

if you were to use one cable to carry both signal because the wires in side the jacket are

not shield from each other, this is very bad ............ If you had to use CAT5, then run one

cable per channel only.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d1/CAT5e_Cable.jpg/800px-CAT5e_Cable.jpg

In the thread I posted they suggested to separate the twisted pairs //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Just read that thread and decide for yourself, personally for 6 bucks for a 75 foot piece, i will give it a try...

Edit: I also mentioned above that for high power applications I wouldn't recommend it, for obvious reasons //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Which is why most of the people who do use it are those with high efficiency full range drivers with low power SS or tube amps...

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

In the thread I posted they suggested to separate the twisted pairs

You are talking about stripping the jacket to only have the pairs of twisted wires

or do you mean stripping the jacket and un-twisting the pairs so they are straight ?

This wouldn't be bad for generic 24 awg hook up wire to mess around with //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

re: DIYA

There is way too much chaos in that forum. You have to filter out 100 pounds of BS just

to find a small nugget of legit good info.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

It does have a lot of BS, but here is a useful post on how to best use cat 5:

Plain Cat5 is good but you will get better results if you first untwist all the pairs and retwist them in a star-quad configuration. First, compared to twisted pairs, a star-quad has a lower inductance and better noise immunity. Second, each of the pairs in a Cat5 cable has a different twist pitch. This is done intentionally to reduce cross talk between the independent data channels that are normally carried by each pair. When used as speaker cable, each pair is caring the same electrical signal and summing the signal after it has traversed multiple different paths, each with a different length and LCR, results in an audible smearing. I found the difference between ordinary Cat5 and star-quad Cat5 rather dramatic, i.e., not subtle. The star-quad is more coherent with better resolution and clarity.

 

To verify that the smearing I heard was due to the different path lengths and not just to the different geometry, I constructed a star-quad cable that preserved the different lengths of the wires as they came from the Cat5 cable. Quads made from the longer pairs of wires were twisted tighter. Then, one quad of each color was twisted together to make the final cable. This multi-length star-quad cable exhibited a similar audible smearing.

 

Star-Quad Speaker Cable

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/veryhappy.gif.fec4fed33b4a1279cf10bdd45a039dae.gif

Edit: Sorry for the dead link

In the thread I posted they suggested to separate the twisted pairs
You are talking about stripping the jacket to only have the pairs of twisted wires

or do you mean stripping the jacket and un-twisting the pairs so they are straight ?

This wouldn't be bad for generic 24 awg hook up wire to mess around with //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

re: DIYA

There is way too much chaos in that forum. You have to filter out 100 pounds of BS just

to find a small nugget of legit good info.

 

[Echo42987 10+ year member]

There is a difference in HDMI, the cheap ones are not rated for 1080p, only 1080i, so keep that in mind. I've gotten mine from parts express and not had any problems.

Um I'm pretty sure your completely wrong on this statement. The only way it changes is with distance. HDMI was only made to carry a 1080p signal. Whats the point then?

-Nick-