Cable Asylum: REVIEW: DIY by Chris VenHaus Cat5 Speaker Cable Cable by glenn2@telusplanet.net

Model:	Cat5 Speaker Cable
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	materials cost about $45
Description:	Braided Cat5 Network Cable
Manufacturer URL:	DIY by Chris VenHaus
Manufacturer URL:	DIY by Chris VenHaus

Review by glenn2@telusplanet.net ( A ) on February 17, 2002 at 09:19:19
IP Address: 161.184.202.158

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for the Cat5 Speaker Cable

I built these cables with teflon coated Cat 5 plenum wire make by Southwire Company. Cost was .41 per foot Canadian. I used a heavy duty soldering iron to terminate the cables via Radio Shack gold plated spades.
I started out with 14-9.5 foot lenths of cable which, after braiding yielded a 5 foot, 10 inch set. Construction was easy, but time consuming. Heres a few things I learned along the way:
1/Recruite helper or pace yourself. These took me & my wife about 20-22 hrs combined labour to complete. Take your time & understand this will take some time/effort. Don't give up!
2/Using a set of work gloves run your hand up & down each completed braided run 2-3 times. This will tighten up any loose braids you may have & help with consistancy. Also helps to straighten out the wires in preparation for the next run.
3/ Be sure to use TEFLON coated Cat 5 cable. I believe most "PLENUM" rated cable is teflon insulated. Make sure before you purchase your cable that it's correct. Poor results have been reported using cable insulated with somethhing other than TEFLON insulation. This is way to much braiding to do twice!
Once you finally have your set completed don't expect too much out of them right off the bat. While they may outperform your previous loudspeaker cables I found a minimum of about 100hrs break in time was required. Then you have an outstanding homebuilt cable that will easily compete with products i've tried in the $300-$400 range. Well worth the effort! Thanks for the great ideas Chris.
Sincerly,
Glenn Baker

Product Weakness: Time consuming constuction. Loudspeaker placement that requires runs much longer than 9 feet would be very difficult to build in my opinion.
Product Strengths: Clean sounding, neutral cable. Fantastic sound staging. Inexpensive & simple to construct.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Bryston 2B LP
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Bryston 0.5
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Cambridge Audio CD4
Speakers:	Pradigm
Cables/Interconnects:	Mit terminator 2
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Mixed
Room Size (LxWxH):	12 x 16 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	none
Time Period/Length of Audition:	100 hours break in time
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	none
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	n/a

Product Weakness:	Time consuming constuction. Loudspeaker placement that requires runs much longer than 9 feet would be very difficult to build in my opinion.
Product Strengths:	Clean sounding, neutral cable. Fantastic sound staging. Inexpensive & simple to construct.