Cable Asylum: REVIEW: DIY by Chris VenHaus Cat5 Speaker Cable Cable by Luc Primeau

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 Luc Primeau on November 24, 2003 at 09:40:27
IP Address: 64.228.133.207

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for the Cat5 Speaker Cable

Cat 5 - 54 pair trial - 27 twisted pairs per channel
Ouch, did I ever create one heck of a mess...
Well folks, after reading all the reviews on this interresting time consumming braid, I ventured forth, since I liked the results I had obtained by just braiding 3 lengths of Cat 5, and splitting the 3 lengths into a positive and negative grouping ( hey, this was my first attempt and with positive results ).
Then came serious hours of braiding, until I ended up with a beautiful looking cable. I checked and double checked everything, silver soldered some gold plated banana plugs and some gold plated pins, both from Radio Shack....added some colour coded heat shrink......everything looked OUTSTANDING.
I used them in my workshop for a couple of days with and old Marantz 140 watt per channel Integrated amp with a set of Voight pipes and did notice a nice change in the low end ( since this setup only had plain, cheap 14 gauge twisted cooper wiring - basically lamp cord )
Then I brought them inside to replace the braided Cat 5 units, hooked them up to a Kenwood Audio-Video Stereo Receiver KR-V9030 and a set of Energy ESM-1s...nothing special....the IT happened ( I had been warned )
I remember reading that some amps just can't handle the added Capacitance..well trust me, this amp cannot handle this load...the second I turned it on, I noticed that I had to raise the volume control much higher than ususal, then came the smell of burning electrical components....not a good thing, trust me....I turned everything off, and saved the amp....
All I can say at this point is...be AWARE of your equipment limitations before you first try these out...
I do have a question...I could I have known ahead of time that this amp and cables did NOT mix....

Product Weakness: Please read the Product review
Product Strengths: Sorry- My own equipment limitations ruined this test

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Kenwood KR-V9030
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Kenwood DP-R791, RCA 420 sat Receiver
Speakers:	Energy ESM-1s
Cables/Interconnects:	3xCat5 braided speaker cables - interconnects ( cheap)
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Everything except Rap
Time Period/Length of Audition:	less than 30 seconds
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Please read the Product review
Product Strengths:	Sorry- My own equipment limitations ruined this test