Cable Asylum: REVIEW: DIY by Chris VenHaus Cat5 Speaker Cable Cable by beetlezipp@rogers.com

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

Review by beetlezipp@rogers.com ( A ) on September 09, 2004 at 12:57:31
IP Address: 69.199.78.22

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Let me begin by saying that this project is not for the faint of heart. A lot of thoughts came to my mind while I was go through the labour intensive ordeal of braiding, braiding, braiding & more braiding. And more braiding.
What if it sounds horrible ? what if I shorted one of the many cables ? What if I did something wrong ? What if my braiding was too tight ? or too lose ?
I made a 5 ft pair of the biwire version, using 18 pairs for the Low Freq, and 9 pairs for the high Freq, on each channel. This is equivalent to braiding together 108 single strands of cables(L/R combined). It took me approx. 40+ hours, or basically an entire long weekend. The only thing which kept me going was the previous 46 reviews which were mostly positive. At one end, I used Vampire spades, and I used locking banana plugs at the speaker end. As for the CAT5s, I purchased them from Takefiveaudio (Belden 1585a).
God be my witness, after I hook this cable up for the first time, I cannot believe my ears. Initially I tought I must have done something wrong as it sounded very different from my old cables (A DIY IBM Toiken Ring cable). The sound stage became very very wide and open. The bass was as solid as my old cables, but the obvious differece is the Hi Frequency sounds. It is not as bright as silver cables, but it certianly drove my system to levels which I have not heard before in terms of sound staging.
3 more weeks of listening passed............., & I had the opportunity to compare this to 20 brand name cables on four listening sessions, with 5 audiophiles. We compared this CAT5 cable, to he cheapest thing ranging from $ 20 dollar DIY Toilen Ring cables, to the more expensive Kimber 4TC, 8TC, X-symphony OCC copper, X-Symphony Silver, Cardas Corsslink, Cardas Golden Cross, XLO, Zion Hybrid, Zion OCC Copper, Monster, and Audioquest.
For a mere $ 100 bucks in material cost, this cable is totally worth the money. I'd safely say that it outperformed many of the brand name cables by a good margin. I agree that this doesnt sound as good as the XLO or the X-Symphony Silver, but I'd say it outperformed many of the rest. The closest sound to this cable is the X-symphony Silver. The Cat5 had a better low end, while the XSymphony had a slightly better highend clarity. The Monster stuff are total garbage in comparison, not even on the same league. I'd even go so far as to say that this is one of the best performing copper cable I have heard. Very wide, very open, very musical.
I am now using these as my permenant cables.
And to the inventor of this recipe, Chirs Venhaus, I sincerely say THANK YOU.
I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a copper speaker cable.
P.S..... A Tip, Get a good pair of wire stripper, as you'll have to strip 108 tiny wires, at each end ! Also, there's no need to braid to tightly. Just give the cable a good PULL after you braid it and it will tighten up.

Product Weakness: Labour intensive.
Product Strengths: Low material Cost. Very Wide Soundstage. Better than normal high frequency performance.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Manley Reference 350
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	McIntosh C2200
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Meridian 508
Speakers:	B&W802 Matrix, S2
Cables/Interconnects:	Chris VH Cat 5, Thermax Interconnect
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Sting, Jennifer Warnes, etc
Room Size (LxWxH):	40 x 25 x 9
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Chang Lightspeed 9600 MK1
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	Labour intensive.
Product Strengths:	Low material Cost. Very Wide Soundstage. Better than normal high frequency performance.