DIY Hose/speaker cable

surfntomm
surfntomm Posts: 185
edited June 2007 in 2 Channel Audio
here is my first attempt at speaker cables, figured if i was going to do it, might as well do it BIG.

cat 5e cables with effective gauge of 9. bi wire setup. 10 feet long. material cost per pair 120... let me know what you think, hopefully my time was not completely wasted :p

heres a pic...

6glugll.jpg
Post edited by surfntomm on
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Comments

  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited June 2007
    Purdy.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • Spacedeckman
    Spacedeckman Posts: 96
    edited June 2007
    Fill us in on how it works out. I've tried doing speaker wire with CAT5 before and wasn't very happy with the results. Interconnect is a whole different story. Not claiming to know what's going on, just interested if your experience is different.

    Mark
    System:

    VPI Scout/Benz Ace
    Sutherland PH2000
    Arcam CD72
    Yamaha DVD-CX1 (primarily for CD..26 lbs, all BB D/A)
    Audioprism Mantissa w/Reference PS
    Parasound HCA750 (temporary)
    Audiovector M1 Signatures
    Kimber 4TC x 2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited June 2007
    Cool.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • bikerboy
    bikerboy Posts: 1,211
    edited June 2007
    Hi,
    The cables look nice. How are they made? I made a set of braided VH audio type and am happy with them. They take some time to break in. Let us know what you think of how they sound.
    Main system: Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 w/ Pioneer 42" plazma-> Polk LSiM 703 w/Tivo, Marantz tuner, BRPTT: Nothingham Spacedeck-> Pioneer PL L1000 linear arm-> Soundsmith DL 103R-> SUT->Bottlehead ErosDigital: I3 PC w/ Jriver playing flac -> Sonore Ultrarendu -> Twisted Pair Audio ESS 9028 w/ Mercury IVY Vinyl rips: ESI Juli@24/192-> i3 PC server
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  • surfntomm
    surfntomm Posts: 185
    edited June 2007
    they are 8 pairs of twisted cat 5-e cable inside of a pvc tube with nylon sleeving over it and techflex stuff over the individual leads with a layer of super expandable stuff over it. (black over black and black over red). I havent fully broken them in <2 hours on them but so far they sound great and already better than my star quad cables.

    the tweeters folllow tnt-audios recommendation of grouping all striped wires with themselves and grouping the solids in another group to allow greater shielding.

    terminations are crimp on spades.

    only downfall to them is that they are so massive that i had to move my amp so that the wires could hang freely from the rear of the amp or else the weight of them would bend the spades :p . talk about a beast.

    i made 2 pairs with my roommate. all together it probably took us about 20 hours or so of labor and my fingers are throbbing right now.
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