Are DIY, CAT5 cables really that good?

I guess it all depends on your system. They do seem to be a little more amp dependent. I made a bi-wire set and I love 'em. But, like everything else in audio, if it doesn't sound good to you, it ain't good.

How tightly do you braid your pairs? As tight as possible, or more of a loose braid?

Hey I am seriously considering making a set of CAT 5 cables.......is it woth the time and effort? Will these cables be better than my standard off the spool monster cable wire? Is there an advatage to using CRYOed wire? If I do not use the CAT 5 I am planing on either Audioquest or Transparent..........any thoughts????

P.S. I am running ROTEL's RSX-1067 along with the RDV-1040 and my speakers are Kenwoods(main) BOSE(center)sucks... and sony(rear)........I am planing to upgrade to ALL B&W 804N,HTM2, and thinking using the 805N for the rears????
I just started into this high end stuff any help would be great thanks, Joe

CAT5's, like any other cable, need a good amount of burn-in. It sounds like you've had some time with them, so that's probably mostly accomplished already.

From my experience there is a smearing of the sound with CAT5's. There are several other fairly easy to build speaker cables that are inexpensive relative to the commercial one's.

Look into Jon Risch's 89259 cross connect. It far surpassed the CAT5 in my system. Go to AudioAsylum.com and look in the FAQ section for the link.

Enjoy,
Bob