What do you think of the DIY Cat 5 speaker cables

I made a set using a modified technique of what is referred to as "Gomers" on AA:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=cables&n=106567

Back when Radio Shack was having a half-price sale on cable (among other things) I purchased enough CAT-5 (Teflon) to make a bi-wired pair of the CVH braided CAT-5 speaker cable. I bought a lot of cable because, at the time, I needed 15' (!) of speaker cable. Well, as those who have made this cable can attest, making a 15' 27/9 bi-wired pair of these cables is a lot of work (to say the least). Bottom line, I gave up - even if those cables were magical, there was no way in hell I was going to commit the hours required to complete the fabled braided CAT-5 speaker cables.

So what the hell was I going to do with all that CAT-5?

Well, due to some re-arrangement of how my system is set up, my speaker cable length requirement decreased to just over 4 feet. A CAT-5 speaker cable was now practical. However, one aspect of the CVH recipe that I didn't like was that no matter how carefully I braided, I didn't feel that I had inch-by-inch consistency of my braids. Plus, it still would be more effort than I wanted to commit. Time to do some research on AA.

I noticed some CAT-5 recipes that suggested a star-quad twist. But some still required more work that I was willing to do (separating the individual pairs of CAT-5, using only one color of wires, etc.). The star-quad CAT-5 concept still seemed appealing. So...here's my approach to the star-quad CAT-5 cable:

I started out with about 50 feet of CAT-5 cable, stripped of the outer-blue jacket. I secured the ends of all 4 pairs in a vice, and secured the other ends in my drill. As I made the 50' length taught, I noticed that the 4 pairs of cables naturally were twisted in a clockwise manner. I used my drill to further twist the 4 pairs in a clockwise manner until the wires were tightly twisted together into a single rope.

I then cut this rope into 4 equal lengths, and aligned all the ropes so that, as you looked at them, they were all twisted in a clockwise manner. I secured the ends of the 4 cables in my vise (actually, it was the door to my garage) and the other ends into my drill. This time, I twisted the cables counter-clockwise, again, until they formed a single, tight rope (the diameter of which was just over 1/4 inch (8 mm).

What impressed me about this approach was that I no longer had a bunch of single pairs of wires, but a single tight rope. No matter how much you bend, the rope acts like a single wire. Plus, the twist was very consistent from end to end. I cut this rope into 4 segments of 4 1/2 feet each. This whole process took about 30 minutes. Time to terminate.

I wrapped electrical tape in a band around the cable 3 inches from one end and 2 inches from the other to prevent unraveling when terminating the ends. In hindsight, I'd make the leads just a bit longer (maybe 4 inches each). I separated the 4 bundles from the rope, then proceeded, one bundle at a time, separating the solid colored wires from the returns. I stripped the ends and twisted the solid-colored wires into a bundle and then twisted the returns into a bundle. After I did this for all 4 original bundles, I twisted all the solid colored bundles into a "positive" lead, and all the return bundles into the "negative" lead. I crimped on some Radio Shack spades to complete the end. Again, in hind-site, I'd use better quality spades. This took about 15 minutes per end.

After 2 hours, I had 2 identical sets of my Modified Star-Quad CAT-5 cable. I connected it to my system in a true bi-wire manner.

I should describe my current cables before getting into my immediate impressions of my creation. I was using 15' runs of Audioquest GR-8 cables. I bought these as an introduction to "higher-end" cables. I recognize these cables for what they are - good but not great (definitely better than long runs of zip cord (IMHO)).

Immediately I noticed these cables were...different. But within an hour of use, I noticed how annoying I was finding my vinyl copy of Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"...and I realized why. There was all of this "stuff" going on in the background of the recording that I never really noticed before. The sounds were no longer abstract, but recognizable. Distinct. Identifiable. Surprisingly, the low end was much better with these cables. I actually decreased the crossover point of my REL by 4 Hz (32 to 28 Hz) and lowered the gain.

The question remains...

Is this just a great (or at least better) cable, or are the perceived benefits because:

a. I went from a 15' cable to a 4 1/2' cable?
b. I went from a internally bi-wired cable to 2 physically separate cables?
c. My cables no longer lie on the floor?
d. A little bit of all of the above.

One issue remained...This process puts a lot of stress on the copper. So, I contacted Lee over at Cryo-Freeze.com and had him soak my creations using his cryo process. Nice. Very nice.

The pair I made has an "unfinished" look to them, so I set out to make a set with a polished appearance. Unfortunately, they are too short for my system (1 m) and while the spades are Cardas, they are soldered (not crimped). They have not been cryoed. If anyone would like to try them, contact me and we'll make arrangements.

I have made 4 sets of DIY Cat 6 speaker cables using the Chris VH's recipe. The lengths are 4ft. 7ft. (2)8ft. I use only one color for each set of speaker cables. The 4ft pair uses only the orange pair. The 7ft. pair uses only the brown pair. One of the 8ft pairs uses only green and the other uses only the blue pair. The Cat 6 is a little thicker than cat 5. And make around a 9awg cable for each post. Cat 5 is around 10awg.Yes DIY CAT 5 or 6 speaker cable does sound good BUT can be made to sound much better. How? by coating (soaking) the entire cabe in BEESWAX. After you finish braiding your cables and before you strip or twist the 27 pairs together, melt a block of Beeswax and coat the whole cable with it. Once coated use a heat gun and go up and down on an area and melt the dried Beeswax on the cable. Do both sides of your cables the same way and work your way down. Be careful of course, but this is were it pays to make sure your DIY CAT 5 or 6 is ALL teflon insulated NOT PVC. The BEESWAX will melt on to the Teflon CAT 5 or 6 with no damage at all to the Teflon cable if you just watch what your doing. This is a labor of love which gives you the max out of your DIY cables.You can hear the differenc on the BEESWAX coated cables immediately,all for the better. I use Audioquest direct-silver CF spades. This coating of the cables takes the DIY Cat 5 or 6 to a laughable level when you think of what you could spend on speaker cables. And just think, you made it yourself and it smokes.

Thanks for everyones responses. Metralla why would you not put any covering over the braids. Jejaudio what does the bees wax do I have not seen anything on the bees wax?

I to would not put any covering over the cat 5 braids. It is important to note that this type of cable design is VERY susceptible to vibration, both air and surface vibrations. And to much vibration anywhere in your setup robs you of the ability to here your system at it's best. And we all know the speaker cables are the last link before we get to the speakers themselves. So if your speaker cables are prone to excessive vibrations(DIY Cat5 or Cat6)you will lose that needed(emotion)and gain something you don't need(somewhat sterile sounding cable). Your DIY Cat5-6 will sound good, especially good for the money. Then you will say "MAN IF THESE CABLES HAD A LITTLE MORE... THEY WOULD BE GREAT". Enter the BEESWAX. What it does is quiet the cable down. Stops the excessive vibration in the cable to a degree that notes that once sounded etch(thin) now are full. The music come out of blackness(not dark).You will hear and feel musical cues on a much greater level. You will be hard pressed to believe it is the same speaker cable. Low level information will come through lower,fuller with slam and emotion. Emotion is what is added when you apply BEESWAX to your DIY CAT5-6 cables. You take wire that was made to TALK over and turn it into wire that is now ready to sing. Beeswax on telephone cable is "OLD SCHOOL" it goes back to the MA Bell days or earlier. If you use this type of cable or plan to make a set,than you owe it to yourselve to go all the way and apply the Beeswax with all the scepticism you can muster. That is until you press PLAY.

Technically speaking, this design has a lot going for it in certain areas and drawbacks in others. As can be expected, there are some big sonic improvements in some areas over basic cabling with some drawbacks too.

The first thing that i noticed about this cable is that it has a VERY solid and powerful bottom end. Top end is slightly "tizzy" or smeared sounding, probably due to uneven length paths from the multitudes of unevenly twisted & braided conductors and / or all of the stress that the conductors undergo when doing braiding i.e. fissures and cracks developing from metal fatigue. Tighter braiding produces a more consistent impedance ( one of the BIG problems with this design ), but also results in greater stress on the metal with increased potential for microphonics.

I'm certain that cryo'ing would help somewhat, but the problem with cryo'ing is that the cables must be moved and "bent up" when trying to re-install them. As such, "burning the cables in" installed IN the system using high powered dummy loads may work better, if one were interested in going to such lengths.

Extremely labour intensive and time consuming. If you have access to cabling at little to no cost and were going to build them in your spare time i.e. while watching TV in the background, etc..., have at it. Probably better than what you think, but how they turn out will ultimately depend on the quality of materials used and the consistency of the build. Sean
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