What is CAT5 wiring?

[TwinDad]

Greetings,

6 years ago we had five CAT5 outlets installed in our apartment. One in the bedroom and four in the family room. What is CAT5 and how can I use it for audio purposes? Can I somehow hook up rear surround speakers via CAT5?

Thanks,

Eddie

[f0rge]

it's computer network cable

it's still copper wire, so technically it could be used to hook up speakers, but i bet it's 30gauge+ wiring, so it would be far from ideal

[Brett A]

Making DIY cables out of CAT5 is a tried-and-true practice. Its benefits are better explained in the link below. Check out the fourth paragraph "Quality Materials". I have made these speaker cables myself. It was a lot of work.

http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html

[f0rge]

i got the impression he wasn't going to be braiding, but rather using a single CAT5 for a speaker cable.

[Brett A]

i got the impression he wasn't going to be braiding, but rather using a single CAT5 for a speaker cable.
Ahh, I get it. The question was about using the existing installed wires to carry signal for the rears. Wel, l I'll have to excuse myself at this point as I know nothing about systems with more than two channels. :o

[bfalls]

CAT5 cabling is four pairs of twisted 30ga wire. It's used to carry computer signals and I believe has an effective distance of 100m and max bandwidth of 1Gbps. It's also commonly used for home automation touch-panels.

Depending on how it's been run you may be able to use it for rear speakers. Since it was installed in an apartment I doubt you can. Usually it's used to connect your computer to a network hub or switch located in a central wiring closet in your building.

If configured to connect several computer within the apartment to a single DSL modem, you may be able to install your system at the same location as the modem and split out the wires in a way to connect rear speakers.

I have seen several cables braided and used for speaker cabling. I've done it myself for a short run, but didn't hear any appeciable improvement. I didn't find it worth the effort. It required braiding four cables/ch, stripping the ends of 128 30ga wires, then grouping 64 on each end into 2 conductors/ch. It also looks like hell.

[filecat13]

I know a few guys who swear by CAT5 cables and some who swear at them.

Most only braid the last couple of inches at each end, making sure to join the same color leads at each end, whether for two channels or four channels. It's fairly easy to use the in wall jacks by braiding the end of a CAT5 cable that's attached to a plug and having a similarly braided cable/plug combo at the other end. Then there's no messing about in the walls; you just plug them in. However, there can be connection issues when jacks and plugs are used, and there are also concerns about crosstalk, short circuits, wire integrity, etc.

Plus, as pointed out above by bfalls, you have to be VERY sure that all the CAT5 cable does not go to a router or hub where they all connect to a common uplink. If that's the case, you could do some real damage not only to your system but to all the other occupants in the building whose CAT5 connections terminate in the same place. OUCH!

Unless you're 100% sure where those CAT5 runs go, don't use them.

[pixelthis]

HASNT your landlord said anything about this?
Sounds like you use this cat cable to hook up to a LAN for high speed net access:1:

[TwinDad]

Thanks everyone. I have access to the main CAT5 punch down board in my attic.

I think I am going to purchase the KEF wireless system to hook up the rear surrounds.

Eddie