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Is it alright to use this for XLR cables? Is it alright to use for multiple headphone runs? I recently ran into about a thousand feet of this stuff so I'd like to put it to use. Tried the search but no luck. Thanks

bassovado wrote:Is it alright to use this for XLR cables? Is it alright to use for multiple headphone runs? I recently ran into about a thousand feet of this stuff so I'd like to put it to use. Tried the search but no luck. Thanks

I'm pretty sure you mean CAT(egory) 5 cable.

If that's what you have, it is designed for data, is primarily used to connect ethernet devices, and while I'm sure it could carry analog audio signals, the fact that it is not commonly used for that application means some problem lurks inside that idea. For one thing, it is unshielded. Bzzzz.

-r

After a closer inspection I realized that it is just a 5 wire cable, but it is unshielded.

All may not be lost.

If you're wiring up a studio you're still going to need a data network.

Do some research on implementation of the physical layer of Ethernet. You want to plan the correct layout for network infrastructure before you start running cabling all over the place.

Depending on your application, you may be able to use this network for transport of digital audio and video now or in the future. Cobranet allows you to send and receive up to 64 channels, duplex, on one 100base/t link at a time, up to 512 channels total per subnet (if I recall correct). You can also send HD video over a network, although this starts to get kinda tricky.

So don't get rid of the cable just yet, unless you're going to sell it to help buy some Canare or Mogami quad cable. That's what you want for your "XLR cables"

Well if it's a 5-conductor wire, it's definitely not CAT5.

If it WAS CAT5, you could use it for mic or line level audio and it would kick ass. CAT5 is better than any mic or line level cable in its performance (i.e. instead of only being good in the 20Hz - 20KHz range, it it designed to handle computer data signal with MUCH higher bandwidth. It kicks ass for audio. It's just real expensive is all.

And the twisted-pair nature of it means it's great at rejecting interference/noise. Computer networks require much more fidelity than an analog audio signal does.

But if it's 5 conductors, it's definitely not CAT5.

scott wrote:
If it WAS CAT5, you could use it for mic or line level audio and it would kick ass. CAT5 is better than any mic or line level cable in its performance (i.e. instead of only being good in the 20Hz - 20KHz range, it it designed to handle computer data signal with MUCH higher bandwidth. It kicks ass for audio. It's just real expensive is all.

I didn't know that three twists per inch was better than shielding for extrnal RF rejection. I think I spent maybe $80 for a 1000 ft. spool of CAT5 a few years ago. You saying I have a few hundred feet of audio snake left over?

-r