My test between Van Damme 4mm Blue Series and CAT5

[gerbilly]

I have used quite a lot of speaker cable to find something I liked from QED, Atlas, Shark, Ecosse but the two I have liked best were the cheapest CAT5 and Van Damme Blue Series.
I have been using 2 1/2 metres per cable of the biwirable 4 core 4mm Van Damme and also 2 1/2 metres of 6 lengths (each) of CAT5 braided together.


Listening to both in the last month I have decided both cope with treble very well and are very difficult to seperate. However I think CAT5 is better when it comes to bass as it sounds as tight as a drum when listening to the likes of Portishead, with the Van Damme it just doesnt sound as clear and as controlled. However it is still a great deal better than the horribly expensive QED silver anniversary.

Maybe I have not got the configuration with the Van Damme cable width and length wrong but at the moment for hifi purposes I would still recommend CAT5 as being superior.

[eviljohn2]

Sounds interesting mate.

What sort of difference in cable diameter and flexibility are there between the two that you've been trying?

[gerbilly]

Originally Posted by eviljohn2

Sounds interesting mate.

What sort of difference in cable diameter and flexibility are there between the two that you've been trying?

When it comes to flexibility Van Damme wins hands down it is like a coiled snake and can bend and twist into any position and it doesnt seem to put any strain on the plugs. It is also a dream to strip and connect the banana plugs. As I said the diameter is the thickest 4mm Van Damme cable with the 4 couloured cores.
The CAT5 isnt as flexible but it is better than say Twin and Earth. It isnt as small as 4MM I would guess around 5 or 6, but as I said despite this it sounded better with my hifi equipment.

[eviljohn2]

Thanks, just trying to get a handle on the physical characteristics of each.

[JayDub]

So which specific cables have you tested and what were the main differences between them?