quick CAT5 cable question..... please...

[snow-munki]

Hi,

am going to buy the canton CD101 speaker system spec here:

http://www.canton.de/www/index.php?p...,30,moviecd101

was wondering for the cat5 cable, how many 'cables' do i need per speaker i'm assume i can't just use one, read in the FAQ it is one per drive per speaker or something, but that doesn't mean much to me.

also as the speaker just uses bare wire, can i just twist all the colours and plug it to the red and all the white and plug it to the black and that's it ???

Oh and what about the sub.

Thanks again !

[PerryGunn]

Originally Posted by snow-munki

Hi,

am going to buy the canton CD101 speaker system spec here:

http://www.canton.de/www/index.php?p...,30,moviecd101

was wondering for the cat5 cable, how many 'cables' do i need per speaker i'm assume i can't just use one, read in the FAQ it is one per drive per speaker or something, but that doesn't mean much to me.

also as the speaker just uses bare wire, can i just twist all the colours and plug it to the red and all the white and plug it to the black and that's it ???

Oh and what about the sub.

Thanks again !

If you use a single cat5 cable, it'll work but (and there's always a but ) you'll end up with a very thin cross-sectional area of conductor going to each speaker which, apart from the internally twisted nature of the pairs, is about the same as bell wire. Normally you'd use at least 3 cat5 cables, braided together, to each speaker.

I made braided cat5 cables for my front speakers and was happy with them but when I got my Cantons (with CD100s at the front), I found that braided cat5 was too thick for the binding posts on the speakers.

If you want thin cable go for something like the QED Silver Anniversary (might sound a bit bright, depends on your amp), I wasn't worried about size so I tried 2.5mm T&E and find that I'm quite happy with it.

Regards

Perry

[snow-munki]

thanks for the reply.

I'm thinking of getting the Cambridge Audio AZUR 540R amp.

What cables do i need btw, and where is the best place to get them all from ?

assuming i need the : toslink / sub lead / speaker wires ? all from richersounds ?

[Gregory]

For the sub, it is usually a long interconnect level cable rather than a speaker cable (amp is in the sub - hence the mains power lead). Richer sounds can usually supply a long single lead for the purpose if you are there (as can many others). It is a long cable, but much high frequency inteference is reduced by the low-pass filter in the sub, so there isn't a huge amount to be gained from some very esoteric and expensive sub cable unless you have the ears of a bat (but for low frequencies, obviously).

For CAT5, you are best off simpy buying a box from Maplin or similar - either a 50 odd metre roll if just doing a couple of speakers (rember you need multiple runs per speaker) or franly just getting a 1000ft (305metre) box and putting what you don't use in a cupboard for next time.

For digital audio feed, an optical cable with the right ends from anywhere will probably do, though a metal cable interconnect will also work just as well

Cheers

Greg

[Knightshade]

A COAX cable from Mark Grant or similar would be the choice for the Sub.
As already suggested, maplins or possibly a local electrical store or cabling company for the CAT5 cable.

[Dfour]

Second on the vote for Marks cables. They might seem expensive but for the quality of kit used its really only money. Also look at his coax cable from the dvd player to amp.