Thanks for all the good input. Since I'm only running about 25 feet and have pleanty of UTP, I'll double up and use 4 pair for left and 4 pair for right. If this doesn't work as planned then I'll just have to rip it out and spring for the speaker wire. What gauge does 4 strands of 24ga UTP equal? Or is it a moot point?
Audio over Cat5 ???
Apr 18, 2005
3 Replies
The Cat5 will work, the only tough part will be connecting all those solid wires to the amp. But, 25 feet of 14 gauge zipcord (speaker cable) will set you back all of $5, maybe $10 if you get unlucky with the price.
-John O
Moot but harmless. One piece of Cat 5 with 2 pairs paralleled for each channel is absolutely satisfactory for your very short run.
Re gauge, paralleling two wires of the same gauge effectively takes it up 3 sizes.
So parallel two pieces of 24 gauge and you have an effective 21 gauge.
Parallel 2 pieces of 21 gauge (same as 4 pieces of 24 gauge) and you have equivalent of 18 gauge.
Run spares though. Easy to run initially and you'll almost always be thankful for spares, sometimes sooner rather than later.
Steve
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It will equal roughly 16-gauge, which should be fine for low level listening at the reasonable cable lengths you need.
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