DIY Cat5 UTP Speaker Cables  - april 09, 2010 11:56am - 64

This material makes a great speaker cable because it's super inexpensive, it has very low resistance, capacitance, and inductance values, and you might already have some laying around.
Price and RLC values are the only things you need to consider, as everything else is
snake oil marketing aimed at clueless audiophiles -- some of whom spend hundreds or thousands of dollars PER FOOT on speaker cables. Don't do that.

This project is worth doing because you get a very high quality speaker cable for a
lower cost ($0.114/ft) than even standard 12AWG stranded speaker wire ($0.23/ft)
even with the added 'features' of being twisted pair and sorta litz-ish wire, even though those
qualities don't matter at all for the application of a speaker cable.
The main draw of this project for me was having the banana plugs at each end for
easy connections. If you've used the screw terminals on a receiver, you'll understand.

RLC Measurements of various DIY cable materials:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/cables/diy-speaker-cable-faceoff

Supplies:
- Cat5e UTP Bulk Cable
   $57 from Monoprice for 1,000ft (buy less elsewhere or share with a friend)
- Two Pair of Banana Plugs per Cable
   $4.20 from Monoprice (again, per cable)
- 1/2" Heatshrink (Optional)
- Super Glue (Optional)

Tools:
- Wire Strippers or a Utility Knife
- Blowtorch or Soldering Iron, Rosin-core Solder (Optional)

Procedure:
1) Pull two equal lengths of Cat5 (mark both ends of one cable, or
     have a multimeter available), then twist the two lengths together.
2) Strip about 1.5" of outer insulation from both ends to reveal
     eight insulated wires, then also strip about 1" off all eight wires. (Example)
3) Disassemble the banana plugs so you're left with the male plug end,
     the color band, and the wire receptacle bit.
4a) If soldering, twist all the ends of one cable together and solder them into
     a receptacle bit, using a blowtorch or soldering iron. Let cool, and assemble. (Example)
4b) Without solder, push the untwisted bare wires through a receptacle bit, fold
     the ends over the top internal edge, evenly dispersed, and screw down the
     male plug end, which will crimp the wires in place. (Example)
5) (Optional) Place a 1-3" piece of heatshrink over the banana plug and Cat5, and
     use the blowtorch (or heat gun, if you have it) to shrink. (Example)
6) (Optional) Apply a small amount of super glue to both ends of
     the formed heatshrink to give it extra strength to withstand future abuse.