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Coax as Speaker Cable?

post #1 of 15
10/10/07 at 11:59am
Thread Starter 
I was wondering the other day about some cable stuff and though "Why not just use Coax for speaker cable? It would be shielded (if hooked up properly), the right gauge would offer very little resistance to the signal, possibly and probably resulting in a better sound, and it just seems like it would work better than "traditional" speaker cable. So, why not?
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post #2 of 15
10/10/07 at 12:15pm
Take a look here for coax as speaker cable.
I made my own version of the TNT utp cat5 cable: absolutely perfect.
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post #3 of 15
10/10/07 at 12:27pm
There is also the Jon Risch design using Belden 89259.

I use Cat5 as well, in a modified VenHaus design.
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post #4 of 15
10/10/07 at 12:33pm
Mogami makes an OFC copper coax specifically for speakers and notes the advantages on this page:

http://mogamicable.com/Bulk/micr_cab.../speaker1.html

Sells for about $1 per foot at most vendors.
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post #5 of 15
10/10/07 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
I guess my biggest question, aside from the shielding option, is would the thick, solid wire in a standard coaxial cable make for a better interconnect with less ressistance between an amp and a speaker?
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post #6 of 15
10/10/07 at 3:08pm
Shielding is the only advantage of using coax. The drawback would be that it's a lot harder to run it under the rug.

See ya
Steve
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post #7 of 15
10/12/07 at 7:14am
Years ago, I tried some cheap coax as speaker cable only because I had no zip cord, and the stores were closed. They got cooked. I'm sure it was only because of the wire gauge.

Laz
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post #8 of 15
10/12/07 at 2:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lazarus Short View Post
Years ago, I tried some cheap coax as speaker cable only because I had no zip cord, and the stores were closed. They got cooked. I'm sure it was only because of the wire gauge.

Laz
How in the world did those cables get "cooked"? The current running through them is usually so minor.....were you referring to a short of some kind?
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post #9 of 15
10/13/07 at 12:33pm
Thread Starter 
I was kinda wondering that myself. wow
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post #10 of 15
10/13/07 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoundGoon View Post
I was wondering the other day about some cable stuff and though "Why not just use Coax for speaker cable? It would be shielded (if hooked up properly), the right gauge would offer very little resistance to the signal, possibly and probably resulting in a better sound, and it just seems like it would work better than "traditional" speaker cable. So, why not?
I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what happens when you try to use fixed impedance cable as speaker cable; coaxial at 75-Ohms and CAT cable at 100-Ohms. The only answer anyone ever comes up with is "just try it and see how it sounds." Although, many people say these sort of cables have no place as speaker cable, they say it's good to try them as headphone cable. But I have seen many tube guys use CAT cable with their speakers, especially with full-range setups.
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post #11 of 15
10/14/07 at 4:59pm
The "fixed impedance" you refer to is not really that.....it is "characteristic impedance" for transmission of much higher frequencies than audio signals. Several studies have shown it has no substantial impact on audio.

If you Google the terms:

cable impedance characteristic

you can find a few pages that will explain it in detail.
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post #12 of 15
10/14/07 at 5:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoundGoon View Post
I guess my biggest question, aside from the shielding option, is would the thick, solid wire in a standard coaxial cable make for a better interconnect with less ressistance between an amp and a speaker?
The only "thick, solid wire" in coax is the center conductor (and some coaxes use stranded for the center conductor.) The current must also pass through the braided shield on the other side in the speaker/amp circuit, would it not????

Electricity ain't a one-way street......though there seem to be a few people on this forum that don't understand that, like the guy who wanted to make an interconnect from coax, but not connect the shield on either end.
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post #13 of 15
10/14/07 at 6:29pm
I've been using Cat 5 cable for my IC's and speaker cable for a while now. I prefer the IC's to Grovers and some others I've tried. I prefer the speaker cables to a set of Soundstring cables. I don't remember the other speaker cables I compared them to. They are made by a guy that lives nearby. Here is a pic:

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post #14 of 15
10/16/07 at 6:53am
@tyrion : wow, those look beautiful.
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post #15 of 15
10/18/07 at 11:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by velogreg View Post
How in the world did those cables get "cooked"? The current running through them is usually so minor.....were you referring to a short of some kind?
All I remember is that the wires looked like they had gotten very hot.

Laz
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