LAN cable is the strongest speaker cable

Now let's talk about speaker cables.

[LAN speaker cable]

When I researched speaker cables on the Internet, I came across some rather dubious stories such as that LAN cables sound better.

I tried it right away.

It certainly sounds better than any speaker cable I've used, including the Belden8470.

I looked it up and found a great collection of material.

"Try using a LAN cable as a speaker cable"

"Try using a LAN cable as a speaker cable; technical explanation"

"Try using a LAN cable as a speaker cable; technical explanation part 2"

"It's just an electric wire, but it's an electric wire"

[Effect of LAN cable on sound quality]

Based on these contents, you can see the following merits by organizing the LAN cables.
(1) The insulator is ideal polyethylene, which has a constant capacitance even at low frequencies and little loss in the low frequencies.
(2) 4 sets of 2 twisted pairs, 8 in total are insulated. The skin effect, which makes the high-frequency sound thin, is affected by the calculation, the wire diameter is 0.9 mm at 20,000 Hz, and the LAN single wire specification is 24 AWG with a wire diameter of 0.5 mm, which is sufficiently thin, so there is no need to consider the effect of the skin effect.
(3) Sufficient shielding effect can be expected without a metal shield due to the finely twisted twisted pair structure. In addition, the category 6 single wire specification cable has a cross separator in the center to prevent interference between the four pairs, giving consideration to putting high-end audio cables to shame.
(4) You can easily enjoy the benefits of parallel wiring. (described later)

A simple way to distinguish between PE and PVC insulating materials is PE if it floats in water and PVC if it sinks. All three types of speaker cables I have have sunk in water. In other words, you can see that the LAN cable has better sound quality than the ordinary speaker cable jacket.

Also, if you read "About UL Standard Wires and Cables" , you can see that the polyethylene used in LAN cables has better sound quality than the flame-retardant polyethylene used in audio cables. The quoted description by an engineer specializing in cables is probably the first to mention using a LAN cable as an audio cable.

[Four pairs or one pair]

I think that the ease of parallel wiring is a big advantage of using LAN cables as speaker cables.

The reason why using all four pairs in parallel is more advantageous than using only one pair separately is quoted from the above site. ⇒The output of the sound is improved in the low range.
(2) Inductance (L) is also reduced to 1/4.
③Capacitance (C) becomes 4 times. ④Characteristic impedance (Zo) becomes 1/4. ⇒It approaches the impedance of the speaker system, improves the transmission characteristics in the high range, and can also be expected to improve the resolution.

The effect is obvious from an auditory point of view.

[Single wire or stranded wire]

Solid wires have lower conductor resistance and smoother conductor surfaces, so no matter how you look at it, solid wires should sound better.

However, when I compared the two with a length of about 2m, there was almost no difference. In general, a single-wire LAN cable is used for a length of 10m or longer, but even when used as an audio cable, if the length is short, the difference between a single wire and a stranded wire is so slight that it is difficult to perceive it.

It also makes sense that the strands are 7 strands. It has an ideal shape in which six are neatly arranged in a circle around one in the center, which contributes to its excellent performance. The LAN cable is really well done down to the smallest details.

【others】

My personal opinion is that the effect of conductor resistance is dominant and the other effects are minor. This is why thick and short wires are generally considered to be good, but thicker wires have a greater effect on the skin effect. Therefore, I think the ideal idea is to reduce the resistance by making a parallel circuit with a wire diameter that is not affected by the skin effect.

There are also super high-end audio cables that are particular about the material, but it is only a matter of image and there is almost no difference in physical properties, let alone the length of the speaker cable.

Ideally, a Category 6 single-wire LAN would be best, but the cable would be thick and stiff, making it difficult to handle.
If the length is less than 10m, I think that a twisted LAN cable is sufficient.
Also, although Category 7 cables are shielded, they have the opposite effect if they are not grounded. Please do not use it as a speaker cable.
Also, each twisted pair should be + and -.

A LAN cable that is too thin, like the one in the photo, may have too much conductor resistance, and the sound will be thin. The conductor wire is also very thin, so it will be difficult to cut it immediately. Even in the case of stranded wire, it is better to have a wire diameter of about AWG28.

It is not easy to find an audio cable that takes into consideration such details as the selection of insulation material, the number of twisted wires, the twist pitch, etc., for noise prevention, wideband, and high-resolution characteristics.
Perfect for carpet speakers that pursue fidelity to the original sound. That's about 100 yen per meter.
LAN cables can be asserted to be the strongest speaker cables for cost performance.