DIY Cable Faceoff - Measurements and Value

Resistance (Rs)

The results of the resistance measurements are shown in Table 3, as previously stated, the higher the rank, the better. I’ve only shown Rs for each frequency. Rs is the AC resistance at the measured frequency plus the DC resistance.

TABLE 2

CABLE RESISTANCE (Ohms/Ft)

Editorial Note
The 1-10 scale ranks the cable resistance for each cable. The higher the #, the lower the resistance or the better performance the cable will yield in this respect.

Note, that as expected, the photo lamp test (T2) and the pink noise test (T3), did not affect the resistance of the conductors in a 4 conductor cable. Notice also, the high resistance of the Monster cable, this is characteristic of a 16 AWG or smaller wire.

Capacitance (Cp)

TABLE 3

CABLE CAPACITANCE (pF/foot)

Editorial Note
The 1-10 scale ranks the cable capacitance for each cable. The higher the #, the lower the capacitance or the better performance the cable will yield in this respect.

Inductance (Ls)

TABLE 4

CABLE INDUCTANCE (μH/Ft)

Editorial Note
The 1-10 scale ranks the cable inductance for each cable. The higher the #, the lower the inductance or the better performance the cable will yield in this respect.

CAT 5 rules, as expected. Extension cords almost rule as not expected. I wonder why the braided Cat 5 wire performed so much better than the braided Sound King. Let’s not start the argument that Cat 5 is designed for low inductance, especially since the way I made the cables - each of the eight wires inside the sheath acted as one thick wire, the same way as the Sound King cable. It would be nice to hear some knowledgeable opinions or even swags. Finally though, the Monster cable is at least looking mediocre.

Editorial Note
By braiding multiple conductors in close proximity you have taken advantage of mutual inductance by cancellation of self inductance to minimize the overall inductance of the cable. For more detailed information on cable inductance check out our article: Calculating Cable Inductance

Value and Price

TABLE 5

CABLE COST ($/Ft)

Editorial Note
The 1-10 scale ranks the cable cost for each cable. The higher the #, the lower the cost or the better value to the consumer.

The cost per foot shown in Table 5 is based on one cable for one channel. So you will need to double the cost for a pair of speaker cables. The thing to observe here is that the least expensive cables require the most work. Do you have any idea how tiring it is to neatly braid Cat 5? Also notice that all cables except the Monster and Alpha have rankings above 9. That is because the cost of the Alpha wire is so much more than all others. In my field (mechanical engineering) we would almost call this a wash. Yes the cable from Lowes is almost 8 times as expensive as the cheapest Cat 5 variant, but you just have to put connectors of you choice on the Lowes cable - no assembly required. When these cables are compared to other esoteric cables (see Table 7) that $16/foot may not seem so expensive anymore.