I am looking for my options for sending audio over Cat5.
Not a whole distributed system, but just to get a CD changer back to an amp. I ran both RG59 copper & cat5. So I'm not in a bad position, but I would like to start unsing the cheaper cat5 only if I can find a nice, cheap way of doing it.

Jason

Jason

I have specified many times matching transformers for that application. Bogen makes one called the WMT-1a, which has a retail of about $40 per unit. Cost is appropriately lower. You would need four; one for each end of each channel.

This is not a hi fidelity option, by the way.

Bogen is available through most competent distributors.

Audio Control makes bullet-proof balanced line drivers. I use them often to send audio over Cat-5. Example; Sending audio from a whole house system to a theater on the opposite side of the house. Works great. Not cheap, dealer cost under $90 each side (you need a sender and receiver). Audio Control makes great products - and Made in the USA.

Brett

Boooo, poor quality there,use rg-6 or 59 with Liberty connectors for good quality sound over medium to long runs at a low up front cost.Un-shielded wire is un-shielded wire!

One question: Is the CAT5 cable part of a home network?

You might want to checkout ELAN's IRAWP. It coverts two unbalanced analog audio signals to two balanced analog signals. These balanced signals can than be send over a CAT5 cable for a very long distance.

The same CAT5 cable can be used to send IR command signal back to your components.

Very cool and useful little product.

Twisted pairs are inherently shielded as a result of the twist if they are run in balanced, i.e. push-pull fashion. If a hum occurrs near a balanced cable, half the hum is picked up as "push", half as "pull", and they cancel each other out.

Liberty does in fact make good quality in-wall coax signal cable; I use it myself.

Well, yes and no. The noise-rejection only works if the input fed by the twisted-pair is a differential amp, which rejects common-mode signals (signals equal in strength and polarity in both conductors).

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

For balanced line drivers, I've tried models supplied from custom install companies such as Sonance, Elan, etc... but I find them lacking in performance and adjustments. I instead look towards studio models that have better performance.

Sonifex is distributes by Independent Audio. Call Fraser Jones at (207)773-2424. They have 2 product in particular that I find extremely usefull.

RB-BL2 is a bi-directional single ended to balanced converter. I.E. place 1 unit at each end of a length of wire and you can send single ended audio to and from a location with the line being driven balanced in between.

RB-ADDA is a bi-directional analog (s.e. or balanced) to digital (PCM or AES/EBU) AND digital to analog converter. Using 2 lengths of RG-6 or 100ohm twinax, you can have a digital signal path betwen any 2 sets of analog inputs / outputs. It will do 24/96khz sampling and is not that expensive.

Both units can be rack mounted and offer all of the professional adjustments that black box companies like Niles and Sonance just don't offer.

-Tom Visser

Larry,

True, I did not specify the type of driver and receiver on the wire; it could be inferred that soldering RCA's on the ends and plugging it into a CD player and receiver. Not so good....

Use a shielded cable, unshielded cable is still unshielded cable, and RCA connections aren't balanced, take the RG-59, throw some RCA's on it, and go digital. Parts Express has an analog to digital converter for 40 bucks. Or if you have a pair of RG59 cables, use those. Cat5 is not ideal for audio signals.

No, No, no no no. Don't even try it. You'll never get any quality sound carried with wimpy cat5 cable. Why would you even want to try this? If it's a complicated retrofit and cat5 is all you have run, Russounds A-bus system uses cat5 to the controllers, then only have to run speaker wire from the controller to the speakers. However, only a mid-end solution.

Well, that depends. If you're referring to simply putting plugs on the ends of CAT-5 cable, then you will suffer poor signal quality.

However, as is done on lond-line data links, with the proper tranceivers, signals can indeed travel over twisted-pair wiring with little signal degradation.

Those of us with DSL computer service are living proof. These signals can travel over miles of wire pairs.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Of course no one would ever send line level audio by itself over cat5 right? You definatly need to use some type of ballen by various companies to convert this to a more usable format.

Intelix, NVT, AudioControl to name a few. And the actually do a pretty good job. In general the more you spend the better it works...pretty much the case in audio in general.

try terk leapfrog $200.00 modulates audio & video signal over any cat 3 or cat 5 cable with dial tone or not and gives ir control as well. We have used this solution several times and works very well.

Send audio more than 20 or 30 feet the way you said and you will pickup alot of noise. In pre-wired homes where we run cat-5 all over the place, we use the balanced line drivers all the time, and have never had a complaint. I have one client where we are feeding audio 200 feet from the front end over cat-5 via the balanced line drivers and it works like a charm.