ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Voice - Data - Video Discussion Line In/Out Audio on cat-5?

Just fishing for opinions....
Line In/Out Audio via 60' cat-5 to RCA jacks?

Electrically it works. The trick is isolating the 60hz hum.

I think you guys lie awake in bed at night just thinking up lame uses for CAT5.

-Hal

It's just so 'available', and convieniantly run between my stereo, and computer sound card right now. Otherwise, I wait and do it right with 4 runs on RG-6 w/ F-RCA adaptors later, when I open the walls again. (when-ever that is?)

http://www.belden.com/college/college.htm

click on "Technical Papers" in the Cable Training section. Third to the last link in the Broadcast Audio/Video section is a paper on A/V over cat5.

Okay, okay. You may get away with it if you convert your unbalanced lines to low impedance balanced with transformers at either end of your UTP.

We do this to put audio for music-on-hold on runs of CAT3 where the source and telephone system is far apart. Sometimes the pair is even part of a multi- pair cable and we don't have problems with crosstalk or hum.

-Hal

I have PC out audio going around my house from my MP3 players.
The problem I see most often is when one end of the audio line is grounded (PCs do that) and you are going to another piece of equipment with a grounded signal conductor (some stereo amps or any TV connected to cable). If there is a delta between those grounds it shows up as hum. Absolutely ugly was when I tried to go from the "out" of one PC to the "in" of another one in another building. You can get that same effect if you have a stereo amp with multiple inputs, one of them being grounded(that TV I spoke of).
"Fat wire" bonding will make most of this this go away (why stereos have the ground lug on the back) but that may not be practical over long distances.

BTW what type of transformers would you suggest?

After reading the article I am convinced there is nothing wrong with using cat5 this way. You would need a spectrum analyser to see the problems they outline and I doubt anyone who has ever used a hammer drill or a shot pin gun could ever hear it. To all of those audiophools who say they can hear the oxygen in their cables I say "Huh?"

http://www.rdlnet.com/max_tx-series_products.htm#afc1f
http://www.rdlnet.com/max_tx-series_products.htm#afc1m
http://www.henryeng.com/matchbox.html

There are others, these are what I had on file.

-Hal

That was an informative article...

No so concerned with ground loop noise, or should I say yet. It's an issue I can handle if need be.

Cross-talk would be an issue if I could hear the phone ring through my amp at a Gazzillion dB! Might even make an interesting 1/2 hands free phone. Won't be sharing cable though.

The reason I was even thinking of it, was that all of the MP3 network devices are poor quality, and ad-ware based software. I got one and it is driving me nuts. Tries to sell me stuff everytime I start it up. Also doesn't operate from any other of my audio programs. I can listen at the office from the speakers there, but sometimes nice to listen from the living room, on the big amp and speakers. (Rotel, and B&W)

They do make a connector for this: http://www.levitonvoicedata.com/catalog/BuildPage.aspx?BuildPageID=8

I was wondering about distance, but noticed that these connectors double up two pairs. Which could help out on that.

I'll let you all know how it goes...