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Can you carry a line level audio over network cable?

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Chris:
Got a question for anyone who knows anything about audio....

I'm moving into a new house, and I have my living room wired for surround sound with 16 ga. speaker wire.  I'll be getting a home theatre receiver to connect to it.

Next to where my home theatre receiver will be is a network jack, and there is an extra network jack next to my MAME cabinet/jukebox in the rec room.  What I'd like to do is patch that extra jack over to the jack next to the home theatre system, and use that to carry the unamplified Line Out signal from the jukebox over to the home theatre system, so I can either fill the house with that jukebox sound or allow everyone in the house to enjoy my game of Space Invaders vicariously.  :)

The question is, can I send an umamplified audio signal this way, or am I trying to send it too far and/or over too small a wire?

Thanks!

--Chris

OSCAR:
I have never tried this myself, but my initial inclination would be "Yes".  The wire used in telephone/CAT5 is the purest form of copper you can find commercially, something like 99.99% because it is intended to carry very low voltage signals over long distances.

MameFan:
I would not do this.  Why?  You will be introducing a signal that is not meant to be on the wires and not meant to be carried on twised pairs.

Network cable is specificially engineered for the frequencies and usuages of each wire in each twisted pair combination. Running additional signals may cause unwanted interference on both network AND audio lines and degrade the signal on both.

You are welcome to try, but I would not suggest doing it.

Chris:

--- Quote from: MameFan on May 19, 2003, 12:17:34 am ---Network cable is specificially engineered for the frequencies and usuages of each wire in each twisted pair combination. Running additional signals may cause unwanted interference on both network AND audio lines and degrade the signal on both.

--- End quote ---
Well, I wasn't planning to carry network traffic and audio on the same cable... I was planning to twist the ends of each pair together, essentially creating a four-conductor cable.

--Chris

GearHead:
Actually you can send audio and video over CAT5 - up to 300 meters using a device called a balun.

wwww.etslan.com has a few models.  I have a PV901 that I use to run audio and video from my living room to my bedroom.  With a wireless remote repeater I have full access to my Tivo and living room stereo. Looks and sounds great.  My network wiring is right next to the line I'm using for sending A/V.

The ETS also has an audio only model - the PA807.  Essentially they're just transformers that let you send a balanced signal over CAT5.  This reduces noise over the line and increases the length you can send the signal.

You'll need one at both ends for a total of 2. They don't have prices listed on their rather ugly site so you're going to have to call them.  There are plenty of other places to get them too. Not exactly an inexpensive solution but a proven one.  Just make sure you don't try to run the signal through your network hub/switch ;)




GearHead

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