How durable and reliable is a CAT5 modular plug and socket?
We often hear that people are hesitant to use a CAT5 connection scheme for live sound. From a purely emotional perspective, a modular plug and socket does look and feel flimsy. And the little plastic locking tab does tend to snag and break off easily. But in practice, the mated connection stands up well when compared against conventional analog connectors. Modular plugs and sockets as presently designed have been used for many decades, dating back to their first widespread use by the telephone industry in the 1970s. They aren’t immune to failure, but neither are conventional analog connectors. Most people should recollect plenty of instances where they pulled a telephone off of a table and it fell halfway to the floor, dangling by the modular phone jack, and yet suffered no damage. Those of us with decades of experience in the computer and datacomms industry are accustomed to working in engineering labs and equipment rooms full of Category 5 network cables running all over the place, t
