DIY XLR Interconnects?

[lovinthehd]

I did some reading up on the Canare brand cable and, hands down, this is the most prolific cable brand used by audio studio techs and engineers. In short, I will be ordering this brand to go with my Neutrik XLR connectors for our interconnect cabling. By the way, the Canare 2-conductor cable that also comes highly recommended is model number L-2T2S. The Canare "quad type" (4-conductor) -- which was already mentioned by poster TXBonds -- is model number L-4E6S. The 2-conductor Canare presently goes for about $3.49/meter, while the 4-conductor Canare presently goes for roughly $4.59/meter.

Despite some early turbulence, this thread was very helpful...so I hope that it helps others in the future.

Sorry for the turbulence, didn't realize you wanted just to spend more Are these for particularly long runs or you have need for such construction particularly?

 

[highfigh]

Any turbulence is on your end because there was no indication that you had used the info on the website. As far as instructions, what would you need, aside from:

Cut the cables to length
Strip the jacket off
Strip the wires
Solder the wires to the appropriate pins
Close the plugs and use them

I don't know who the engineers and studio techs are, but they use what's available unless they have a ton of money, a brand fetish or an endorsement deal. Nobody on the listening end will be able to determine what brand is used or even if they came from Radio Shack.

 

[70sMac]

By the time I reached Post 19, I had three brand names to consider: and all three came from this thread.

So I went to a forum that was created for audio professionals and started reading threads about cabling...and one of those threads, in particular, involved a direct comparison between the big brand names. It was/is a very long thread, so there were lots of posts from audio studio professionals to draw a conclusion from. My apologies if anyone here owns Belden stock, but the overwhelming choice on said forum was/is Canare.

Once again, thanks to everyone who read the initial post and provided their guidance accordingly. I believe that Post 20 pretty much sums things up, so anyone interested can go there to see the last productive post on this thread. If anyone else wishes to vent their personal issues, I suppose they can post to each other's basements here. Happy flaming.

From the original poster: Have a good one...over and out.

 

[Mark E. Long]

I

By the time I reached Post 19, I had three brand names to consider: and all three came from this thread.

So I went to a forum that was created for audio professionals and started reading threads about cabling...and one of those threads, in particular, involved a direct comparison between the big brand names. It was/is a very long thread, so there were lots of posts from audio studio professionals to draw a conclusion from. My apologies if anyone here owns Belden stock, but the overwhelming choice on said forum was/is Canare.

Once again, thanks to everyone who read the initial post and provided their guidance accordingly. I believe that Post 20 pretty much sums things up, so anyone interested can go there to see the last productive post on this thread. If anyone else wishes to vent their personal issues, I suppose they can post to each other's basements here. Happy flaming.

From the original poster: Have a good one...over and out.

am quite happy with the canare cables I built and the speaker cables aswell it’s a little pricey but you get exactly what you pay for in my book .enjoy your endeavor Sir .

 

[lovinthehd]

By the time I reached Post 19, I had three brand names to consider: and all three came from this thread.

So I went to a forum that was created for audio professionals and started reading threads about cabling...and one of those threads, in particular, involved a direct comparison between the big brand names. It was/is a very long thread, so there were lots of posts from audio studio professionals to draw a conclusion from. My apologies if anyone here owns Belden stock, but the overwhelming choice on said forum was/is Canare.

Once again, thanks to everyone who read the initial post and provided their guidance accordingly. I believe that Post 20 pretty much sums things up, so anyone interested can go there to see the last productive post on this thread. If anyone else wishes to vent their personal issues, I suppose they can post to each other's basements here. Happy flaming.

From the original poster: Have a good one...over and out.

Gearslutz? For your use not much of it likely really matters....or are you equipping a recording studio? At least you're not buying into the normal audiophile cable nonsense....

 

[Mark E. Long]

Gearslutz? For your use not much of it likely really matters....or are you equipping a recording studio? At least you're not buying into the normal audiophile cable nonsense....

He is snake oil free — so far

 

[highfigh]

I have used Hosa XLR many times and in fact, one place where I bought them supplies bands, studios and people who build systems for others- they'e cheap and they work. I assume many would ask "What's a Hosa?", but they do work.

Two of the non Neutrik brands of plugs & jacks that can be used without fear- Switchcraft & Amphenol. Both have existed for decades.

 

[Mark E. Long]

I have used Hosa XLR many times and in fact, one place where I bought them supplies bands, studios and people who build systems for others- they'e cheap and they work. I assume many would ask "What's a Hosa?", but they do work.

Two of the non Neutrik brands of plugs & jacks that can be used without fear- Switchcraft & Amphenol. Both have existed for decades.

Hosa is a good brand also I’ve herd of Switchcraft also a friend of mine uses Hosa cables on his stage rig .

 

[danm]

Don't know if this thread is still active or information still desired after 2 months. I've made a few long interconnects for pro audio connections (microphones to mixer, mixer to amplifiers) for my church as well as much shorter ones between my AVP and amps. When running the cables in protected spaces, Belden 8451 is great. Because of it's construction (thin jacket, foil shield), it might not be durable if laying where it could be stepped on, etc. Also, it's a basic balanced cable (2 signal wires plus a ground/shield) meaning it has RF rejection if used with true balanced devices at either end but does not reject electromagnetic interference well. If the cable is going to lay near devices with EM interference, balanced interconnects using StarQuad cable is better. Benchmark has a nice page on this.

The Importance of Star-Quad Microphone Cable

Star-Quad Microphone Cable can reduce magnetic interference by at least 20 to 30 dB when compared to standard 2-wire cable. The 4-wire star geometry is the key.

benchmarkmedia.com

Benchmark recommends Canare L4E6S over the Mogami cables. That is the cable that BlueJeansCable also uses for their StarQuad balanced cables.

Balanced Audio Cables at Blue Jeans Cable

For connections between balanced and unbalanced devices, Rane has a nice document on the best way to avoid noise and interference.

RANE Commercial - Knowledge Base

Rane Commercial

www.ranecommercial.com

Happy soldering!

 

[highfigh]

I'm not really a Belden expert, so please elaborate a bit on this particular cable. Did you make XLR cables with it?

Go to their website- they make all kinds of cabling. They have been a major player in communications cabling for decades. They also own West Penn, another brand.

Are you good at soldering? If not, buy your cables or plan to become better at soldering- bad solder joints will cause problems you don't want.

 

[highfigh]

Hosa is a good brand also I’ve herd of Switchcraft also a friend of mine uses Hosa cables on his stage rig .

Hosa is a foreign brand, marketed to sell at low prices. They're good enough. Switchcaft is an old company and is one of the 'standards' of the communications industry. Hosa hasn't invented anything, unlike Switchcraft, Neutrik, Amphenol, etc.

 

[highfigh]

I did some reading up on the Canare brand cable and, hands down, this is the most prolific cable brand used by audio studio techs and engineers. In short, I will be ordering this brand to go with my Neutrik XLR connectors for our interconnect cabling. By the way, the Canare 2-conductor cable that also comes highly recommended is model number L-2T2S. The Canare "quad type" (4-conductor) -- which was already mentioned by poster TXBonds -- is model number L-4E6S. The 2-conductor Canare presently goes for about $3.49/meter, while the 4-conductor Canare presently goes for roughly $4.59/meter.

Despite some early turbulence, this thread was very helpful...so I hope that it helps others in the future.

For initial installation when someone else is paying for it, sure- they use whatever has some kind of buzz but in reality, if they need cables and nobody is open but Radio Shack, they use whatever they can get. Nobody will ever know the difference.

 

[Trebdp83]

You still have a Radio Shack? Lucky.

 

[lovinthehd]

Wow, didn't realize so many still existed....and do see one in Milwaukee. Thought they were pretty much gone....I know the ones I used to use closed.....

 

[Mark E. Long]

Wow, didn't realize so many still existed....and do see one in Milwaukee. Thought they were pretty much gone....I know the ones I used to use closed.....

I thought they were all gone .

 

[highfigh]

Wow, didn't realize so many still existed....and do see one in Milwaukee. Thought they were pretty much gone....I know the ones I used to use closed.....

Look for a Hobby Town store near you.

I went to the one here (in MKE) and it didn't have a huge assortment, but OTOH, they still don't have people who know anything about electronics. I think one of the reasons they failed is due to their emphasis on cell phones and accessories when so many other providers had the same things. Might have been OK in the '90s when the Motorola flip phone and bag phones were popular, but not after. I wish I had known when they were selling the remaining stock at the local store- I would have looked for something I could use. Last few times I went, all I heard when I asked questions was crickets. Didn't know what it was, didn't even know they had them hanging on the wall.

 

[lovinthehd]

Look for a Hobby Town store near you.

I went to the one here (in MKE) and it didn't have a huge assortment, but OTOH, they still don't have people who know anything about electronics. I think one of the reasons they failed is due to their emphasis on cell phones and accessories when so many other providers had the same things. Might have been OK in the '90s when the Motorola flip phone and bag phones were popular, but not after. I wish I had known when they were selling the remaining stock at the local store- I would have looked for something I could use. Last few times I went, all I heard when I asked questions was crickets. Didn't know what it was, didn't even know they had them hanging on the wall.

Nothing like that near me. Not much is near me, tho. The radio shacks I used to use were in the SF Bay area and they started to close down quite a while ago, but don't believe there were any Hobby Town stores there either...

 

[highfigh]

Nothing like that near me. Not much is near me, tho. The radio shacks I used to use were in the SF Bay area and they started to close down quite a while ago, but don't believe there were any Hobby Town stores there either...

Well, Radio Shack still has an online store, but that doesn't really help when you want something NOW. When I read that RS had set up in their stores, I hadn't heard of Hobby Town and was surprised that any real hobby stores were still open, other than for fabrics & sewing and a couple of other interests other than models, kites, and things like those.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

Monoprice 25ft Premier Series XLR Male to XLR Female 16AWG Cable (Gold Plated) [Microphone and Interconnect] - Monoprice.com

Monoprice™ Professional Audio cables bring you high performance cables at rock bottom prices. Whether you're connecting broadcast equipment, instruments for your band, or your high

www.monoprice.com

Monolith by Monoprice XLR Balanced Audio Cable, 1m - Monoprice.com

Experience superb sonic clarity, accurate musical reproduction, and premium cable construction with the Monolith™ XLR Cable from Monoprice. Advanced cable construction is housed in an aesthetica

www.monoprice.com