More snake oil?

[Jack N]

I’m in the process of building a home theater/listening room and have been looking for a high quality RCA patch cord with exceptional shielding to be used in very long runs to my subs. During my search, I ran into a manufacturer talking about using a smaller gage wire because of the reduced “capacitance” of the wire. Sounds like more snake oil to me but thought I should get an answer before making up my mind.

Also, what is the minimum gage wire that I should use in 75-100 foot runs?

 

[fuzz092888]

This might work. If you find that the signal is a little weak, then we can talk about a booster.

100ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable - RG6/U 75ohm (for S/PDIF, Digital Coax, Subwoofer & Composite Video) - Monoprice.com

 

[j_garcia]

Agreed, RG6 or RG59 is what you should use for runs that long. I presume the gear cabinet is being remoted from the location of the system and that's why the runs are so long?

 

[Jack N]

Thanks for the link. Somehow I missed these and was lookingat a different line on Monoprice. This is more along the lines of what I’mlooking for. However I have two concerns.

The first is that the copper content is noticeably lower than everything else I’ve looked at. Is this still the best way to go – Or would I be better off with a smaller gage wire that has a higher content?

The second concern arises after reading one of the reviews where the cable didn’t have enough shielding. This is my biggest fear. The cable can’t be run all that far away from possible interference generating devices and will be buried in an inaccessible ceiling. The cable must function correctly as there won’t be any way to fix it afterwards. Is there better cable with more shielding out there?

“I presume the gear cabinet is being remoted from the location of the system and that's why the runs are so long?” The room is long (roughly 40’) and narrow. If I take a direct route with the cables they will run far too close to things that may cause interference. So I’m going to have to route the cables in round-about ways to keep as far away as possible. The bare minimum cable length would be 54’ and would require running the cable in a direct route. I’ll probably need a 75’length.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

RG6 is a coax designed cable. essentially same stuff cable companies use to run it inside huge apartment buildings. If it is good enough for running hundreds of hd channels and 100mbis internet at same time, I am confident it would be fine for your subwoofer

I highly recommend to get the above mentioned monoprice cord. Test it with your sub before installing it. if you're not happy - exchange and/or return it

 

[Jack N]

I didn't know that. I'll give it a try.

 

[slipperybidness]

For very long runs in EM/RF noisy areas, balanced XLR connections would be ideal.

But, I'm assuming this isn't an option? Either the sub or processor lacks XLR?

 

[Rickster71]

The first is that the copper content is noticeably lower than everything else I’ve looked at. Is this still the best way to go – Or would I be better off with a smaller gage wire that has a higher content?

The second concern arises after reading one of the reviews where the cable didn’t have enough shielding. This is my biggest fear. The cable can’t be run all that far away from possible interference generating devices and will be buried in an inaccessible ceiling. The cable must function correctly as there won’t be any way to fix it afterwards. Is there better cable with more shielding out there?

“I presume the gear cabinet is being remoted from the location of the system and that's why the runs are so long?” The room is long (roughly 40’) and narrow. If I take a direct route with the cables they will run far too close to things that may cause interference. So I’m going to have to route the cables in round-about ways to keep as far away as possible. The bare minimum cable length would be 54’ and would require running the cable in a direct route. I’ll probably need a 75’length.

There absolutly are differences in RG6.

75' isn't that long, so I wouldn't worry. Fuzzy supplied link to a nice cable.
If you're concerned about better shielding look for a Quad Shield RG6 and a solid copper center-conductor cable.
That extends the usable length of the cable over the more common copper-clad-steel cable.
Cable & satellite companies use quad shield.

 

[Jack N]

[/COLOR]Slipperybidness – You are correct. They have low level RCAand high level speaker for inputs. I agree, XLR would be better – I didn’t knowthere was anyone out there making XLR subs. Who makes those?

Rickster71 – I thought cable companies would use somethingbetter. Thanks for the update. Yes, I’m very concerned about interference. Ihave my doubts about double shielded. I thought of running it through conduitto help out. I looked for quad shielded cable but they all have F styleconnectors. Do you know of anyone who has adapters to change them to RCA?

 

[Nestor]

Have you considered audio over cat5?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jack N]

No. Is Cat5 more heavily shielded?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

No. Is Cat5 more heavily shielded?

cat5 is not shielded at all. it's a two twisted pairs. It's the twist that provides some RF rejection.
75 feet is not that long. just get the cable listed above and test it before using.

btw: there are subs with balanced xlr inputs like svs pb12-plus

 

[Nestor]

No. Is Cat5 more heavily shielded?

As mentioned, it's the twisted pair that provides that noise rejection.

I have an 80 ft run in my house linking two avrs with a pair of audio baluns and they have worked flawlessly.

 

[Rickster71]

Rickster71 – I thought cable companies would use something better. Thanks for the update. Yes, I’m very concerned about interference. I have my doubts about double shielded. I thought of running it through conduit help out. I looked for quad shielded cable but they all have F style connectors. Do you know of anyone who has adapters to change them to RCA?

Conduit/EMT isn't necessary with quad shield. It's OK to cross over AC branch circuits at 90 degrees. Avoid running too close and parallel to AC wiring.

Most home improvement stores sell the crimp tool and the RCA connectors.
Or, once you know you have the correct length cable, go to a shop that does theater installation and ask if they'd crimp on two RCA connectors.

 

[Speedskater]

Sorry that I'm late to the party, but I do have several thoughts:
a] RG-6 (or RG-59) is a very generic World War II catalog system. All it's indicates is the overall diameter and the Radio Frequency Characteristic Impedance. In fact one manufacture lists over 40 different RG-6 model numbers optimized for all sorts of different parameters.
b] Long RCA analog audio interconnects place special demands on the cable itself. There are several papers and pages on the subject. Here are two from Blue Jeans Cable:
Subwoofer Cables from Blue Jeans Cable
LC-1 Audio Cable Design Notes -- Blue Jeans Cable
c] In summary, a long interconnect requires a very low end to end shield resistancee.
d] Most common RG-6 Quad Shield cables are optimized for very high frequency cable TV channels. This is one of the poorest choices for audio cables.
e] While Cat-5 works well for up to 100 meter long audio interconnects, it's a different interconnect system and can't be used with the typical unbalanced input/output.