RCA cables .

[Mark E. Long]

Evening everyone one was reading a piece on cables ( I know I know) but what is the criteria for an rca cable to fail causes, effects after failing. Can they go bad not really wanting brand specific just can and what would cause them to fail .

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

The most common fail point on any cable is right past the connector, due to constant flexing and bending. The internal center conductor breaks. Typically an issue with a cable that gets plugged in and unplugged a lot, not one that’s “set and forget.”

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Mark E. Long]

The most common fail point on any cable is right past the connector, due to constant flexing and bending. The internal center conductor breaks. Typically an issue with a cable that gets plugged in and unplugged a lot, not one that’s “set and forget.”

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thank you for the reply I’ve never had one go bad that I know of but the article said pretty much the same thing too as about all of mine are plug In forget too I guess if you had a home studio or something similar ya could be unplugged more than you or I do .

Thank you Sir .

 

[TLS Guy]

Thank you for the reply I’ve never had one go bad that I know of but the article said pretty much the same thing too as about all of mine are plug In forget too I guess if you had a home studio or something similar ya could be unplugged more than you or I do .

Thank you Sir .

If it goes bad then a cable break will give you NO sound. If you have sound your cable is OK no matter how old it is, or what is cost.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Thank you for the reply I’ve never had one go bad that I know of but the article said pretty much the same thing too as about all of mine are plug In forget too I guess if you had a home studio or something similar ya could be unplugged more than you or I do .

Back in the 90s I spent several years as an installer for a sizable full-service pro audio company – “full service” meaning we did not only permanent installations in places like churches, recording studios and concert venues, but also sales, equipment rentals, and sound reinforcement for live shows (including national tours for big-name acts).

One of my duties when installations were slow was making repairs to all the cables that came back damaged from the shows and rentals. Barring the occasional physical damage (like something heavy getting dropped on the cable), virtually 100% of the failures were just past the connector barrel – i.e. the “flex point.”

The next most common cause of failures was cheap XLR connectors, particularly female ends.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt