which rca plug? (making my own cables...)

[cstanley]

hi all -

i plan on making my own interconnect cables for a upcoming
reciever/speaker purchase. i come from pro audio, and have
quite a bit of experience in soldering - i made all the balanced
cabling in my studio (from tt patchbay <--> balanced XLR &
1/4" plugs). i've always like mogami cable (<homer>ooohhh so
rubbery & flexible </homer>), but wil probably buy a roll of
canare quad mic cable & solder the rca<-->rca connections:
2 blue wires: + on both rca jacks
2 white wires: gnd on both rca jacks
shield - disconnected on both rca jacks, or perhaps connected
on one end - thoughts?

http://www.canare.com/l4e6s.html

however i'm not sure on rca jacks themselves - i've used the
canare rca jacks, they are pretty heavy duty & are really nice -
the shields are kinda big so its tough to put alot in a small
space.

http://www.canare.com/audiolineconnectors/audiolineconnectcover.html

however any recommendations for better rca connectors? i
don't like switchcraft ones (too small/cheap), i'm scared of anything
in the <$2 range. the Neutrik NF2CB looks promising, but i've
never used one.

random thoughts:
http://www.markertek.com/ is a good source of bulk cable/connectors.

mogami, belden, canare, & gepco all make good cable.

i like blue jean cable web site alot - the fact they tell you what
cable/connectors they use is awesome, & they don't charge alot
it is interesting they use coax for audio signals - i'm sure it works
great (bandwidth of video is hell of alot higher then audio).

i like the debunking that gene & co are doing here on the whole
cable issue. i dont know if audiophiles are just more gullible then
pro-audio people, or they just have more $$ to spread around and
like to feel good about buying $3k interconnects. seems to me that
pro-audio folks are a little more practicle on their purchases - i would
use that $3k for room treatments (parallel walls anyone?) myself. i
also have a tough time believeing most folks can hear a difference
between cables (assuming theyaren't POS), especially since its never
double-blind & you can't switch between the 2 sets of cables easy - one
thing you learn in mixing is that your ears adjust fairly quickly to speakers,
which is why i had 3 sets of speakers i would switch between to just
hear things freshly (meyer HD1, dynaudio bm6a, NHT A-20's w/ B-20
stereo subwoofers)..

well it seems i've strayed a bit from my original topic, sorry bout that

-carl

 

[mtrycrafts]

hi all -

i plan on making my own interconnect cables for a upcoming
reciever/speaker purchase. i come from pro audio, and have
quite a bit of experience in soldering - i made all the balanced
cabling in my studio (from tt patchbay <--> balanced XLR &
1/4" plugs). i've always like mogami cable (<homer>ooohhh so
rubbery & flexible </homer>), but wil probably buy a roll of
canare quad mic cable & solder the rca<-->rca connections:
2 blue wires: + on both rca jacks
2 white wires: gnd on both rca jacks
shield - disconnected on both rca jacks, or perhaps connected
on one end - thoughts?

http://www.canare.com/l4e6s.html

however i'm not sure on rca jacks themselves - i've used the
canare rca jacks, they are pretty heavy duty & are really nice -
the shields are kinda big so its tough to put alot in a small
space.

http://www.canare.com/audiolineconnectors/audiolineconnectcover.html

however any recommendations for better rca connectors? i
don't like switchcraft ones (too small/cheap), i'm scared of anything
in the <$2 range. the Neutrik NF2CB looks promising, but i've
never used one.

random thoughts:
http://www.markertek.com/ is a good source of bulk cable/connectors.

mogami, belden, canare, & gepco all make good cable.

i like blue jean cable web site alot - the fact they tell you what
cable/connectors they use is awesome, & they don't charge alot
it is interesting they use coax for audio signals - i'm sure it works
great (bandwidth of video is hell of alot higher then audio).

i like the debunking that gene & co are doing here on the whole
cable issue. i dont know if audiophiles are just more gullible then
pro-audio people, or they just have more $$ to spread around and
like to feel good about buying $3k interconnects. seems to me that
pro-audio folks are a little more practicle on their purchases - i would
use that $3k for room treatments (parallel walls anyone?) myself. i
also have a tough time believeing most folks can hear a difference
between cables (assuming theyaren't POS), especially since its never
double-blind & you can't switch between the 2 sets of cables easy - one
thing you learn in mixing is that your ears adjust fairly quickly to speakers,
which is why i had 3 sets of speakers i would switch between to just
hear things freshly (meyer HD1, dynaudio bm6a, NHT A-20's w/ B-20
stereo subwoofers)..

well it seems i've strayed a bit from my original topic, sorry bout that

-carl

You are a savvy guy and have some pretty good idea what you want to go with your cables. Whatever makes you happy without going overboard on the $.
Audiophiles are more gullible or the audio industry would have fewer names, certainly fewer cable companies
But, why would audiophiles be unique in the consumer marketplace?
The marketeers are brilliant and the schools are doing a poor job of teaching the skills to be skeptical. They win

 

[tsteves]

The canares are real good for rca, while the usual suspects for 1/4" and xlr are not so good for rca. In other words, I think you're right. For unbalanced (line not mic) cable you don't really need that quad stuff. You might want to stick with a source shielded cable if using twisted pair with shield cabling. Otherwise, good coax is fine for analog.

 

[djoxygen]

Good to see another audio pro on board here!

At our studio, my partner and I always used Neutrik connectors with nothing but the best results in quality and durability. Obviously, very few of those connections were RCA, though. With RCAs, I think that good strain relief is of more importance than the connector itself, so I'd take a good look at that before making a choice, and add your own heat shrink for sure!

I'm kinda surprised to hear you're wiring unbalanced (and I agree that the quad cable is overkill for that application). If you're starting more or less from scratch, why not go the distance with balanced wiring? Or are all components already purchased and unbalanced.

 

[cstanley]

dj/tsteves -

you are probably right on the quad mic cable being overkill, but its
only 1 cent more then canare regular mic cable. i figure if i
get 100-200ft of the stuff i can pretty much use it for everything.
36 cents a foot isn't bad.

i've used neutrik alot as well, i like their xlr's alot. switchcraft
has nice 1/4" jacks. i love mogami cabling as well - ooohhhh so
soft & rubbery...

what i'd like to buy & what i can afford are 2 seperate things
i'm probably going with more of a mid-fi - NHT ST4's, SB3, SC2,
and either a marantz 7400 or a yamaha 2400 amp, none of which
have balanced connectors. of course i'd *like* some manley
monoblocks (i have a bunch of manley pro gear - massive passive,
tube pre's, vari-mu, elop, pulteq eqs, gold reference mics - they
all sound incredable) but not with my budget.

the good strain relief is a great point.

u guys make your own speaker cable? what cable do you go with?

thx all!

-arl

Good to see another audio pro on board here!

At our studio, my partner and I always used Neutrik connectors with nothing but the best results in quality and durability. Obviously, very few of those connections were RCA, though. With RCAs, I think that good strain relief is of more importance than the connector itself, so I'd take a good look at that before making a choice, and add your own heat shrink for sure!

I'm kinda surprised to hear you're wiring unbalanced (and I agree that the quad cable is overkill for that application). If you're starting more or less from scratch, why not go the distance with balanced wiring? Or are all components already purchased and unbalanced.

 

[djoxygen]

u guys make your own speaker cable? what cable do you go with?

No speaker cables in my house. As I'm sure everyone at AH is sick of reading, I'm an active monitor guy. Mackie HR824/624. Saving up for a balanced pre-/pro- to make the jump from stereo to surround.

 

[Mudcat]

u guys make your own speaker cable? what cable do you go with?

-arl

I'm in the processing of finishing off another speaker cable face off based "industrial" cables, i.e. power cable, extension cords, etc. My analysis will not have the bandwidth of Gene's analysis (100 Hz - 100 MHz), but only 100, 1000, and 10k Hz. Hey that's all my meter can do.

The speaker cables I'm using now are from Lowes and are a 10/4 cable that is very soft and rubbery and has good flex. I finish them in Techflex braid, colorful shrink wrap, and WBT clone locking bananas. They measure well and are easy to work with. I've tested other DIY cables that measure better, but require a lot of work (braiding, twisting, whatever).

 

[tsteves]

The neutrik profis are just too expensive for me. The canare are simple and good quality. I like the mogami and using the quad is fine, it has good specs, low capacitance for a quad. Just the extra pita to solder, but if it's what you have, use it.
I use NHT SB2's for my computer monitors. They are great for this. Can't say enough. Nice to look at, too.