How Do You Connect Yours?

[oxela23 0]

Hi this is only my second post since joining but have recently been thinking about how much emphasis I place on getting the right equipment, for example dennon- pioneer-rcf audio- but how little focus I pay to the cables that connect them altogether- although im currently reviewing this....

 

I recently bought Klotz xlr’s but wondering what brand of cables you guys use or recommend? On the other hand, do you think there is a need for quality audio cable – does it really make any difference???

 

 

 

 

[supersound dj 0]

using cheap interconnects does reduce sound quality and the main thing is durabillity.

 

all my cables are custom made by me using neutrik connections and vandamme cable.

 

PAUL

[TonyB 0]

I was reading a website yesterday about the difference a cable makes at http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm and it confirms what I always believed, all cables are very much the same. The thickness of speaker cables can make a difference but only on longer runs. Wire manufacturers do clever marketing to make people think that more expensive is better where in reality, a cable just contains copper wire and theres not a lot you can do with it to make it enhance sound quality.

 

Connectors are a different story though. Cheap connectors will fail eventually especially if they are regularly plugged in and out. Neutrik are generally considered to be the best and gold plated phono's are better for connectivity.

[deejaymitch 0]

The quality of the cable really does matter (as does how you look after it). I was using cheap nasty cables for a long time but got so frustrated with poor quality and unreliability that I had to splash out on quality cables to replace every one I had (and a spare for each). Definitely worth it.

[Kingy 0]

I agree quality cables are important for some applications. I have spent literally over £1000 easily on XLR cables alone, but there again I buy the good quality ones to use time and time again with various PA scenarios, Bands, conferences etc.

 

Always makes me laugh with the Gold plated ones. Ask yourself, what colour is the solder?

Edited August 6, 2008 by Kingy

[supersound dj 0]

I was reading a website yesterday about the difference a cable makes at http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm and it confirms what I always believed, all cables are very much the same. The thickness of speaker cables can make a difference but only on longer runs. Wire manufacturers do clever marketing to make people think that more expensive is better where in reality, a cable just contains copper wire and theres not a lot you can do with it to make it enhance sound quality.

 

Connectors are a different story though. Cheap connectors will fail eventually especially if they are regularly plugged in and out. Neutrik are generally considered to be the best and gold plated phono's are better for connectivity.

 

 

True what you are saying Tony but the main issue is durabillity,cheap cables will eventually break down after lots of use,It also is important how you store your cables,they need to be dry and coiled right using the same coils as it came off the real(you can feel them if you coil it like a cowboy coils a lasso rope.

 

Then a couple of velcro fasterners to keep them in place.

 

Paul

[TonyB 0]

Agree that they have to be the right type of cable i.e. flexible enough to withstand the rigors of being coiled up and uncoiled without breaking.

 

The gold plated connector thing on phonos is about oxidisation. The silver coloured connectors will eventually suffer from oxidisation which will eventually cause a bad connection between the plug and socket. Giving the plug a twist will often help to make a connection good again though but the graudual deterioration will often go unnoticed until one channel sound quieter than the other or a bit distorted.

 

Solder only oxidises on the outside. The connection inside the solder doesn't suffer from the same fate.

[x4cs 0]

I was reading a website yesterday about the difference a cable makes at http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm and it confirms what I always believed, all cables are very much the same. The thickness of speaker cables can make a difference but only on longer runs. Wire manufacturers do clever marketing to make people think that more expensive is better where in reality, a cable just contains copper wire and theres not a lot you can do with it to make it enhance sound quality.

 

Connectors are a different story though. Cheap connectors will fail eventually especially if they are regularly plugged in and out. Neutrik are generally considered to be the best and gold plated phono's are better for connectivity.

 

 

this has been a theory i have used for a long time. for example, if you take two cables, one that sells for £1.50/m and one that sells for £7.50/m both with a copper CSA of 2.5mm and you take two equal lengths and you apply a resistance test to each end and take the resistance of both, the results will be very similar.

 

cable does tend to vary with regards to the insulation around it and the way in which it is shielded, it has to when considering such things as voltage and signal drop over a considerable length - but as you say, copper is copper and has the conductivity and resistance as any other piece of copper to the same CSA !!!!

 

silver cables do conduct slightly better than copper, but only marginally (copper 60 million ohms/m to silvers 63, i think) and apart from a corrosion issue is an unnoticable difference, unless under extreme test conditions - the human ear cannot differenciate between a copper, silver or gold conductor - anyone who claims they can is is either a dog/human cross breed or a liar!

 

as for gold conductors, people do think gold conducts better, however, its doesnt, silver is the best conductor, followed by copper, followed by gold and platinum. however, this does differe slightly under various conditions, like heat due to power carry. heat alters conductivity. the main reason for having gold plated connnectors is due to copper and silver being prone to corrosion, whereas gold isnt.

 

wire grade and gold connectors as misunderstood, massivly. people see a nice thick 1.2m phono cable with gold plated ends which costs a tenna more than an plastic based/silver plated version and their eyes light up!

 

what they dont consider is that for all that insulation over 1.2m's is that the core is still only in the region of 0.5mm or 0.75mm and they dont consider than the gold plated fancy plug that they will be using in their bedroom for the next 5 yrs will not be exposed to conditions where corrosion could occur!

 

but hey.....they keep buying em.

Edited August 6, 2008 by x4cs

[Pete Best 0]

Hi this is only my second post since joining but have recently been thinking about how much emphasis I place on getting the right equipment, for example dennon- pioneer-rcf audio- but how little focus I pay to the cables that connect them altogether- although im currently reviewing this....

 

I recently bought Klotz xlr’s but wondering what brand of cables you guys use or recommend? On the other hand, do you think there is a need for quality audio cable – does it really make any difference???

I rune up to a 16K rig it has cost me nearly£2000 in leads i tried cheap leads years ago and they didnt last very long so whe i put this system together i went for Klotz in 3 years i havnt had 1 fail me.

Hope this helps

Peter

[superstardeejay 0]

I have mixed feelings about expensive cables. There are some pretty dire 'expensive' cables out there!

 

I had no end of trouble after a mixer I repaired bounced back with an irate customer saying one channel was intermittently dropping out. It turned out to be an 'expensive' cable he'd splashed out on (and not the mixer, a trusty Citronic SM250). The cable was so thick it had sagged under its own weight in the console and pulled a core out of the middle of its phono plug.

 

I shan't mention the brand of cable but it's a high street specialist we all use.

 

 

 

 

[otronics 0]

Oh go on..which brand?

 

Or PM me!

Edited August 6, 2008 by otronics

[Robster 0]

There are some monstrous cables out there I heard of an audiophile using mercury in special troughs in the 80's to send signal to his speakers with silver ends dipped in the mercury! (some rich people have way too much money and time.

 

I go on the side of build quality i want good solid connectors and tough but flexible cable usually this means a little more expensive than cheap cables but well worth the investment..one thing you have to do though is take care of them , wrap them up properly (bbc coil in my case with speaker leads) tie them up with velcro ties , and check your connectors ,clean them with a cloth ,i also have a cable tester and a multimeter to check them on a regular basis.

[davemoody 0]

I buy my basic phono leads from Richer Sounds. Quite cheap and very reliable for me.