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I'm posting here because if I post this in other forums fights break out, tempers flair, accusations are made and no answers are actually given.
I want to treat myself to some decent cables ($25 range and 3 foot) to use between my Conrad Johnson Classic 2SE preamp and VTA ST-70 amp. And maybe between the CJ and my Marantz 250M SS amp that I use for warmer weather.
For the last few years I've been using some old Radioshack cables that seem to be working out quite well. I had my hands on other cables but sent them back. I am REALLY sorry but I can't remember the names since it was over 10 years ago.
What are some decent $25ish 3 foot long cables that do NOTHING but be good interconnects. Preferably ordered off Amazon. I'm not a cable and wire freak I just wondered if I should even bother since I actually don't have any issue with my present cable. Could be I just don't know or they really are decent and forget the whole issue?
I'm using my Sherwood S-5000 for the summer months. So cables are not a concern right now.
Follow Ups:
Airtime - I use Blue Jeans Cables. They are made from either Belden or Canare. The star-quad cable you got from Markertek is rather high capacitance for a tube amp rig, but does your preamp have an impedance buffered output? What Zout does it have? I use the "not more than 20pf/foot rule". The star quad is 60 pf/foot. Your call on this.
DataPro has been making and selling custom and "off-the-shelf" cables for over 30 years. They don't pull the "magic cables" stunt to make money. In other words, they don't lie, cheat, and swindle. The cables are rigorously tested. Never had a problem with them.
Their website is a great place for technical information on cables. There are many pages devoted to just tech info. Free. So the customer can educate himself or herself and make the proper choice.
Damn fine sounding for $10, even for $100, they would not be particularly a bad deal. Available from Amazon, too.
Note: Haven't tried them with my tube gear yet, but on solid state, they are pretty good. The shorter the better IME. The 1.5 foot has been the best so far, but 1 meter is OK, too.
I could hear the difference in A/B, but otherwise, I couldn't guess whether it is a $10 cable or a $200 cable, that I have on hand and routinely use.
I like Canare cable with Neutrik RCA connectors from Markertek. $17 for 3 feet and several colors to choose from. I believe Blue Jean Cables use Canare.
I use Canare Star Quad with Neutrik Rean RCA connectors and they sound wonderful. I have been tempted to experiment with more expensive interconnects, but for now they just don't seem to be the weak link compared to say, switching out tubes or speaker drivers.
I just bought a bunch of Gepco 61801EZ and terminated it to use with all my stuff. It's like .27 a foot. My Cardas/Kimber,Audioquest etc now just collects dust.
I do remember I had Kimber. They dulled the sound. I went back to RadioShacks "upgrade" cable and sent the Kimbers back. Audiquest may have been the other one I tried???? It was 10-15 years ago.
I'm going with the BJC -happy birthday to me.
Let us know how it does against the Radioshack stuff.
In case you are bored and want to do some DIY cables, some engineers in northern CA did an IC analysis a number of years ago. I thought they did a thorough job, result was build your own with:
6ga Teflon tubing
23.5ga Cardas
Cardas GRMO
Percyaudio sells the parts. Slow twist of the tubing, no shielding, conductor and ground in separate tubes. They compared them to some expensive IC's by ear, spectrum analyzer etc., they held their own.
"Blue Jeans" is definitely OK, "off the shelf".
A very reasonable alternative is to make the cabling yourself. MarkerTek carries Canare F-10 RCA plugs and Mogami 2549 shielded "twinax" bulk wire, which get the job done. Connect the "hot" and ground wires to the plugs at both ends. The shield gets grounded only at the "upstream" end.
A big advantage to building the cabling yourself is the ability to cope with the tightly spaced jack sets found on "vintage" equipment. Neutrik/Rean NYS352G and NYS352BG plugs fit in the tightest of squeezes. F-10s on the "easy" ends and NYS352(B)Gs on the "tough" ends solve many a problem.
Eli D.
I'll get a couple of Blue Jeans.
I built an remote controlled attenuator box to go between my source and preamps. Maybe I'll play with the DIY Mogami wire on that one. BTW I didn't see any twinax Mogami, only Belden. And I am assuming all the 2549 selections are the same except color choices???
"BTW I didn't see any twinax Mogami, only Belden. And I am assuming all the 2549 selections are the same except color choices???"
The Mogami 2549 is 2 conductors plus a shield. I did say "twinax". JMO, stick to the black outer jacket, but on the inside all the jacket colors are the same. The wire is made from good metal and, at 23 pF./foot, modest in capacitance.
Be very careful in connecting passive setups to other equipment. Passives are inherently high impedance/poor drive. The cabling to the "downstream" stuff has to be very low capacitance. Read very low capacitance as short and unshielded, with an inherent EMI/RFI weakness.
Eli D.
I will keep that in mind for the attenuator that sits between the source and preamp. Perhaps I should just leave well enough alone in that position.
Right now in that position I am using lower grade RS cables directly soldered to the attenuator. Previously I was using just speaker wire and RCA connectors. I "think" the RS cables helped??? But with cable testing a lot of that could be wishful thinking.
Blue Jean Cables are very GOOD bang-for-yer-buck IC's.
My last DIY ICs were VERY inexpensive:
Belden 1505A cables with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors. While there are certainly BETTER ICs out there, but NOT for anywhere close to the price......less than $10 for a 3 foot unbalanced pair.
Steve
+1 for the Blue Jeans Cables. I have several sets of RCA cables and a custom made set of speaker cables. 12 gauge wire terminated at both ends with sonically welded double locking banana jacks. I've had the cables for close to 7 years. Lasted through several amp/ speaker upgrades and a wife upgrade.
Fortunately I am nearly out of the RCA patch-cord business. Stuff between my gear needs the 3-Pin XLR. I'd not mind trying to build my own, as length can be managed to fit the application better.
Any suggestions on cabling or connectors?
cheers,
Douglas
Friend, I would not hurt thee for the world...but thou art standing where I am about to shoot.
Mogami 2549 will do nicely for the wire, as it is described as balanced microphone cable. As for the plugs, MarkerTek is (again) a good source. Look here .
Eli D.
What Eli said! The Blue Jeans stuff is excellent at ANY price!!
Blue Jean IC's are IMHO about as good as you can get at enrty level pricing (about $35 a pair). I use them on some components that are well above mid-fi with out complaint and, can you believe it, I actually prefer them to some hi end cables that cost about $200. Not on Amazon. But they are on-line. Blue Jeans has a site for all sorts of cables and IC's, etc which are quite good, performance wise and price wise.
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