At 12:05 AM 1/15/05 +0000, you wrote:
>using the shield as ground and then double wire the
>other microphone leads (if one line were to break I would have a
>backup feed).
That is the primary purpose of the 4 wire (also known as star quad)
cable.
The double wire is not to insure against breakage, but the inner conductors
are wound within the jacket in opposite directions such that a
signal from outside the cable (like crossing a power cord) will
be induced equally in both wire in opposite phase so that the
interference is cancelled out.
Pair like colors.
There is more behind this concept, but that's the dummy answer.
You may also find this cable used on a stereo mic that outputs on
a 5 pin plug or used as an extension of that stereo signal.
There is slightly more cross talk than you would have with two
separate cables for stereo, but since both signals are part of the
same stereo field, it usually doesn't matter.
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