From: Dan Dugan <>
> I've studied this a lot. High-end audio cables are a hugely
> profitable consumer fraud. Select cables for their mechanical quality
> (strength, flexibility) and shielding efficiency. Belden, Canare,
> Mogami, all good.
My feelings exactly.
My grump, at least at Canare, though it's all over the place, is that
they use a excellent plastic cover, good wire insulation, tin the braid
at least some of the time, but then use fiber filler. That filler is
like a wick to any water that gets in one end.
Another gripe: Neutrik X and X-HD series use exactly the same inner
components. The housing is the same regardless of pin count, only
differs between X & X-HD. It would sure be nice if you could buy the
components separately.
Study the structure of the cables and shielding design. Price the raw
cable and connectors before buying ready made cable. Just make sure you
are pricing what they use. Then look at what's better that they did not
use.
Making your own cable is not hard. And you will know what you are
getting. There are variations in cable that do make choosing one over
another a good deal, particularly in their durability and ease of
handling. But also in their shielding. It's been getting more common for
less expensive cables to use foil shielded cable, which is very short
lived stuff where it's flexed at all. Next up is cable that uses spiral
wrap for it's shield. Problem is the same, flexing will ruin the
shielding. You want braided shielding and one with good coverage.
Some money can be saved by buying in quantity. Go together with others
who want the same cable and buy a whole roll.
Walt
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