> <<> Star Quad is intended as mono cable. Use for stereo is outside the in=
tended design.<
>
> Yes, but it works.>>
>
> When it works it's good, but when it doesn't work you can end up with a u=
seless recording.
>
> << Probably some low-level crosstalk at 20KHz, but who cares.>>
>
> Worse than that, I had radio demodulating into my rig with Star Quad.
The wire arrangement in star quad cables is superior for rejecting magnetic=
field interference (when wired properly mono), but I don't think it has mu=
ch effect on radio pickup. Mics wired stereo through star quad are still ba=
lanced lines. I'm not denying your experience, but I'm skeptical about your=
attributing it to the "off label" use of star quad cable.
I suspect your interference problem might rather have been what engineers a=
re calling "the pin 1 problem," where the cable shield at the preamp input =
is wired to the circuit board ground, rather than directly to the chassis a=
s is current practice. The pin 1 problem causes radio interference to be re=
-radiated inside the equipment. Another possibility is that you were close =
to a transmitter, a situation that often no manner of wiring can remedy.
Of course RF problems are notorious for being sensitive to location, geomet=
ry, and even weather, and thus are hard to reproduce or pin down.
-Dan
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