[ben.bayliss]

Limited Time Offer - See Page 6 for details on some ultimate quality Guitar Cables I'm making. There are only 10 of each available, so please let me know if you're interested!

Ultimate-quality, handmade audio interconnect cables, suitable for use with high-end AV equipment, on stage or in the recording studio. They are custom made to order using the finest professional quality Van Damme UPSPOFC Cables and Neutrik connectors. They can be made to any length, with any combination of connectors. The components I've chosen are industry standard products, and can be found across the globe in almost any professional audio environment you will come across.

(10m XLR-XLR & 5.1 RCA-RCA Cables Pictured)

Listed prices do not include P&P, which starts at £1.50 for light/small orders, and varies depending on weight and total value.

Full Details:

Van Damme UP SPOFC Cable

Van Damme cable combines flexibility, durability, noiseless operation and signal transparency without compromise. The range now features an upgraded conductor - ultra pure silver plated oxygen free copper, and has incorporated advances made in plastics technology in the PVC composite jacket material. It can be found in use in many disparate environments- from blue-chip company boardroom tables to High Street music shops to the demanding rigours of on the road touring use.

The cable uses a mixture of Ultra Pure Silver Plated Oxygen Free Copper and Ultra Pure Oxygen Free Copper for its conductors. An advantage of UPSPOFC is that silver is approximately 5% less resistive than copper. High frequencies, which gravitate to the outside of the conductor due to the 'skin effect', are conducted slightly more efficiently than the lower frequencies which tend to saturate the UPOFC conductor. In addition silver is less susceptible to corrosion than copper and so the plating offers a protective barrier between the conductor and the insulation or free air.

Neutrik Connectors

As with the cable I have selected, Neutrik are renowned worldwide as the standard for professional audio connections. Here's the low-down on their XLR connectors.

The XX-Series represent the next generation of the worldwide accepted standard of XLR cable connectors. The successor of the X series offers several new features which make it more reliable, easier to assemble and improves contact integrity as well cable strain relief.

I use 3-pole male/female connectors, with Nickel housings, and silver contacts.

Features & Benefits

• Male connector with improved locking recess without "window", more stringent housing increases durability
• Unique cage design of female contact for low contact resistance and high integrity
• Female contact incorporates a solder barrier to prevent solder running into the contact mating area
• Female connector with improved solid metal latch which is larger and easier to handle
• Additional ground spring contacts for better shell ground continuity
• Improved chuck type strain relief provides higher pull-out force and makes assembly easier and faster
• Boot with polyurethane gland gives high protection to cable bending stresses
• Colored rings and boots available for coding or identification
• Sleek and ergonomic design - valuable and handy
• Rugged zinc diecast shell, longlasting and dependable
• Internal thread on shell is well proteced against any damage

Frequency Response

The plot below shows the phase and frequency response of a 10m cable - registering absolutely flat up to and beyond 48kHz. Lengths under 20m are flat up to 100kHz, and an entire reel of cable (100m) registers only a -0.2dB loss at 45kHz - an inaudible amount, way above the range of human hearing. These cables are suitable for all analog applications, and unlike other cables will not result in HF (high frequency) losses, even over long distances.

These cables are not warm, bright, open, brittle, dynamic, tight, harsh or any other fancy marketing adjective
A cable should transport a signal between items of equipment without loss or distortion, not altering the signal whatsoever. The only adjective I will accept is 'transparent' - exactly as a cable should be.

RCA-RCA Cable Prices
Length - SRP - Powerbuy Price
0.5m - £10.91 - £6.00
1.0m - £11.38 - £6.25
1.5m - £NA - £6.50
2.0m - £12.24 - £7.00
3.0m - £13.17 - £8.00
5.0m - £15.05 - £9.00
10m - £19.76 - £12.50

XLR-RCA Cable Prices (add 25p for female XLR connector)
Length - SRP - Powerbuy Price
0.5m - £11.35 - £7.25
1.0m - £11.82 - £7.50
1.5m - £NA - £7.75
2.0m - £12.67 - £8.25
3.0m - £13.60 - £9.00
5.0m - £15.49 - £10.50
10m - £20.19 - £14.00

XLR-XLR Cable Prices
Length - SRP - Powerbuy Price
0.5m - £11.90 - £8.50
1.0m - £12.39 - £9.00
1.5m - NA - £9.30
2.0m - £13.24 - £9.50
3.0m - £13.93 - £10.25
5.0m - £16.03 - £12.00
10m - £20.60 - £16.00
20m - £30.00 - £22.00

RRPs updated 10/5/09 - huge savings!

[ben.bayliss]

Quote sent to brendan84 for 2x10m, 2x5m, inc post to EIRE.

[Anthony-Howard]

Hi,

Please can you quote me for 3x 6m cables including shipping to the West Midlands. For each cable I need 1 XLR at the pre-amp side and 2x XLRs at the power amp side as I intend to use these for a bi-amp setup.

Also are these 2.5mm or 4.0mm cables ?.

Cheers,

Tony.

[ben.bayliss]

Hi Tony.

I'll PM you a quote in the next few minutes. Just to clarify, however, the 2.5mm/4mm you mention are typical CSAs for speaker level cable, and we're talking here about signal levels, where not nearly that much copper is used.

Each conductor in the cable is made up of 21 x 0.10mm strands, which equate to roughly AWG 24, which is pretty typical for a signal cable.

For your cables, I can either make a cable with two XLRs on the end (with short jumper cable into the second XLR connector), or I could make standard 6m cables, and then 3 sets of XLR 'Y-Splits'. This would be neater and probably look better, but would cost slightly more because more connectors are used. Do you have a preference either way?

Many thanks,
Ben.

edit: Further question(!). In either case - how far do the two XLRs at the poweramp end need to stretch apart from each other? Are the inputs all together?

[ben.bayliss]

PM now sent!

[ben.bayliss]

Quote sent to Sestig for 5x XLR-XLR cables.

[ben.bayliss]

Quote sent to jackalexander for 4 XLR cables.

[Sestig]

Originally Posted by ben.bayliss

Quote sent to Sestig for 5x XLR-XLR cables.

Placed an order for 5x XLR- XLR cables.

[ben.bayliss]

Many thanks to Sestig for becoming the first buyer of these cables!

[ben.bayliss]

And Anthony-Howard for being the second!

As for both of these customers, other connectors are available, including RCAs, minijack, 1/4" jacks, XLR etc etc..

[Anthony-Howard]

Ordered and paid for :

3x 6m XLR-XLR.
3x XLR-2XLR Splitters.
4x 0.4m XLR-RCA.

Cheers,

Tony.

[ben.bayliss]

Quote sent to WarblingOtter.

[ben.bayliss]

1x 10m XLR-XLR sold to WarblingOtter.

Quote sent, payment made, cable built and posted on the same day!

[Anthony-Howard]

Cables arrived quickly and were very well made. Excellent value for money and excellent service from a knowledgable member. Would deal with again.

Many thanks Ben.

Cheers,

Tony.

[ben.bayliss]

No worries. Hope they serve you well

[ben.bayliss]

Quote sent to UEG.

[DiviD]

Hi Ben

Can I have a quote for 2 x 0.3m XLR to XLR please.

Postage to Potters Bar.

Thanks

Milt

[ben.bayliss]

Originally Posted by DiviD

Hi Ben

Can I have a quote for 2 x 0.3m XLR to XLR please.

Postage to Potters Bar.

Thanks

Milt

PM sent! Thanks

[DiviD]

Received today - many thanks.

[ben.bayliss]

Good stuff - hope you're pleased with them.


Stay tuned for detailed frequency response analysis of these cables. Coming in the next day or two!

[ben.bayliss]

Frequency Response Testing

I am pleased to be able to supply frequency response curves for these cables.

To test the cable, I took approximately 80m of raw cable from the drum, and measured its response using SIA SMAART v6: an audio analyser very popular amongst sound engineers.

The following image shows the frequency response of the cable, measured at a 96kHz sample rate.

The graph is accurate up to just below the nyquist frequecy, where the analyser's calculations get a bit confused causing the blip at the very top end.

We can see that the cable is essentially ruler flat throughout the audio spectrum, and remains almost perfectly linear all the way up to 50k. The drop at the top end registers as -0.2dB, an insignificant loss.

Remember this is at a length of approx. 80m - at this length I would actually be recommending a StarQuad cable optimised for long distances, and essentially flat up to 100kHz! At more common lengths the losses will be practically immeasurable.


Conclusion:

My cables are not warm, bright, open, brittle, dynamic, tight, harsh or any other fancy marketing adjective. They are designed to transport the signal between your equipment exactly as it should be without altering the signal whatsoever. Transparent - exactly as a cable should be.

[TNTTNT]

Just dropping a note to share buying experience.

I ordered the std 10m mic cable and threw in a slightly less std request. I wanted a twin 10m unbalanced XLR/RCA cable.

The order arrived quickly, and what I have now plugged in is great to my kit. The cables look like good quality, and have thick shield. The plugs are solid and nice. He even put heatshrink to keep the twins cables neat.

I had a cheeky peek at the inside of the plugs and the soldering was beautifully done. Looking at the big solder burn still on my finger from a recent soldering attempt this was almost annoying.

I think the main reason why I am compelled to write such a detailed account is to say thanks, and to dispel some guilt. I asked every question under the sun prior to ordering, and Ben always replied promptly,politely and patiently. Never with no hint of annoyance.

After sending the cables, he checked to see if all was ok.

Thanks, and would buy again.

Hi Ben,
can you do me a price please for 3 off 3m RCA to XLR-M please?

Postage to Camberley. Also, how do we pay..?

Thanks.

Steve

[ben.bayliss]

Hi Steve.

Price on its way by PM shortly.

I accept card payments by Google Checkout, but can also take payment by bank transfer / cheque etc. All the usual methods.

Cheers,
Ben.

Ben,

cables arrived safely this morning. They look great. Thanks for being so patient while I decided what I needed...

Cheers!

Steve

[ben.bayliss]

My pleasure, I hope they work well for you.

Will be updating the first post in the next few days with more pictures, examples of other connectors etc.. to emphasise that i don't only do XLR cables. Basically I'm happy to make anything Van Damme + Neutrik.

[InterstellarDan]

Hi

I'm finishing off a home cinema comprising Pioneer projector KRF-9000, SVS MTS 7.1 and Onkyo SR876 and now looking into cables, but not too sure what I need - so far I've only learnt that the prices can get pretty steep!

I have a few questions:

Would the cables on this power buy suit my purposes? (Before doing a bit of digging, I'd almost settled on either QED XT300 or Revelation, and now I'm wondering if I'd notice the difference over the Van Damme?)
Are both the 2.5mm and 4.0mm Van Damme options available? I'm thinking 4.0mm for front LCR and 2.5mm for the rears (amp is closer to the rears).
I also have an SVS PC Ultra subwoofer and not too clear which cable I'll need for that, would these cables suit, with an appropriate connector?
I can't see the pictures of the connectors, are they equivalent to banana plugs? If not, do you offer that kind of connector? Or an airloc-type finish?

Thanks in advance - if they seem appropriate, I could place an order this week.

Dan

[ben.bayliss]

Hi Dan. Thanks for your message.

It seems that you're after speaker cable, which whilst I can supply, is dealt with by another Power Seller on this forum. Take a look over here and I'm sure Joe will be back with details on connectors etc.. soon. For what it's worth, I'd definitely recommend the Van Damme over any 'hi-fi' manufacturer cable - absolutely no need to spend any more money.

The subwoofer cable I can certainly help with, with either an RCA-XLR or RCA-RCA cable depending how you'd like to connect in to the Ultra. If you let me know how long a cable you need and which you have a preference for, I'd be happy to send you a quote. I'm sure you'll be very surprised by how affordable decent quality cables can be.

All the best,
Ben.

Hi Ben,

could you do me a price please for, 5 off .5m RCA to RCA (same cable as before if poss?). Won't be till payday though...

Delivery to Camberley.

Cheers

Steve

[ben.bayliss]

Hi Steve.

Back for more

PM sent with prices.

<self blowing trumpet>Just had a look on eBay to see what the competition was like and surprised myself at how reasonably priced I can make these, for great quality cables too... </trumpet>