RCA Cables - Cost to benifits?
03-25-2011, 09:55 PM
#11
Level 3 Supporter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 391
A lot of RCAs are sold with the "benefit" 
of a remote wire in the mix. I wouldn't use it as a remote except, maybe, on a sub amp. The RCAs we sell advertise that wire as a "drain" wire and they suggest you ground it out if u do end up with noise. Especially important in your mids/highs amp. Do you guys run power and RCAs down the same side of the car? Twice as much work to run down seperate sides, but any 12v source can induce noise into an RCA.
Buy a decent set, at least twisted pair to combat any possible noise issues and make sure they're properly run.
of a remote wire in the mix. I wouldn't use it as a remote except, maybe, on a sub amp. The RCAs we sell advertise that wire as a "drain" wire and they suggest you ground it out if u do end up with noise. Especially important in your mids/highs amp. Do you guys run power and RCAs down the same side of the car? Twice as much work to run down seperate sides, but any 12v source can induce noise into an RCA. Buy a decent set, at least twisted pair to combat any possible noise issues and make sure they're properly run.
03-26-2011, 11:33 AM
#12
The reality is that in audio/video, stores and manufactureres make little money on the electronics. You can also more easily compare specs and model numbers and shop around for the cheapest price. Therefore stores have relied on high profits from accesories such as cables.
If you buy a $300 head unit and haggle the price, dealer may make 15-20% profit on it. or about $60. But if he then sells you 3 pairs of RCA cables for $75 each at 60% or more profit markup he makes $135 profit.
There is nothing technologically difficult in RCA cables for audio purposes. You can buy excellent cable from Belden at a fraction of a buck a foot and connectors for less than a buck.... you do the math.. But make up some marketing technogooble BS and you can charge $100 or more for them bacause consumers know nothing and are gullible.
Go to http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm and you can find a price of under $50 for 15 feet of stereo cables that are TOP quality. Anything much more is robbing you blind. A good quality cable at half the price could work too.
In terms of sound, yes there may be very very hardly measurable minor differences due to different capacitance and inductance affecting your inputs and outputs but that should be it. In the long run a poor quality cable and connector will corrode and cause connection trouble. At Audio frequencies the impedance of the cable 50ohm 75ohms etc is irrelevant as the wavelenght is too long to care.
If you want to read up about the scams esoteric cable companies use look here: http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/pear-cable-science
But I understand your dillema.. It is hard to determine what is a good cable by looking at it thru a plastic package.. I recently purchased a bunch of cables for an install at my local discount electronics shop. They looked good. Thick flexible cable, machine nicely plated connectors... about $25 for a 20foot length... matching Y splitters, etc.. However once installed I noticed 2 problems: They did not fit snuggly, so I had to press the connector fingers together a bit with pliers, and the screw on barrel came off simply by pulling it. So that is why in an earlier post I suggested trying them in the store!
03-26-2011, 08:48 PM
#13
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 182
Having built cars that have won, canadian as well as north american sound quality championships, and attained the highest score in any class for a single seat car in north america. I will say that, running the wiring properly to avoid noise or ground loops make far more of a difference than anything. ANY decent quality twisted pair RCA with connectors that grip well are all you'll ever need. If you have noise with those, your gains are too high, or you need to run them elsewhere.
03-26-2011, 08:56 PM
#14
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 127
I bought 3 sets of patch cables back in 2002, 1 expensive set ($25 for 20 feet) and 2 cheaper sets ($10 for 20 feet). The one cheaper set went first, then the more expensive set and I'm still using the other cheap one with no issues to this day (4th car).
The only time I noticed a difference with patch cables was with my computer/"DJ" setup, but even then it was more in the connectors. Switching from 12' to 3' cables for my computer/"DJ" amps made a slight difference. I actually noticed a difference between cheap 6' cables and more expensive ones ($2 vs. $12), but the cheap ones were a lot older and thinner. The biggest difference is when I bought specific cables that went RCA to 1/4" as opposed to using an adapter, but I've never seen a time where that actually came into play in car audio, and even at that I think the 12' cables were only $15 or something like that (the 3' ones I got were $11, so you can see how much the cable length actually came into factor). Slightly off topic, but food for thought.
The only time I noticed a difference with patch cables was with my computer/"DJ" setup, but even then it was more in the connectors. Switching from 12' to 3' cables for my computer/"DJ" amps made a slight difference. I actually noticed a difference between cheap 6' cables and more expensive ones ($2 vs. $12), but the cheap ones were a lot older and thinner. The biggest difference is when I bought specific cables that went RCA to 1/4" as opposed to using an adapter, but I've never seen a time where that actually came into play in car audio, and even at that I think the 12' cables were only $15 or something like that (the 3' ones I got were $11, so you can see how much the cable length actually came into factor). Slightly off topic, but food for thought.
03-27-2011, 03:27 PM
#15
03-27-2011, 04:33 PM
#16
Goalie Man
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,412
In my "opinion" it is the construction of the RCA's and not the materials used.
All it is is speaker wire wrapped in a thin layer of insulation then wrapped in plastic and jacks stuck on.
Shitty construction with weak connections will suck *****.
Well made RCAs, however will last you a long time.
All it is is speaker wire wrapped in a thin layer of insulation then wrapped in plastic and jacks stuck on.
Shitty construction with weak connections will suck *****.
Well made RCAs, however will last you a long time.
03-27-2011, 04:34 PM
#17
Level 3 Supporter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 391
^isnt twisted pair just a way to cancel noise within the cable? Similar to factory speaker cables being twisted. The cables are still completely separate inside the sheathing.
Is it possible to explain how it would make a difference on amps with different inputs. How come pretty much all companies sell these cables and don't make any disclaimers about using with specific amps.
Is it possible to explain how it would make a difference on amps with different inputs. How come pretty much all companies sell these cables and don't make any disclaimers about using with specific amps.
03-28-2011, 02:49 PM
#18
Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 16,855
^ It is not the cable that is cancelling the noise. The theory goes that when wires are twisted that both conductors will pick up any radiated noise at the same level. The amplifier then compares the signal on the center pin to that on the outer ring and cancels anything that it sees on both conductors (recall that the conductor attached to the outer ring should have no signal at all on it).
In a coaxial, or worse a parallel, cable any radiated noise will not be the same on both conductors due to their physical distance from the noise source.
If the amplifier does not have the circuit to compare the signal on the two conductors, then a twisted pair cable has no benefit over a coaxial one, but it is no worse either - thus no disclaimer needed and why so many twisted pair cables still incorporate a shield.
In a coaxial, or worse a parallel, cable any radiated noise will not be the same on both conductors due to their physical distance from the noise source.
If the amplifier does not have the circuit to compare the signal on the two conductors, then a twisted pair cable has no benefit over a coaxial one, but it is no worse either - thus no disclaimer needed and why so many twisted pair cables still incorporate a shield.
