Hi guys. I got what some call "professional RCA cables" that are meant to be for Home audio. The plugs are all metal and gold plated, i was thinking of using them in my car for my new amplifier, and the problem is that the plugs are metal and touching each other and may touch other "stuff". To verify that you know what I'm talking about here is the link to a picture of similar cables:

http://8audio.com/osCommerce/catalog/images/rcacableblk1.JPG

My question is: Is it going to hurt the quality if the channels are going to share the ground? Is it better to insulate the plugs with heat shrink? And is it a good idea to even use those cables?
Thanks, Luke.

 

home stuff has a more brital coating on the wire witch makes it bad in winter for cars. but everything is anyway.

yes you can use it and the metal on the rca wont be affected if touched. BUT heatshrink or electrical tape it anyway... just dont play around with the rca or any cable to much during winter..

 

I wouldn't......a decent pair of twisted pair RCA's with non-conductive covers are cheap enough that it really isn't worth the possibility of shorting out something important and expensive.....

 

Thank You for the answer, I will do that then. I just like them and how they present. I will remember not to pay with it in winter. Cheers, Luke

 

Can they short out? Its just grounding for the signal...

 

They may never short out in any significant way....I'm just not a big fan of bare metal that has anything to do with low level signals in a car environment.... the more important question is are the conductors wound in a twisted pair setup?....it's not a big issue in a home setup but in a car they are highly recommended to assist in RF interference suppression......

 

What You Guys think about this cable then?:

New Monster 401 XLN 4C 4-Channel RCA Audio Cable 4M 13' - eBay (item 370181898917 end time Apr-30-09 16:58:25 PDT)

Worth buying ?

 

Looks sweet if anything !

 

They do :], I'm just trying to check if they are fake or whatever... seem very cheap...

 

They can short together without any problems. The trouble starts if you are moving a power wire and accidently drop it onto the RCA. The danger is no greater than if you drop a power wire onto the amp's heatsink. If you take precautions there are no worries (other than the fact that they might be stiff in cold weather).