cable distance

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UncleHerb

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anyone know how far i can run the cable from my analog rca outputs on my roland vs840 to my computer(for mixdown) before i start to lose sound quality? my recording space is in the basement and my computer is up stairs... can i just get a really long cable? or couple 2 together? or is this a bad idea. i use the analog outputs on the roland and the analog stereo input on the computer... not digital.i would guess its maybe 40 feet from recorder to computer

thanks
 
Rule of thumb.......keep em short as possible
I think 20' is the max you can buy of the shelf, then you have to special order. Or couple 2 together as you said.
Cant give you a definate technical answer, but you can try it and if it dont work, return em.
 
I wouldn't go more than 20 ft, if that, for an unbalanced cable run.... more than that and you can run into problems.

Bruce
 
If you need to run over 20' the best thing you can do is convert your unbalanced signals to balanced ones.
So - go out from your keyboard with 2 short short cables into 2 good quality D.I's., Then do a run to your I/O through some good quality cables.
 
My $ 0.02 : unless you do it like Sjoko said, long cable will turn into an antenna picking up all kinds of interference which will transate into noise and hum, it's not just a matter of signal loss / degrading. Also make sure you don't run audio cable parallel with power cable in the house, stay as far away as you can, unless 60 Hz is you favorite frequency ;)
 
solution to the previous post - with good quality cables I ment something like a quad cable, which is pretty interference proof.
 
If you can send a digital signal that would solve the problem also.
 
thanks for the info guys....

my computer upstairs is directly above my recorder so i just drilled a hole in my floor and ran the cable straight down to it. an 8 foot cable reaches perfectly

ps. whats a quad cable? is that a brand?
 
In a quad cable four conductors form a "double balanced" system that minimizes the loop area and reduces noise induction from external sources such as AC lines and dimmer packs. Higher capacitance than standard mic cable makes this series only ideal for application where high EMI is present, or where a redundant pin to pin connection is desired for improved flex-life. Thin profile twenty-six gage version is ideal for bantam patchcords or adapters.

I stole that straight from the Gepco website http://www.gepco.com/products/cable/microphone/quadstar.htm

The quad cable just has double the wires, so it takes a bit longer to solder together. But the advantages are numerous. It lasts (much) longer than 'normal' cable and it really reduces noise.
Gepco quadstar is fast becoming a standard in pro studios. You can buy direct from Gepco, so its very cost effective.
 
UncleHerb,

Crazy idea, why can't you unplug your VS-840 and walk it upstairs and plug it in beside you computer and plug it in there? Or am I missing something?

The VS-840 is designed to be portable...

Porter
 
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