Is there such a thing as high quality rca connectors?

B

bobbo

New member
I have my monitors hooked up to a receiver that has rca jacks for the line ins. From my mixer I have two 1/4 inch to rca connectors connected to one of those dual rca cable (the kind with a red and a black rca male connector on both ends of it) then it plugs into the receivers line ins.
I've always had troubles with this setup because it seems that the cheap rca cables I buy get bad after a little while and I need to buy new ones, then those go bad (usually one monitor will not have sound coming out of it and I'll have to fiddle around with the rca cables or the 1/4 in to rca connectors) and then it might work for awhile, but it will eventually do the same thing.
My question is are there good quality rca cables that might solve this problem? I suppose I could just buy an amplifier that takes 1/4 connectors. But are there any good rca ones?
I've noticed that there are gold plated (as it says on the package) rca connectors which are usually a few dollars more, would you think these would work better?
 
i know how it is, i just picked up a nice set 1/4 to rca wires from guitar center. the cord has real good connections and a wire that is thick as sh!t when putting it next to a regualr wire. the wire is made by hosa i belive, the set is called Live wire, get one of them, they're $12
 
You could spend upwards of $1K on RCA cables if you buy from some of the "audiophile" companies.:eek: Wether they will make that much of a difference in the sound is a matter of much heated debate.
Pesonally I buy the "high quality" cables from Radio Shack and they work fine for me.:)
 
Monster Cables bro.

Anytime you want high quality cables go with Monster, they're expensive as hell, but they're the top of the line pick by anybody who knows what they're talking about. I have easily spent $700 in cables alone and I get em half price.
 
M.Brane said:
You could spend upwards of $1K on RCA cables if you buy from some of the "audiophile" companies.:eek: Wether they will make that much of a difference in the sound is a matter of much heated debate.
Click to expand...

Its not really a matter of much heated debate, its a matter, on the one side, plain fact and, on the other side, people who argue against fact. The latter group apparently does so for many reasons, take your pick:
- They have never heard the difference
- Their gear won't let them hear the difference
- They are deaf
- They consider everything they cannot afford as rubbish

As with everything, use sence and reason. Buying a $100 cable and plugging it in a $50 monitor is of cause nonsence.

In my opinion (and having evaluated all options) the best available cables for studio use are Zaolla, which we use in the studio here extensively for microphone, line and digital cable.
http://www.zaolla.com/zaolla_digital.html
-
 
So Gepco quad is out and Zaolla is in?

At $10 or so per foot of mic cable, that better be some frickin' amazing stuff... ;)
 
All our normal cabling, snakes, multipairs, Q's etc., to and from the tracking rooms, digital and analogue is Gepco.
Inside the control room all the most essential cabling (AES and S/PDIF) is Zaolla. Most essential in this case means - first 2 channel I/O to mastering converters, both A/D and D/A, I/O to sample rate converters and external burner, cabling leading to LCRS monitors.
In addition, cable for 'main' microphone and preamp, and a set of 4 1/4" for keyboards, guitars etc.
 
Yo BOBBO = OBBOB backwards:

I just got a back up pair of RCA's from Full Compass -- Marshall-Mogami. Around 24 pezzutos.

I also have this WELL-insulated pair of RCA's which I "think" are Monster.

I also just bought a Zaolla Mic Cable. Haven't used it yet but it looks good. This one is expensive.

Funny, in many posts here I've read negative reports on Hosa cables; Zaolla is made by Hosa. Maybe Hosa has different levels of quality which, of course, revolves around $$$.

I bought a couple of Radio Shack stereo cables for my headphone multi-box connection. Pretty good cables but they were a level higher than most of Radio Shack's "black wire" cables.

Cables do make a difference but as mentioned, good gear needs good cables.

Green Hornet


:D ;) :p :cool:
 
Hey,
Thanks ya'll for your replies. I've been checking around and finding of your suggestions and will try some new ones. Thanks a lot.
 
The Green Hornet said:
Yo BOBBO = OBBOB backwards:

Funny, in many posts here I've read negative reports on Hosa cables; Zaolla is made by Hosa. Maybe Hosa has different levels of quality which, of course, revolves around $$$.

:D ;) :p :cool:
Click to expand...

Hosa bought Zaolla because they didn't have a "high end" product
 
Yo Sjoko-2:

Interesting bit of news about Hosa. Since you are familiar with the Zaolla cables, does that little silver lining in the mic cable make it perform better than Monster's high end cables?

Green Hornet:cool: :cool: :D :p
 
sjoko2 said:


Its not really a matter of much heated debate, its a matter, on the one side, plain fact and, on the other side, people who argue against fact. The latter group apparently does so for many reasons, take your pick:
- They have never heard the difference
- Their gear won't let them hear the difference
- They are deaf
- They consider everything they cannot afford as rubbish

As with everything, use sence and reason. Buying a $100 cable and plugging it in a $50 monitor is of cause nonsence.

-
Click to expand...

Yes, you got me. But I would only be guilty of the first two.;) If I had $1M worth of gear I doubt I would hook it up with Rat Shack cable.

Since we're on the subject of high end cable you might want to check this out: http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/cables.htm this guy goes pretty in-depth into cabling.
 
To much to read!
I just care about one single thing......... what does it sound like. In the end that's the only detail worth considering
 
When a connection counts it's worth getting some connectors that won't let you down. I've never been disappointed with the Monster RCA-stereo to 1/4" stereo connectors I bought to connect my synth module to my soundcard. They were pricey but not ridiculous. Every other RCA terminated cable I own is a "who knows if it will work" poposition at every turn.
OK for monitoring. No way for recording.
I can't really say I ever heard any difference between HOSA RCA cables and Monster-500 series. But reliability-wise:

Night and Day.
 
The reason why high end RCA cable often has gold plated connectors is not because gold is a better conductor, but because gold won't oxidize and copper or silver will. If you have "cheap" hi-fi cable that "went bad", try rubbing/cleaning the connectors with a soft non-abbrasive piece of cloth, before throwing them away. You can still keep 'em for your hi-fi :)

Most high end RCA cable is thick and well-insulated, constructed in a solid manner, and with metal strain reliefs at the connectors. Every hi-fi / high end enthusiast will tell you the same. Also, stay away from cheap all-plastic construction RCA mulitcables, like the cheaper HOSA range, unless you never intend to unplug or re-route them... Like the other guy said, you can't go wrong getting decent cables because there IS a difference in construction / reliability.
 
Yo Sjoko-2:

As I used to tell my English composition students when I goofed, "Damn, that's the first mistake I've made since I've been teaching."

I could get away with that line with the freshmen; however, if I had them for a second class, they would, of course, BOO.

I knew the Zaolla cable had a silver main core. Don't know why I said "lining." Must have had that "CLOUD" trapped in my brain.

But, thanks again for the information on that cable. I'll be hooking it up very soon for a session.

Green Hornet


:D :D :p :p :cool:
 
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