spdif cables

B

Bierman

New member
.... as far as I can see theyre just RCA or phono cables, just in the way that an AES/EBU connection is run through XLR, and an xlr cable works fine.... or does it?

anyway, does that mean I can use any RCA typpe lead to connect say a preamp's spdif output to my interface? or would I be sacrificing quality in some way and should I invest in a 'proper' spdif cable?

its just that theres a lot of bollocks out there about having to use gold plated oxygen free cables when a lot of people say that its totally unnecessary, after all its just an electric current running through a wire. whats the reality?
 
S/PDIF RCA terminates at 75 ohms - AES/EBU at 110.

The regular cables will/may work in a pinch - But you may also get plenty of clicks and pops...
 
As Farview and Massive have said, SPDIF and AES cables are indeed different wire than RCA and XLR mic cables. Don't let the XLR and RCA ends fool you, it is far better to use the correct cable for digital transmission.

Pops and clicks are only the most obvious problems you may get into, and in a way the best because you can hear them. Other problems that can occur using audio cables for digital transmission can be much less obvious to hear, but still hurt your audio. For example, you can have subtle issues like a narrowing of the stereo field, flattening, and even a loss of detail. Your ear can get used to this, so it can go uncorrected.
 
is it possible then to make your own cables, using decent components bought from electrical supplies retailers such as Maplin (thats a UK thing, I'm sure theres many equivalents in the US)? They tend to charge a fair whack for these types of cables....

a similar thing for bnc cables to transmit word clock - I've been using cables bought at Maplin which are labelled for video - they seem to be working fine, but perhaps my untrained ears are missing something? :confused:
 
I believe the BNC cables for video are the same as wordclock cables.

I don't see why you couldn't make these yourself. Spdif is just 75 ohm cable (cable tv type cable) with RCA ends.
 
Video cable works--the stuff that's called composite video. It's coax cable and already has the RCA ends. Here are some examples of it:

http://www.datapro.net/products/1181.html

http://www.trianglecables.com/1cv-025.html

http://www.worldofcables.com/oscatalog/CablesProduct/AUD-1300-06.htm

However, you can certainly make your own cables as well. I've made AES cables (110 ohm cable) for myself and they work fine. You just buy the right kind of cable, and then put some good quality connectors on the ends. I use Canare 110 ohm cable for my AES cables, along with Neutrik connectors.

I use some BNC video cables for word clock, and also some cables I bought that were specifically marketed as word clock cables. I believe they are really the same thing, other than the differences in quality between cheap cables and better made ones. They all seem to work the same though.
 
SonicAlbert said:
However, you can certainly make your own cables as well. I've made AES cables (110 ohm cable) for myself and they work fine. You just buy the right kind of cable, and then put some good quality connectors on the ends. I use Canare 110 ohm cable for my AES cables, along with Neutrik connectors.
Click to expand...

Another thing you can do is buy a normal, coaxial cable TV cable and a couple of screw-on adapters to RCA. If you ever move from S/PDIF to word clock, you can just swap them for screw-on BNC adapters.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top