TRS worth the $$$ for HD24XR

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Nate74

Nate74

HR4FREBR
I'm trying to figure out how much it's going to cost me to add a HD24XR to my setup so I can budget for it accordingly.

I have a Mackie 24-8 that handles balanced and unbalanced inputs/outputs.

So my question is:

For about $180 I can get 6 unbalanced 8-line snakes (all I figure I need for 24 sends and 24 returns from the HD24). These would be the cheapy Hosa kind.

Hosa also seems to make TRS versions for a bit more.

Or for closer to $600 I can get CBI brand (TRS) 8-line snakes.

Is the cost difference worth it for the CBI brand, or will Hosa be Ok? Do I "really" need Balanced (TRS)?

I'm upgrading from a Tascam 38 which only ran unbalanced so I know very little about the advantages, etc.

Thanks!!!
 
For a few bucks more, you can have balanced connections. This will shield you much better, and for long cable runs keep your noise floor much lower overall. It is a worthy pursuit.

As to the "higher end" cable question. That really depends on what you are doing. If you are competing with other studios, it MIGHT be a good investment. Also, if you will be moving that cable around a lot, I can assure you that the CBI cable will hold up better over the long run than HOSA will. But, the sound improvement is subtle, and unless you NEED that extra little edge that better wiring provides, use the bucks you saved and buy another microphone. :)
 
IMO, the Hosa's will do if it's a fairly permanent set-up. They won't do if you're gonna be patching & unpatching them a lot.
 
You can make your own 8' TRS snake cables with Neutrik connectors for about $250. Also consider whether you really need 24 inputs, or if the 8 busses are enough for simultaneous recording.
 
I would never recommend Hosa Cable unless in a severe crunch with no time to spare. I have seen way too many of those things break - whereby you start hearing pops and cracks and drop outs at random times.
I would recommend getting Mogami/Canare/Belden/Gepco with Neutrik/Switchcraft ends. However, remember if you decide to make them it will require
1) A lot of time
2) An investment in soldering iron, tools, supplies, etc.
I personally wouldnt advocate doing the snakes yourself cause it would take a ton of time.
 
Scinx said:
I personally wouldnt advocate doing the snakes yourself cause it would take a ton of time.
Click to expand...

I did two snakes (8 channels each) for my HD24 in one evening of TV watching. Took about three hours (roughly 5 minutes per connector, which is pretty damn slow). So let's say 6 hours for 48 channels of snake. $300 ($600-$250, less $50 for a good iron & solder) of savings for 6 hours work, that $50 an hour.
 
IF you actually have to pay that much for cables. I can get quality cabling for wuite a bit less than $600. It's not just the labor involved that I don't like, but the fact that it can be quite a pain to make sure all of your solders are good. I made a ton of cables when I set my studio up initially. Including about 1000 solders on patchbays. Now that I am rebuilding, I have decided that its far cheaper for me to buy the cabling preamde and labeled (my time and sanity is worth too much). But then again, there are those out there who love making cables:)
 
ABSOLUTELY use TRS. Don't skimp on the cables, man!

You can get good deals on quality cables on ebay all the time...
 
I've found cables ranging from $17.95 (10' 8-Channel TRS) Jade Audio, up to the affore mentioned CBI's for like $85 a pop.

Anybody know anything about Jade Audio, or other non-Hosa inexpensive cables. Most in this price range seem to have one piece ends, so no repairs possible...
 
My last add-on to the sets of TRS x DB25 I had purchased quite a while ago was a Hosa. But I returned them for being a bit too light on the construction for my home-rec comfort level. Ended up with ProCo, $30 or so more. They still do not have the shrink-tube protection and clear numbering that my earlier ones have, but should be ok for light use.
Wayne
 
Definitely go balanced... the Hosa will work - for a while....... after a few months you'll probably find that they start breaking down - intermittent connections, breakage, etc...

Cheap cable passes signal just like hi-end cable does, at least when it's fresh... over time, the cheap stuff tends to breakdown quickly compared to the longevity of the good stuff.......

Either way, you want balanced connections.
 
I use an HD24 with a Mackie 24*8 as well. Except I'm pretty much recording everything direct to the HD24. I'm running Hosa TRS "pro" (lol) cables from a PB48 patchbay to the HD24 inputs. Then from the outputs on the HD24 to the mixer for - well - mixing. I'm running low-z cables from the mixers main outputs to a masterlink for mastering/burning.

I just don't have the time/patience to make my own cables, and I didn't want to go with the really cheap ones. So after looking for a while on-line I found some cables that so far fill my needs nicely at 8th Street. The model number is CSS-803PRO, about $50 an 8 channel snake. (http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=30114&Category=Studio)
Not sure what the pro signafies - probably the fact the the individual cable jacketing is all light blue (teal?) instead of the color rainbow used on most Hosa snakes.

It's been a few weeks - so not long, but the sound to each channel is clean - no scratch/pops. My thoughts are the cables will last a long time provided they don't need to be constantly plugged and unplugged.

-Krag
 
That not actually even a "cheap" cable. I would never pay that much for a HOSA cable. You can get a nice Belden wired cable, twice that length, with Neutrik connectors for about $65.
 
Put up a link to where those cables can be bought... I'd love to know. There's a billion places on-line selling cables, and I've only checked out about .01% of them I'm sure, but the cheapest "quality" (belden/canare/neutrik) 8 channel TRS snakes I've come across are about $100 a pop. And if you're talking 20' (twice the length) they end up closer to $150 a pop.

Do us all a favor, show us where to get pre-made 20' Belden/Neutrik 8 channel TRS snakes for $65, please!

-Krag
 
ANYTHINg BUY HOSA! I had this same problem a few months ago, and now im deciding whether I should replace my Hosa cables that practically broke fromthe inside out with more crap or go for better ones.
 
I didn't want to spam, but you can get them from me. Before I get flamed, notice I made no mention in my first post:P
 
X do you make the cables? Have a retail type business (online or otherwise)? Or are you just a soldering mad-man that enjoys making quality cables? :)

-Krag
 
Nope, I just bought a huge console that is going to need close to $4000 in cables to fully cable it so I opened a dealership with CBI.
 
AHhh ... sweet.

When you get a chance, send me a PM with the price for a shorter length TRS/TRS 8 channel snake (6' -10' is fine). In fact I might be able to use 3 of them. Thanks

-Krag
 
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