Recoton RCA Cable Review (Ultra Cheap Cable)

[egellings]

I recall that some time ago a company sold an RCA cable that was made with steel in the wire (might have been copper weld) and bragged about how the magnetic properties of the wire made it sound better. The name sounded like the word Geiger or similar, and the cable was high-priced. The 'philes ate it up.

 

[SIY]

I recall that some time ago a company sold an RCA cable that was made with steel in the wire (might have been copper weld) and bragged about how the magnetic properties of the wire made it sound better. The name sounded like the word Geiger or similar, and the cable was high-priced. The 'philes ate it up.

There's a company who goes all the way and makes them out of actual magnets. I saw some of their presentations/demos at Axpona a couple years back and they were... novel. The company's president explained to me that their investors were aggressive litigation attorneys; I always love veiled threats like that.

 

[DonH56]

Sounds attractive... (sorry)

 

[pseudoid]

Okay, I must admit that I have never been a fan of Belden cables. I am also not a fan of some aluminum (spiral-wrapped) sheathing that pretends to be an 'effective' shielding material. Me thinx it may perform better as a poor "drain wire"... especially the Belden cable type with a thin mylar-like (used to be blue in color) insulating deposit. YMMV but I will forever abstain from the brand Belden.

 

[Vincent Kars]

This makes for so much fun when arguing with "audiophiles" .... thanks. Yet more ammo!

No, this cable perform so well because it has > 10.000 hours of burn-in

 

[kencreten]

the problem with testing rca cables is that it somtimes doesnt work in real world like it does when measuring on the AP. poor impedance matching between the components + the capacitans of the cable can certainly introduce audible differences...

You mean like - real world, as in Amir's house? With Romex going all over the place? And with appliances and everything? That kind of real world? Impedance matching? Explain? I'm not following you there.

 

[kencreten]

No, this cable perform so well because it has > 10.000 hours of burn-in

Hahahah. The electrons are very happy, now, with the cheap cable.

 

[dr0ss]

Every so often I need an RCA cable in a hurry, so I just grab one from the big box of old, tangled, mainly cheap ones. Sometimes the cable doesn't work, probably due to the thin wire inside having broken from the cable having been pulled over the decades, so I take that nonfunctional cable and. . .put it back in the box. Now, for those of you who have studied probability, this is an example of a thing called an urn model. However, I don't think you need to be a mathematician to see what the contents of the box looks like as time goes to infinity.

 

[Robin L]

Every so often I need an RCA cable in a hurry, so I just grab one from the big box of old, tangled, mainly cheap ones. Sometimes the cable doesn't work, probably due to the thin wire inside having broken from the cable having been pulled over the decades, so I take that nonfunctional cable and. . .put it back in the box. Now, for those of you who have studied probability, this is an example of a thing called an urn model. However, I don't think you need to be a mathematician to see what the contents of the box looks like as time goes to infinity.

Are you speaking of the half-life of those vintage cheapo cables?

 

[restorer-john]

The issue is almost entirely with transparent PVC. I have never, ever seen this with normal pigmented wire insulation.

I have come across the problem with 2 core shielded (mic) cable straight off my 100M roll, captive turntable RCA leads and plenty of molded RCA-RCA leads.

Some internal white/red shielded cable becomes internally sticky and the copper un-solderable, darkened and sometimes brittle.

 

[tyreman]

In the 70's up to in the 80's (when newer stuff started happening)this and similar was all you got..... either "in the box" or you went out and bought

 

[mhardy6647]

When I moved from Fresno to Lacey, Wa, I gave away boxes and boxes of throwaway cables, and more than a few not so throwaway bits of wire. So, #1 on my list of top ten signs that one might be suffering from audiophilius nervosa is boxes full of interconnects, when all you really need is four, five tops, and they shouldn't be clogging a garage or a box stuffed into one's closet.

Apropos of nothing but the above-referenced post , I have a box in the basement full of various patch cords, umm, I mean interconnects, zip cord, umm, I mean speaker wire; that sort of thing.
I cleverly labeled said box:

HI FI WI(res) For projects

Oh, man, I amaze even myself sometimes.

Markertek normally carries different colored cables with wire from well known manufacturers of quality cabling. Markertek would not be considered a random internet site. However. Supplies are constrained. Prices are up. Some items may be unavailable or have long lead times. Redco—another non-random company—makes custom cables and their lead times are currently five weeks plus.

I feel the need to pile on here -- Markertek is absolutely first class. When it matters, I usually go with them, even though they're usually not the cheapest. Their service, support, and dependability are second to none IMO and IME.

 

[JayGilb]

No, this cable perform so well because it has > 10.000 hours of burn-in

I have asked the question "What happens to the physical properties of the cable during burn in that affects/improves the sound" many times on many forums and have never heard a response that wasn't pure woo or just something they quickly pulled out of their ass, sometimes I have been banned for asking these type of questions.

 

[sam_adams]

The issue is almost entirely with transparent PVC. I have never, ever seen this with normal pigmented wire insulation. XLPE is fine, but there's nothing wrong with pigmented PVC; I just stripped some 10 year old Home Depot electrical cord (my preferred speaker cable) and the copper was bright and shiny.

Sorry I missed your reply here. Yes, the issue usually occurs with the transparent or clear-colored PVC/vinyl cables. Phthalates are introduced into PVC to make it more flexible. As they leach out, the chloride compounds react with the copper and turn it green. The Statue of Liberty is green because of the chlorides in the atmosphere from the marine environment that it is in. The pigmentation or patina is called verdigris.

I, too, have some stocks of old cable that I use for speaker wire. I have the remains of a roll of 16/2 Alpha or Belden wire that is thirty years old and when stripped, it is still bright and shiny like it was brand new. It has the typical stiffer PVC insulation that one finds on quality cables. One of the best indicators of the quality of the PVC used in insulation is to look at the spec and it should state, non-emigrant to ABS.

 

[EarlessOldMan]

There's a company who goes all the way and makes them out of actual magnets. I saw some of their presentations/demos at Axpona a couple years back and they were... novel. The company's president explained to me that their investors were aggressive litigation attorneys; I always love veiled threats like that.

I'm an aggressive litigation attorney. In the U.S., opinions are not defamatory--unless, in some cases, the person offering the opinion states that the opinion is based on undisclosed facts.

But if I want to call something like these cables absurd snake oil, then I'll happily say it. That statement is mere opinion or rhetorical hyperbole and thus not defamatory (again, in the United States).

 

[SIY]

I'm an aggressive litigation attorney. In the U.S., opinions are not defamatory--unless, in some cases, the person offering the opinion states that the opinion is based on undisclosed facts.

But if I want to call something like these cables absurd snake oil, then I'll happily say it. That statement is mere opinion or rhetorical hyperbole and thus not defamatory (again, in the United States).

As a non-attorney, I’m painfully aware of the cost of defense, even if eventually successful. And I’m certain that was the idea- the process is the punishment.

Since I’m judgment-proof, I named names in my published show report, but if I weren’t, I’d have been a lot more hesitant.

 

[Gregss]

Okay, I must admit that I have never been a fan of Belden cables. I am also not a fan of some aluminum (spiral-wrapped) sheathing that pretends to be an 'effective' shielding material. Me thinx it may perform better as a poor "drain wire"... especially the Belden cable type with a thin mylar-like (used to be blue in color) insulating deposit. YMMV but I will forever abstain from the brand Belden.

Hello,

Are you aware that Beldon makes cables in many designs? Including custom ones if you are so inclined and have the money. They do make some really well shielded cables with or without actual drain wires. You have to select the proper type of cable for your uses. That is on you, not the company.

Regards,
Greg

 

[EarlessOldMan]

A number of states (off the top of my head, California, Texas, and Tennessee) have strong statutes against lawsuits like the one under discussion--what are called "strategic lawsuits against public participation," or SLAPPs. The statutes are called "anti-SLAPP" statutes. If a defendant can prevail on an anti-SLAPP defense, they can often recover their attorneys' fees and other costs.

In other jurisdictions, courts can--and sometimes do--sanction parties and their counsel for bringing SLAPPs.

And even litigious jerks generally won't go after people who are essentially judgment-proof.

Again, I am happy to call cables of the sort that you describe as snake oil.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Since I’m judgment-proof,

You say that but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily correct. The fact that you are saying that and you are aware that you could use it as a weapon, might actually invalidate your assertion being judgment proof.

 

[Deleted member 46664]

I have come across the problem with 2 core shielded (mic) cable straight off my 100M roll, captive turntable RCA leads and plenty of molded RCA-RCA leads.

Some internal white/red shielded cable becomes internally sticky and the copper un-solderable, darkened and sometimes brittle.

Is it, by chance, Copper Clad Aluminum? That stuff is a soldering nightmare.

I only use pure copper wire anywhere it's likely to be soldered.