Amazon Basics cables

[paddycrow]

I will put in a plug for Benchmark's cables.

 

[Billy Budapest]

I will put in a plug for Benchmark's cables.

I just looked up their cables—Belden stock terminated in Canare and Neutrik plugs. Good stuff. Really good prices, too. Is it going to sound different than any other well constructed cable? No. But it will be durable and worth the $35 or so they are charging.

 

[murraycamp]

March Audio is another to consider for similar reasons.

 

[raindance]

Can you explain what you mean by "appliance cable"? Do you have pics of a cut cable?

He's talking nonsense. They use shielded cable as they should. It's just cheap. There's also no fire hazard using audio cables no matter what they're made from.

 

[Alexanderc]

I looked through the list of potentially dangerous products at the end. I have a carton or two of Amazon Basics batteries and one of those outdoor extension cords.

 

[murraycamp]

I looked through the list of potentially dangerous products at the end. I have a carton or two of Amazon Basics batteries and one of those outdoor extension cords.

You're probably fine. What's the worst that could happen? Errrr . . . ummmmm . . .

 

[Billy Budapest]

He's talking nonsense. They use shielded cable as they should. It's just cheap. There's also no fire hazard using audio cables no matter what they're made from.

No, I’m not talking nonsense. Look at the markings on the cables. I own them and know they are AWM cable made for wiring appliances, and not for audio. AWM is written on the cable jackets. Case closed. Also, I reported you to the mods for personally attacking me. I almost never do that but it was warranted in this case. Have a little more decorum.

 

[mansr]

AWM (Appliance Wiring Material) is a spec that categorises thousands of cable types for various purposes. Some of them are no doubt coax variants suitable for audio use. There is probably a 4- or 5-digit code on the jacket identifying the exact type.

 

[Billy Budapest]

AWM (Appliance Wiring Material) is a spec that categorises thousands of cable types for various purposes. Some of them are no doubt coax variants suitable for audio use. There is probably a 4- or 5-digit code on the jacket identifying the exact type.

If you look up the UL spec, AWM cable is for the manufacture of appliances and machine tools. UL otherwise does not rate low voltage cable—including analog and digital audio cable. So, when a manufacturer is using AWM cable, they are using bulk industrial cable not specifically designed for audio. Like I said above, it’s not necessarily a sign that the cable will be bad, but it’s a sign the manufacturer is manufacturing its cable from stock with a different intended use. I’d rather purchase audio cables built from microphone cable stock. Not because they will sound different, but because they were specifically designed for audio applications, will measure better in terms of capacitance and reactance, and will be shielded in such a way to prevent interference with audio signal. All this instead of using whatever crap they had around in the warehouse, or whatever reason drove them to use AWM cable.

 

[mansr]

If you look up the UL spec, AWM cable is for the manufacture of appliances and machine tools. UL otherwise does not rate low voltage cable—including analog and digital audio cable. So, when a manufacturer is using AWM cable, they are using bulk industrial cable not specifically designed for audio. Like I said above, it’s not necessarily a sign that the cable will be bad, but it’s a sign the manufacturer is manufacturing its cable from stock with a different intended use. I’d rather purchase audio cables built from microphone cable stock. Not because they will sound different, but because they were specifically designed for audio applications, will measure better in terms of capacitance and reactance, and will be shielded in such a way to prevent interference with audio signal. All this instead of using whatever crap they had around in the warehouse, or whatever reason drove them to use AWM cable.

These UL ratings are mainly concerned with (fire) safety, which is where the "material" part enters the picture. It is largely orthogonal to the electrical properties making a cable suitable or not for audio signals. For example, an RG-59 coax works equally well for signal transfer whatever it is made from, but a PTFE variant, for example, will withstand much higher temperatures than one using PVC or PE, and this can be important for fire safety.

You seem to think they've fitted RCA connectors to a piece of lamp cord. That is not the case.

 

[Hugo9000]

As one example of an audio cable with such a UL rating:

Mogami W3106, a stereo microphone cable: UL 20002 AWM 30V 60°C VW-1

http://www.mogamicable.com/category/bulk/microphone/stereo/

I think Mogami is a trusted manufacturer of cables for audio applications. Photo off the 'net, since mine has a pretty jacket over it that hides the "AWM" markings from view haha!

(Not to say that the Amazon cable is necessarily a quality product, as I have no clue, but the AWM business is certainly not a problem, as @mansr noted above.)

Edited to add: the decorative jacket on mine likely negates whatever fire rating the base cable had haha

 

[dmac6419]

Amazon Basic microwave caught fire ,burned a microwave container,think I'll call Amazon on Monday.

 

[raindance]

No, I’m not talking nonsense. Look at the markings on the cables. I own them and know they are AWM cable made for wiring appliances, and not for audio. AWM is written on the cable jackets. Case closed. Also, I reported you to the mods for personally attacking me. I almost never do that but it was warranted in this case. Have a little more decorum.

Boohoo. You set a very low bar for the definition of the word "attack".

 

[Thomas savage]

Boohoo. You set a very low bar for the definition of the word "attack".

Launching in with ' you are talking nonsense ' isn't the most civil way to go about things and is likely to degrade the discussion, As is this " boohoo " retort.

Can we upgrade to more civil rhetoric please.

 

[CDMC]

I can see the subjective reviews: “Amazon’s Basic USB cable sounded much hotter than my reference.”

 

[L5730]

https://www.salcavi.com/en/products/ul-and-csa-approved-cables/awm-multi-core-cables.html

Another example of how AWM doesn't mean washing machine power cords.

Lampo cord

These UL ratings are mainly concerned with (fire) safety, which is where the "material" part enters the picture. It is largely orthogonal to the electrical properties making a cable suitable or not for audio signals. For example, an RG-59 coax works equally well for signal transfer whatever it is made from, but a PTFE variant, for example, will withstand much higher temperatures than one using PVC or PE, and this can be important for fire safety.

You seem to think they've fitted RCA connectors to a piece of lamp cord. That is not the case.

Used RG-59 for a long cable run from a NiCAM VHS machine to integrated amp, and then to cassette/CD-R. Did the job perfectly fine, couldn't tell the difference between that cable of 4 meters or something and a 1m Cambridge Audio interconnect. I know which was more convenient, pulling out the VHS machine and having to carve through the dust with a damp cloth isn't a pleasant way to spend the morning before recording.

Lamp cord for interconnects? I thought that it was used for speaker wires


I have a feeling people are using funny* USB protocols which put out a lot more amps and volts for charging. If this connector just stuck to 5v 500mA we'd all be a lot safer. Think of the children, will somebody please think of the children!!!

*funny, but completely spec'd. How else you gonna charge a phone, right?

 

[wje]

I'm not surprised by this fiasco. When cable shopping and being an Amazon Prime member, Amazon usually has it structured so you can get the Amazon "Basics" cable the next day. While the option for selecting another brand of cable, means waiting a few extra days for the cable to arrive as it goes through the Amazon channels. I've selected Amazon "Basics" cables in the past for some USB cables as well as a few subwoofer cables. However, for RCA interconnects, I've opted to wait a few extra days to get cables from Seismic, etc. Also, I can see where the "Basics" cables might seem lucrative to many buyers because their cost tends to be a bit lower, too. In some cases, you truly get what you pay for. Though, I'd rather use an Amazon "Basics" subwoofer cable for $15.00 as opposed to a $39.99 Insignia subwoofer cable from Best Buy.

 

[992SAM]

on the topic of Amazon.. anyone have experience or opinions on JIB Boaacoustic cables.. namely their sold on Amazon "Blackberry" and "Blueberry" line which I found out after purchase was actually made in China and not Germany as their box states?? I mean I only paid $150-200 for the cables, but I feel like I could also easily have just paid $35 for a Chinese made cable and saved the "Made in Germany" premium, or are these in fact good, but they just outsource to China to make a few extra $ in profit?

 

[paddycrow]

on the topic of Amazon.. anyone have experience or opinions on JIB Boaacoustic cables.. namely their sold on Amazon "Blackberry" and "Blueberry" line which I found out after purchase was actually made in China and not Germany as their box states?? I mean I only paid $150-200 for the cables, but I feel like I could also easily have just paid $35 for a Chinese made cable and saved the "Made in Germany" premium, or are these in fact good, but they just outsource to China to make a few extra $ in profit?

Why would you pay $150 for a power cable?

Edit to add: OK, I looked at the link. It's not necessarily a power cable. But still...

 

[992SAM]

Why would you pay $150 for a power cable?

because it looks cool?? idk .. I mean a $12K amp connected to a plastic stock cable just looks silly ... more so than were it connected to a $5000 hand made cable