Cable length color coding

[RHO]

I'm going to make some new audio cables for my home office/audio room. I'm transitioning from SE to balanced. Now found some fancy colored cables that I want to use and discovered the colors are used to indicate the length.
Does anyone use this system to build their cables?
I noticed that the "standard" is in feet and I want to build them in metric lengths.

Do I round off to the nearest 50cm? Like 5' = 1.5m, 10' = 3m, 15' = 4.5m ...
Or is this "standard" not widely used?

I like the idea and cable is not that expensive and the colors are available. So why not?
So if this is common practice with the "pros" I'd like to implement it too.

Related question: Do you label the cables to indicate the function? If so, what labels do you use?

 

[Doodski]

found some fancy colored cables that I want to use and discovered the colors are used to indicate the length.
Does anyone use this system to build their cables?

I have never seen color coded cables or tagging/labelling of the same. It seems like a lot of work.

 

[Salt]

If You want to *make* some new cables by Your own, buy a cable of Your choice by meter and You're done.
Don't see any reason for this colour code for home use, what might be different in studio or PA.

 

[RHO]

Color coding is just as much work as not color coding. The cable has the color. I just need to order the correct ones if I know what lengths I want to build. It's that the type of cable I generally use is available in all different colors. I didn't know why that was. It looks fancy. But now that I know it has a function I think it's a great idea to implement it.

 

[RHO]

If You want to *make* some new cables by Your own, buy a cable of Your choice by meter and You're done.
Don't see any reason for this colour code for home use, what might be different in studio or PA.

Yes, but the cables are the same price. They are the same type I generally use. There is no difference for me to do this or not do this, apart from: "do the pros (and hobbyists) actually do this?". Advantage is that when I want to eventually sell them or lend them to a friend DJ or ... they are already the "correct" length.
But if this "standard" is not actually used anywhere. I can just buy the color I like and build me some nicely colored cables.
Again, I don't need to go look for specific exotic cable. It's the exact cable I would have used anyway (in some random color or black). It's available in all different colors to implement this kind of coding. I just wasn't aware what these colors are, apparently, for.
I'm not going to build all the lengths in the standard. I'll just build a few that are the length I need.
So, if no-one actually uses this standard I'll just pick the color I like.

 

[Doodski]

Yes, but the cables are the same price. They are the same type I generally use. There is no difference for me to do this or not do this, apart from: "do the pros (and hobbyists) actually do this?".

If it turns your crank then do it in colors...LoL.

So, if no-one actually uses this standard I'll just pick the color I like.

Just pick your favorite colors.

 

[xray]

Color coding only makes sense for situations like concerts where a 175' coil looks about the same size as a 200' coil and you don't want to lay it out only to find you are 25' short.

I can't see any benefit in a static situation like a home where the runs are short and you only set it up once.

 

[RHO]

So, it's not actually used in any other situation than professional use and then mostly where rather long cables are used?
Well, then I might just as well use red for right and black for left.
Or blue for left? What do you guys think would look best?
I have already used green for the headphones extension cable. (TRS-M to TRS-F) Looks great.

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[xray]

But if you like the colors then go to town, do what makes you happy

 

[Doodski]

So, it's not actually used in any other situation than professional use and then mostly where rather long cables are used?
Well, then I might just as well use red for right and black for left.
Or blue for left? What do you guys think would look best?
I have already used green for the headphones extension cable. (TRS-M to TRS-F) Looks great.

Thanks for the input guys!

Red and black is the norm. But actually left would be white I suppose and the termination maybe black.

 

[DonH56]

I'm going to make some new audio cables for my home office/audio room. I'm transitioning from SE to balanced. Now found some fancy colored cables that I want to use and discovered the colors are used to indicate the length.
Does anyone use this system to build their cables?
I noticed that the "standard" is in feet and I want to build them in metric lengths.

Do I round off to the nearest 50cm? Like 5' = 1.5m, 10' = 3m, 15' = 4.5m ...
Or is this "standard" not widely used?

I like the idea and cable is not that expensive and the colors are available. So why not?
So if this is common practice with the "pros" I'd like to implement it too.

Related question: Do you label the cables to indicate the function? If so, what labels do you use?

I like the idea. Where is this standard from?

Round to whatever you like; since you are doing it, you get to choose the resolution. I have cables from 12" (0.3 m) to 100' so might use 1/10th-meter for the shorter cables and less resolution for the longer ones. One-half meter seems pretty popular.

I have seen a number of color codes over the years, many of them manufacturer's standards rather than defined by a standards body, but I have not looked for one on cable lengths. It's a good idea, and I had my patch cables color coded back when I had amassed a bunch of them. I used colored electrical tape at the time. But for one of the groups I play in, we have a ton of cables from different companies, and they do not follow a single standard for color-coding the length (frustrating!) E.g. red is 6' from one company and 21' from another. And note that the color code is usually rubber ring, tape, or short heat-shrink tube at the ends, not actual colored cable sheaves. My cables are all black, save a few white and blue Ethernet cables (no standard there, either, that I can tell).

I bought an inexpensive Brother P-Touch portable label maker years ago to label the cables in my system, placing one at each end. Got tired of trying to trace one cable through a messy mass of them to see if it was the one I wanted, and half the time accidentally switching cables in the middle so I ended up with the wrong one at the other end. It's nice to see what the power cord is running, or what component or speaker a cable feeds, and so forth. The label maker also allows me to print L and R for Left and Right, or the Dolby conventions for surround connections, things that would be hard to define (and remember) with just colored tape (or grommets, or whatever).

 

[Miley_B]

Unfortunately most of the companies I work with or for have different standard lengths and different coloured labelling schemes, in a hurry it can be confusing! By far my preferred is following the resistor colour coding, it's the only one I can remember when under pressure with the orchestra due on stage any moment.
No companies I've ever come across in live sound use actual coloured cable, only colouring on or under the labels, a rainbow of coloured cables across the stage would not be the most subtle.
Resistor colours are also widely used for identifying multi channel looms.
For my use labelling the length at less than a meter probably isn't worth worrying about as it's so short.

 

[rcstevensonaz]

Rather than coding by length, it might be more beneficial to code by cable type. Especially if you are interconnecting between consumer and professional audio equipment that often might share similar connectors.

Since it is often hard to tell the exact wiring of a cable based on just the connector type, I starting using a color coding system (e.g., tech flex) to easily distinguish between digital vs. audio cables, standard unbalanced and balanced cables, and non-standard cables (e.g., unbalanced to balanced).

• Digital cables: RCA and XLR
• Unbalanced audio: RCA, TS (mono) and TRS (stereo)
• Balanced audio: TRS, XLR
• Non-standard audio: e.g., unbalanced (RCA,TS) to balanced (TRS, XLR)

I would also use a slightly different color whenever using star-quad instead of standard coax or 2-wire STP on cables. Similar for cases where I have used different wire specifically for turntable interconnects (e.g., lower capacitance such as Mogami W2497) vs. what I use for all of my other RCA/RCA audio interconnects.

 

[danadam]

Well, then I might just as well use red for right and black for left.
Or blue for left? What do you guys think would look best?

Lavender, Lemon, Lilac or Lime

 

[JSmith]

I would suggest it's better to have different colours of cable type, rather than length? Could get messy otherwise... IMO.


JSmith

 

[quattro98]

In addition to a label maker, I like these.
100 Pcs Write on Tags Wire Zip Ties Cable Mark Tags Nylon Power Marking Label (100pcs)

Amazon.com

 

[Blumlein 88]

Never knew of any standard of colors for length. I always thought it was an easy way to differentiate which cable went to which devices.

When I was recording more with sometimes lots of cables I marked ends in a binary code using white and yellow tape. Was easy enough for me to read the number even at some distance. Cable markers, tags or velcro markers probably made more sense. At home I use different colors, but in some recording environments I wouldn't want all those colors (in some I might). Using color code for resistors is a good idea that I didn't think of myself.

 

[Miley_B]

Neutrik do tidy looking coloured XLR boots which I use regularly.
You could have coloured cable to denote length and coloured boot to denote type, it will be the most colourful hifi in the land!
I turned up to take over at a gig once and the right side of the PA sounded very odd, that particular company used purple boots to indicate polarity reverse adapters, because of their consistent standard it was immediately clear that one side of the PA system was patched with polarity adapters. I’ve no idea how they’d managed to get away with it for the previous weekend.

 

[RHO]

After reading your comments and thinking about it a little more I think for my application it's best to color code for channel (L,R,sub) and label for place in the chain ("to amp", "to sub", ...) It's not that I need dozens of them. It won't be too hard to figure out the length, but once installed it might be more usefull to be able to identify what channel and where in the chain it actually is.

Neutrik do tidy looking coloured XLR boots which I use regularly.
You could have coloured cable to denote length and coloured boot to denote type, it will be the most colourful hifi in the land!
I turned up to take over at a gig once and the right side of the PA sounded very odd, that particular company used purple boots to indicate polarity reverse adapters, because of their consistent standard it was immediately clear that one side of the PA system was patched with polarity adapters. I’ve no idea how they’d managed to get away with it for the previous weekend.

I already have some of the Neutrik colored XLR and TRS boots. They look nice on the new cables. But I think I'll stick with labels to indicate position in the chain.

Lavender, Lemon, Lilac or Lime

I'm a fan. Unfortunately these are not in the available color palet of the manufacturer.
I'm going with red and black. Saves a little on colored cable boots too. (black being the standard and I already have the red ones in stock)

 

[Blumlein 88]

After reading your comments and thinking about it a little more I think for my application it's best to color code for channel (L,R,sub) and label for place in the chain ("to amp", "to sub", ...) It's not that I need dozens of them. It won't be too hard to figure out the length, but once installed it might be more usefull to be able to identify what channel and where in the chain it actually is.


I already have some of the Neutrik colored XLR and TRS boots. They look nice on the new cables. But I think I'll stick with labels to indicate position in the chain.


I'm a fan. Unfortunately these are not in the available color palet of the manufacturer.
I'm going with red and black. Saves a little on colored cable boots too. (black being the standard and I already have the red ones in stock)

There is always tech flex cable wrap

.