DaleCarter1021
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2019
- Messages
- 2
- Likes
- 2
Good Morning,
I am new here and have "zero" formal qualifications for this topic, such as being a properly educated electrical engineer, broadcast technician, studio engineer, metallurgist or, in the case of "high end/audiophile" cable companies, Certified Snake Oil Sales Associate" hahaha
That said, I have 35 years of layman experience in recording studios (performer, engineer and producer), "pro" audio (clubs to hockey arenas) as a a system builder and FOH operator, as well as a number of friends/colleagues who are actual EE's, physicists, broadcast engineers, legendary FOH mixers, top flight (multi-platinum) record engineers and mastering techs, microwave broadcast techs, etc etc
My $0.02? Unbalanced RCA cables are to be used for analog signals ONLY when a balanced XLR is not available. Even then, interrupting the shield at one end or the other, may prove beneficial. I am not sure how breaking the shield, i.e. a shunt or dump, is effective for an unbalanced signal, but I am open to education by those more knowledgable than myself. Unbalanced cables should only be used for short patches in a rack or patch bay, but, even then, balanced paths are preferable.
For home use, whether the setup is for recording/tracking or for a "reference" reproduction setup, the distances covered, and the levels used, will be unaffected by cables built to a very basic level.
I bet that nowhere near enough time/effort/money has been spent on the room (acoustics, HVAC, electrical filtering, etc) to notice the effects of a properly designed RCA cable, especially in the home.
I am new here and have "zero" formal qualifications for this topic, such as being a properly educated electrical engineer, broadcast technician, studio engineer, metallurgist or, in the case of "high end/audiophile" cable companies, Certified Snake Oil Sales Associate" hahaha
That said, I have 35 years of layman experience in recording studios (performer, engineer and producer), "pro" audio (clubs to hockey arenas) as a a system builder and FOH operator, as well as a number of friends/colleagues who are actual EE's, physicists, broadcast engineers, legendary FOH mixers, top flight (multi-platinum) record engineers and mastering techs, microwave broadcast techs, etc etc
My $0.02? Unbalanced RCA cables are to be used for analog signals ONLY when a balanced XLR is not available. Even then, interrupting the shield at one end or the other, may prove beneficial. I am not sure how breaking the shield, i.e. a shunt or dump, is effective for an unbalanced signal, but I am open to education by those more knowledgable than myself. Unbalanced cables should only be used for short patches in a rack or patch bay, but, even then, balanced paths are preferable.
For home use, whether the setup is for recording/tracking or for a "reference" reproduction setup, the distances covered, and the levels used, will be unaffected by cables built to a very basic level.
I bet that nowhere near enough time/effort/money has been spent on the room (acoustics, HVAC, electrical filtering, etc) to notice the effects of a properly designed RCA cable, especially in the home.
