Making thick RCA cables

[Shpongthan]

O.K. for speaker wire and in car audio (when the cable has one wire marked in some way)

What exactly makes it fine in a car but not my home stereo?

 

[DSJR]

What exactly makes it fine in a car but not my home stereo?

Speaker wire is one thing - and perfect in the right gauge for car and home audio TO SPEAKERS.

Low signal level cables such as typical RCA leads, need a cable with central conductor and a shield around it. they are also used in car systems, but not between amp and speakers but possibly between head unit and amplifiers if it's a good rig... Hope that helps a bit?

 

[egellings]

Did you solder the other wire on both sides to the shield, if only from the outside of the connector ?
If not that explains everything.

Consider speaker wire is not shielded and not suited as an interlink anyway.
It could be used for balanced lines (if you can fit it in XLR connectors).

Thickness of cable is not an important aspect except for speaker wires and low voltage systems (12V/24V)

Arc-welder capable wire to carry just small signals?

 

[solderdude]

What exactly makes it fine in a car but not my home stereo?

Car audio has high power yet low voltage (12V) so requires large amounts of current.
A 2x 100W amp can easily draw 20-25Amps.
This requires thick wiring.
For 12V it would be best to use black/red wires for power but the cable you have (when marked for polarity) would be well suited.

 

[egellings]

Car audio has high power yet low voltage (12V) so requires large amounts of current.
A 2x 100W amp can easily draw 20-25Amps.
This requires thick wiring.
For 12V it would be best to use black/red wires for power but the cable you have (when marked for polarity) would be well suited.

Power wiring in a car high output stereo setup needs to be large because of the currents involved since the power supply voltage is small at 12 measly volts. Speaker wire requirements in the car would be the same as those at home for amplifiers of similar output powers in both cases.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Speaker wire requirements in the car would be the same as those at home for amplifiers of similar output powers in both cases.

Or slightly higher, as it is not uncommon to see the likes of 2-3 ohm subs.

On a speaker wire, impedance levels are super low - we are talking hundreds of milliohms of amplifier output impedance or less - and speakers are extremely insensitive and floating loads to boot. Even if twin lead is not quite the ideal cable topology it doesn't matter, at least at audio frequencies, and the most interesting aspect becomes ohmic resistance.

The best kind of cable for line-level unbalanced connections is coax. If you are a cheapskate who needs some particularly lengthy ones that are about as good a cable as you're going to get, buy some composite video cables using RG-59. That's what I bought when I needed 10 meters for a tuner two decades ago. The most important single parameter may be shield coverage and resistance, although capacitance also matters (particularly on long runs or for these pesky MM phono cartridges).

The best cable for line-level balanced connections is shielded twisted pair. Hence why you can make perfectly serviceable ones using ordinary network cable as long as it is typical FTP or STP (not so much UTP). It is obviously not going to stand up to the rigors of stage use but if you need to get up to 4 channels of audio from point A to point B in a stationary application it's fine. Good microphone cable also needs to be flexible, robust, and low in microphonics both mechanically and electrically (bad cable stock can generate all sorts of unwanted rustling as soon as phantom power is turned on), and for particularly tough environments and/or long runs you can buy starquad which improves symmetry for better interference rejection.

Headphone cable is a similar kind of situation as speaker cable, except it needs to be super lightweight and still reasonably durable and non-microphonic. As long as both drivers are wired up individually all the way to the plug, resistance is kind of secondary thankfully. It is not uncommon to find kevlar fiber reinforcement for increased strength (Sennheiser found out the hard way that just copper just doesn't last back in the day, which is why they used steel wire for a while in the '80s which was a bit non-ideal due to microphonics).

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Thanks, so essentially I've made 40% of a cable and am now wondering why it doesn't work right : /

You have made 0% of a working cable. Current has to circulate in a circuit for it to.work. Without a "go" wire and "return" wire you have a non-connector.

 

[DSJR]

As an aside, I have used twin core mains cable for audio signals (so do/did Naim and Linn) and it can work but without the shielding effect of the return line, these were prone to taxi and fire service signals breaking through if said vehicles were parked nearby as happened once on my Naim amp in the 80's when our neighbour had a chimney fire and the fire brigade turned up to extinguish it.

For low level audio signals, best to use a properly screened RCA cable and they DON'T have to be expensive either to do a good job. I already mentioned the Amazon basics RCa cable and it's absolutely fine for the job in my experience.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Use the wire for speakers and buy a thick shielded (coax) cable for your RCA interconnects !

There is no advantage to thickness -- AKA OD or outside diameter -- in RCA interconnects other than perhaps durability and cosmetics. Does anyone remember Amir's review of those dirt-chip and electrically perfect RCA cables? Unlike speaker wires, resistance is a non-issue and shunt capacitance only comes into play in very low voltage, high impedance applications like phono cartridges. Aside from outright defects and for all practical purposes, all shielded RCA-to-RCA interconnects are pretty much equal when used in line level applications.

Recoton RCA Cable Review (Ultra Cheap Cable)

 

[kemmler3D]

I am now trying my hardest to put this wire to use as I got ahead of myself and bought a spool assuming I could use it for most if not everything.

Use it for speaker wire or sell it, single conductors don't work for multi-conductor cables like RCA, as others have mentioned.

 

[solderdude]

There is no advantage to thickness -- AKA OD or outside diameter -- in RCA interconnects other than perhaps durability and cosmetics. Does anyone remember Amir's review of those dirt-chip and electrically perfect RCA cables? Unlike speaker wires, resistance is a non-issue and shunt capacitance only comes into play in very low voltage, high impedance applications like phono cartridges. Aside from outright defects and for all practical purposes, all shielded RCA-to-RCA interconnects are pretty much equal when used in line level applications.

Recoton RCA Cable Review (Ultra Cheap Cable)

The guy wanted thick interlinks and thought thick speaker cable would do just that.
So... if he wants thick interlinks he should use at least a shielded cable and thick coax cable would be just what he wants... thick.

Of course there is no benefit other than 'looking at thick cables' might give him the right 'bias' thinking the cable is optimal which, for most people, helps in perception (placebo works).

 

[kemmler3D]

The guy wanted thick interlinks and thought thick speaker cable would do just that.
So... if he wants thick interlinks he should use at least a shielded cable and thick coax cable would be just what he wants... thick.

Of course there is no benefit other than 'looking at thick cables' might give him the right 'bias' thinking the cable is optimal which, for most people, helps in perception (placebo works).

We have a candidate here... not sure how you will get RCA connectors on it, and the minimum bend radius is 5"... but it sure is thicc...

 

[solderdude]

 

[MaxwellsEq]

We have a candidate here... not sure how you will get RCA connectors on it, and the minimum bend radius is 5"... but it sure is thicc...

Semi-rigid broadcast transmitter feeder! I'm surprised this has never been used in an audiophile setup! Probably too cheap

 

[egellings]

There is no advantage to thickness -- AKA OD or outside diameter -- in RCA interconnects other than perhaps durability and cosmetics. Does anyone remember Amir's review of those dirt-chip and electrically perfect RCA cables? Unlike speaker wires, resistance is a non-issue and shunt capacitance only comes into play in very low voltage, high impedance applications like phono cartridges. Aside from outright defects and for all practical purposes, all shielded RCA-to-RCA interconnects are pretty much equal when used in line level applications.

Recoton RCA Cable Review (Ultra Cheap Cable)

Agree.

 

[musicforcities]

So my thinking wasn't the greatest I will admit, I assumed higher gauge wire less problems and didn't realise I was shooting myself in the foot. I am now trying my hardest to put this wire to use as I got ahead of myself and bought a spool assuming I could use it for most if not everything.

Well I have used that very same cable for its intended purpose as speaker wire and it is GREAT for that. Super flexible (very very fine strands), does put strain of the jacks, easy to terminate or use bare as you can really compress the strands to get an airtight screw connection, proper AWG, nice blue translucent effect and no oxidation over time within the jacket (which I have had with some super flexible semi-transparent speaker wire in the past for some reason). The only issue you might run into is that the 10awg stuff has thick insulation, much larger diameter than Belden cl2 10awg, and thicker than typical zip cord as well. if you like to use one screw of a plug/spade on the insulation, you may have a hard time getting into the barrel. The wire itself is also thick for 10awg, I suppose due to the many very fine strands.

So you now have a spool of nice speaker wire!

But Yes for RCA single ended you really want an “75 ohm” coaxial cable like rg6 or rg5 with a copper core (solid or stranded). You want to keep capacitance down and a good shield. And it’s not worth making your own really because you can get perfectly performing ones from Amazon basics. Monoprice has. Them too but I find their rca plugs too tight often. If you want to spend a bit more, then blue jeans cable lc1, which are very well made, super low capacitance, but a bit bulky and stiff. But ideal for turntables with rca jacks due to the super low capacitance and great shielding.
Spending anything more is silly and will make zero improvements.

In fact I measured a few old old audio quest, ixos, Kimber pbj, monster rca cables I have been given over the years and they had capacitance and/or inductance that varied from worse than Amazon basics coax to just awful. At 3ft, the differences are unlikely to make an audible difference, except with turntables, where very high capacitance can degrade the frequency response. And many fancy cables had sub par shielding as well.

Or if you have decent component video cables laying around, you can use them for analogue audio, OR for digital audio as they meet that spec too. Two sets of component video cables yields three pairs of audio cables, or 6 coax digital audio, or 6 subwoofer cables, etc. I have bought many good (that is properly made) coax component video cables of 6ft to 10ft closeout (since there is not much demand anymore) to use as analogue and digital audio cables. Perfect.

single ended RCA is a less than optimum standard to begin with, and we would all have been better off if BNC or even DIN had become the standard plug for single ended. Or geez, even a single ended two pin xlr. But unless you go for a proper balanced set up, coax geometry single ended RCA is usually the way to go and works perfectly fine for most at reasonable lengths.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

But Yes for RCA single ended you really want an “75 ohm” coaxial cable like rg6 or rg5 with a copper core (solid or stranded). You want to keep capacitance down and a good shield.

You don't even have to insist on a copper core, because the copper plated steel used in some coax (for durability) is perfectly adequate for non-speaker audio use. The reason for that is the fact that a couple of ohms of cable resistance is a non-issue for unbalanced home audio connections -- the real concern, as you pointed out, is shunt capacitance, and even that isn't a problem other than for turntable connections.

 

[musicforcities]

You don't even have to insist on a copper core, because the copper plated steel used in some coax (for durability) is perfectly adequate for non-speaker audio use. The reason for that is the fact that a couple of ohms of cable resistance is a non-issue for unbalanced home audio connections -- the real concern, as you pointed out, is shunt capacitance, and even that isn't a problem other than for turntable connections.

Yes that is true. 3ft of steel vs copper is negligible.

And I have made my own rca cables out of left over rg6 wire and belden crimp-on rca plugs. Seem fine.

I have also run digital audio over 50 ft through in wall rg6 coax without any issue whatsoever. Much less prone to pick up noise from electrical lines etc than analog line level in wall. I’ve done the same with unsheilded cat 6 and that works fine too. I’ve run a pair of analog single ended down cat 6 30-40ft without issue. Heck, I have even used in wall cat 6 as low wattage speaker wire without problem (using 1 run of cat 6 per speaker); capacitance can get high however, though it can be managed by using each twisted pair for either pos or neg, not both (ie, blue and blue white striped for positive) which turns the cat 6 into something more like a star quad geometry. The aggregate awg is pretty thin but it can be done at 20-30 watts and less than 50ft.

The thing I like about blue jeans cable is their rca connectors. Great contact, not to tight, and with a bit of wiggle that won’t rip out rca jacks if torqued. But the length of those plugs is also often a problem where space is limited (racks, cabinets, etc). Right angle adapters often do not really work either due to interference with other jacks and connectors. And regardless right angle adapters can really strain jacks if you are not careful and they are tight. Don’t ask me how I know this!

 

[Speedskater]

For line level RCA analog interconnects, there is no need for 75 Ohm (or 50 Ohm) coax. Any coax with a heavy braided shield will do.
The central conductor can be Gold, Gold plated Copper, Silver, Silver plated Copper, Copper, hi-fi Copper, Copper Clad Aluminum or Copper Clad Steel. It can be solid or stranded. It can be thick or thin.
For phono cartridge to pre-amp cables capacitance can be a concern.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Don’t ask me how I know this!

I know the voice of experience when I read it.