Tidying cables

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Okay, I'm not talking about cable ties, once the cables are away and hidden behind the furniture. I'm talking about the run from (for example) the back of your amp to the back of the shelf it's on.

Like this:

Don't they look nice!

Any idea how to get them tidy, equally spaced, no kinks, etc., like that?

Or is that just a BS promotional shot...

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Or like this. I wish I could get it that perfect. I'd get a lot less grief from SWMBO.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Well. If you bought a proper big amp the cables wouldn't be visible.

 

[staticV3]

In the desktop PC space there are so-called cable combs whose purpose is to keep the ATX cables and 24-pin motherboard cable looking neat and tidy:


While those specific cable combs wouldn't do you much good as they're designed for cables much thinner than your typical RCA, I did find a cable comb built for Ethernet cables that might do the job:

MNPCTECH Ethernet Network Cable Combs

Fits 24 & 26 AWG Round Ethernet Network Cables. Dimensions of Cat5 cable combs as follows: 4 pin cat5 comb = 20mm wide x 21mm long. 6 pin cat5 comb = 20mm wide x 28mm long. 8 pin cat5 comb = 20mm wide x 36mm long. 12 pin cat5 comb = 20mm wide x 51mm long. 14 pin cat5 comb = 20mm wide x 55mm...

www.mnpctech.com

These could be placed hanging off the desk, just outside of view.

And in case those Ethernet combs still aren't the right size, there are always 3D printing services which can print something to your exact specifications.

 

[Chrispy]

Well. If you bought a proper big amp the cables wouldn't be visible.

Racks help, too.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

 

[jcris]

View attachment 346442

Excellent

 

[Berwhale]

There is this sort of thing...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UNBREAKcable-Organizer-Adjustable-Management-Nightstand/dp/B0C8MZZDQK

I use open slot cable trunking in my study...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07C9ZWH1H?th=1

 

[Gary_G]

Just re-routed and tidied up my cables. Used:

ELII 302PCS Cable Management Kit 4 Cable Sleeve,45Cable Clips,11Cable Holders,20+2Roll Cable Organizer Straps and 200 Fastening Cable Ties,20 Cable Zip Tie Mounts Computer Under Desk (Black) https://a.co/d/d0MlPox

 

[dualazmak]

Well. If you bought a proper big amp the cables wouldn't be visible.

Yes, fully agree! (ref. here)...

 

[Roland68]

Okay, I'm not talking about cable ties, once the cables are away and hidden behind the furniture. I'm talking about the run from (for example) the back of your amp to the back of the shelf it's on.

Like this:

View attachment 346436

Don't they look nice!

Any idea how to get them tidy, equally spaced, no kinks, etc., like that?

Or is that just a BS promotional shot...

You can use higher quality cables that are not as soft and have a stiff sleeve, e.g. Inakustik, Viablue etc.

You can also put any cable you want into such a sleeve.
If you are shrinking a thicker and stiff heat shrink tubing onto a cable, you can use the heat gun to shape the cable. The stiffest heat shrink tubes are those with a glossy surface or with hot melt adhesive. Of course, this is only necessary on the piece you want to sculpt. A sleeve over the entire cable makes it invisible and is available in all colors. Keywords: BRAIDED SLEEVING, CABLE SLEEVING

Alternatively, you can make a panel/cover/cable duct to match the amplifier or have it printed using 3D printing.

 

[ta240]

Something like these?

 

[DLS79]

Something like these?

I was just going to respond and say he needs desk cable organizers. They come in multiple sizes and styles.


You can even get primo ones like this.

Amazon.com

 

[sam_adams]

Cables—especially unbalanced cables—should be as short as possible. L-R signal pairs should be twisted together to increase averaging and reduce exposure to EMI/RFI and minimize loop area. Signal cables should be bundled together and located at least twelve inches away from AC power cords—in a rack, power on one side signal on the other. Paralleling cables with zip ties or cable spacers invites unwanted interference pickup—looks nice, sounds bad.

 

[Roland68]

You can even get primo ones like this.

Amazon.com

Nice idea, paperweight for cables. Now if they were still made of ferrite...

 

[Speedskater]

Cables—especially unbalanced cables—should be as short as possible. L-R signal pairs should be twisted together to increase averaging and reduce exposure to EMI/RFI and minimize loop area. Signal cables should be bundled together and located at least twelve inches away from AC power cords—in a rack, power on one side signal on the other. Paralleling cables with zip ties or cable spacers invites unwanted interference pickup—looks nice, sounds bad.

Cables—especially unbalanced cables—should be as short as possible.
As short as reasonable - no need to get obsessive about it.
Same goes for AC power cords, which should all be connected to the same outlet.
L-R signal pairs should be twisted together to increase averaging and reduce exposure to EMI/RFI and minimize loop area.
Well no. But each multi-conductor cable should be twisted. And shielded cables should be Shielded Twisted Pair (STP).
Signal cables should be bundled together.
Well yes, more so for long cables.
Signal cables should be bundled together and located at least twelve inches away from AC power cords.
This is more a misunderstanding. 2 inches is more than enough.
And long signal and AC cords should follow the same path to reduce Ground Loop area.
AC power cords—in a rack, power on one side signal on the other.
This is because the power transformers should be on one side and the signal inputs on the other.
Paralleling cables with zip ties or cable spacers invites unwanted interference pickup.
Well no.

 

[Aynsley]

Yes, fully agree! (ref. here)...
View attachment 346482

View attachment 346483

I can't comment on the technical aspects of your audio setup, but I'm impressed by the neatness of the cables at the back: the careful bundling and the meticulous labelling. Clearly a labour of love.

Viewed from the front, the turntable on the left looks a little precarious but I'm guessing that it would make little sense to move it to the other side of the VU array, just for the sake of aesthetic balance.

I'm sure you derive as much visual pleasure from your setup as audio pleasure from the music it reproduces!

 

[dualazmak]

Viewed from the front, the turntable on the left looks a little precarious but I'm guessing that it would make little sense to move it to the other side of the VU array, just for the sake of aesthetic balance.

Thank you for your kind attention and nice advice!

Yes, you are quite right regarding the "aesthetic balance". (My wife also said so...)

The reasons for my current "that" layout of TT DENON DP57L are;

1. The height of the TT (about 140 cm above the floor) is just fit for my occasional "vinyl LP play ceremony" since I can very easily and precisely "observe" the cartridge and stylus without hardly bending my lower-back and knee; furthermore, I can easily access to the TT from front side and/or from left side! (My height of heel to head-tp is 174 cm.)

2. The amplifier SONY TA-A1ES (driving only my Beryllium tweeters) on the right side of the cabinet is quasi-Class-A (into Class-AB in high load) which is a little bit warm/hot at the top cover, and hence I hesitate to put other audio gears including TT on top of it,

3. I decided the layout of the TT DENON DP57L and the phono preamp AUDIO-TECHNICA AT-PEQ30 also to minimize the (even inaudible though) EMF (electromagnetic field) interference noise(s) (ref. here).


As I recently also shared here on the thread entitled "Turntable atop of other devices", the big and heavy (22.0 kg) CD player DENON DCD-3500RG (nowadays I seldom use/power-on it) plus the big and heavy (24.4 kg) ACCUPHASE E-460 which is a physically "cool" (I mean slightly warm, around 40 degree-C on work) class-AB integrated amplifier; they nicely serve as really heavy and rigid "base" for my TT. I have no heat nor vibration problem at all, therefore, with my TT DENON DP-57L (12.4 kg including the 854 g LP stabilizer) in this stacking layout!

Just for your possible interest and reference in SP cable management, you would please also visit my recent post here on my project thread.

 

[Mart68]

power cables down one side, signal on the other side, job done



My previous transport had the power input on the opposite side, really annoying. This one has it on the correct side.

When I was also running turntable, phono stage, tape deck, tuner - now that was a pain in the ass.

Just using one source makes it all a lot easier.

 

[Svet Angelov]

The missus has PTSD from all of my cables when we lived at our previous house. Now in this new one, she put her foot down and I had to figure out a way to hide them, at least in the living room system (the office and DJ room systems still have zero cable management).
I bit the bullet and bought a 50m spool of 12g speaker cable, eventually calculating I need around 25m (12.5m per channel). I rounded it off to 15m/pc to have some more leeway, should I get different speakers in the future which require even further placement from the back wall. They go from the back of the rack to the entrance of the little cable tunnel. The cable tunnel ends in the middle of the room, under the TV table. From there it goes into the speakers.

We are both very happy with the results, but in hindsight, I should've cut the first cable highway in half in order to hide the entrance even further back, behind the rack. I will definitely do it in the future but now we just hide it with a small plant.

EDIT: absolutely zero cable management goes on behind the rack itself, there is even a subwoofer there. All unbalanced. Will get around to it once I get a balanced Hypex amp but for now, not really worth the trouble. No EMI of any kind.. not one that I can hear/measure anyway.
EDIT2: added a pic of the cable hell behind the rack.