Testing Technics RCA leads - Are some Van Damme cables bad ? 

I am adding a new rule. No help or questions answered unless it's related to the video and you are subscribed to the channel. It takes up to much time to reply and I am not free tech support.

From an audio expert....Normal RCA cables are crap because they don't block radio frequency interference. All you have to do is replace them with SPDIF (AKA video RCA) cables. They are only slightly more expensive than regular RCA's. But are much better than even the most expensive RCAs you can buy. Its all about the shielding......

I would like to say my customer picked up his turntable and was very happy.

What an awesome video thank you so much in doing this and showing us your rest results. Very interesting indeed.

Brilliant test your test results we good enough to see the clear difference between cable's, well done 👍🏻

I replaced my tonearm wire with Cardas litz wire and also had it internally dampened. I added a new KAB PCB with Cardas cable hardwired to it, and it sounds phenomenal. I’ve done a lot of the KAB mods and upgrades too, but I’m an audiophile, not a DJ. KAB has tons of parts for 1200’s, and I’m sure DJ’s order stuff from Kevin at KAB too. Great vid, man. That must’ve taken a long time to record and especially edit. Bravo, sir!

One of the main reasons the high end on a Technics 1200 sounds muffled is if the VTA is too low. If the azimuth of the stylus is too low, the sound will be muffled. If the azimuth is too high, the cart will react too much to the high frequency part of the groove and the bass will be weak. The best way to perform this test is to use a single tonearm and stylus and only change the cables. That will eliminate differences in the VTA (azimuth) adjustment of one tonearm Vs the other and the height of different platter mats, which also affects VTA. Otherwise, you have too many variables. Edit: Ah! I spoke too soon. I see you did this test later in the video. Nice work!

Thank you very much for putting in the work! Ace!

You should've measured the capacitance of all those cables. It's probably the cable capacitance that adds to the load capacitance of your cartridge. Most of the resonance effects of load capacitance is between 10 and 18kHz.

What a nice test setup. Well done by changing only one parameter (the cable) at a time. It would be interesting to know what curve the producer of the test record actually recorded. Keep in mind that the signal before the pre amp has the RIAA curve built in. Nice to see that many cables give similar results. I'm not throwing out my cheap rca cables for now!

This is actually really interesting.

You have great patience respect.

Absolutely fascinating! Not something you would expect!

Great empiric test, thanks.

Great video and thank you. I just redid my cables and circuit board. The new cables are a bit fatter in diameter so a bit challenging to secure in the black cable retainer.. Other than that its like new😊

I think the Van Damme cable is rolling off the top of the frequency response, whereas the other cables are producing a flatter response. Phono cartridges will change their response if there is a lot of capacitance or resistance in the cable. I believe some of the Van Damme cables are very high resistance carbon types, just like some car ignition cables, this might be the case here, but you'd have to measure the cables to find resistance and capacitance, you can do that with a multimeter capable of measuring pF capacitance, just measure between the rca center to outer connections at one end without the cable attached to anything, make sure your meter is zeroed as most meters have some residual capacitance in the pF range also make sure you are not touching any of the conductive parts while you are doing the measurement as it can give you a false reading.

Great work, very interesting 👍

What XLR to RCA cable would you best recommend if am trying to connect to my multi track machine?

I had the same problem with some Van Damme cable on a technics, when I looked closely there was a pinch near one end of the cable. When I cut the cable after the pinch and resoldered the connectors the problem went away. I guess something got dropped on the cable?

Thanks for the test! FR

A side note you can have 2 identical sl1200 with the same cabling and setting but they sound different. From my own experiene

Is it a matter of varying capacitance between the various cables, having an effect on the output of the cartridge?

I spent the day talking with some people who know more about these types of cables and we are a little stumped to my findings. The specs of the Mic/Instrument cables are the same as the Pro Patch cables with regards to capacitance (90pf) and resistance per meter. So until I can test more types of Van Damme cable I have to say the problem is something on my specific cable only.

The issue is the capacitance of the standard xke tour grade , you need to use the xke classic 'balanced ' twin and screen microphone cable which has far lower internal cross conductor capacitance , the shield should not be connected at the turntable end but can be connected at the mixer/amp end . The numbers are all on the van damme site and is another example of " if you don't what you are doing , leave it alone!" 🤣😉😘

Would that graph be a straight line on a "perfect" system?

I'm curious to try this. I think I'm going to. I've been wanting to get a test record for preamp and playback related reasons but the used MK2 I just bought has some aftermarket 1/4 cables jacked into the underside of the deck. As in 1/4 to RCA with the 1/4 inch on the turntable side. Idk if they're balanced 1/4" or not. Weird, never seen that before on a Technics. Maybe it's better, maybe it isn't. I have no idea. Test, fix if needed and move on to the next oddity I guess. I suppose you just chalk that up to the joys of buying an old Technics these days. Will report back after I open up the deck and test it. I saw someone mention needing to use balanced cables for the cable swap to work right. Idk if that's how mine are yet. We'll see I guess.

Super video nice 👍

I think you should compare interconnects for CDJ too. Basic RCA “in the box” to high end Cambridge audio and “amazon mid range”

Well done! Very analytical! Did you try repeated measurements of the same condition? How good is the reproducibility? Thank you!

So this is what Audiophools hear in expensive audio cables,"Oh yes we have golden ears and we hear the difference" well no bloody wonder!

Except for the Van Damme cable the rest appear to have roughly the same impedance per foot or per meter and don't attenuate the higher frequencies as badly as the VD cable....You can just cut a foot, or a meter and measure the capacitance with a meter that will read down to 15pF or so because most cables will be round 18-20pF per foot or about 70pF or so per meter....Make sure you separate the conductors at each end if you do decide to test the capacitance of the cable.... I'd say the you either got some cable from a bad production batch, or that cable was poorly designed....

one of the most critical factors here is the length of cable. if they are different lengths your test wont be accurate as inductance will cause the treble to fall off. since my comment i have just tried a 2m van damme cable on my 1210 and it was unplayable. cut the cable down to 1m and it was a lot better but still not as good as a cheapy phono. i think you are being kind saying the van damme sounds flat. it sounds absolutely crap!

and I thought I was the only one who bought 3m cables and cut them in half for phonos, LOL.

what a great video, I just got done watching like 10 of your videos, you definitely earned a subscriber. . . . that test record wuold also be a great asset for comparing cartridges and styles like the after market replacement jico m447 stylus compared to the original now. . . that these amazing carts are discounted or just carts in general. . . that would likely be a popular video series since vinly has been on a comeback in the consumer market and theres a high demand for the shure's right now. . .. . . . . one other request, i would be very appreciative for, do you have any videos on repairing tonearms with out parts kind of like your pitch fader disassembly video, I inherited tec 1200s from my dad, [im a 2nd generation turntablist] and the tone arms are shot. . the turntables really just need a full refurbshment, BUT with the crazy cost of prices, at this point im just trying to learn to repair the parts instead of replace them. . . .one of the tone arms has a massive pull towards the center issues, regardless of antiskate settings, im working on getting some fixing plates and hope that might work but im not sure if its that, the bearing or adjustment issues but im not really sure with out just replacing parts, it would be cool to learn how to truly diagnose, repair and calibrate the tonearm with out just replacing it since these parts are so ridiculous now adays. . . . Again any assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated Many Thanks, Mike Rivera From Florida

thank you for making this video. if you ever do it again please try some quality cables eg neo-tec or mogami

Cables either work, or they don't...no in between. Any differences are the result of cable capacitance, which can vary greatly.

Thanks for this information. Although been planning to change to a expensive cable for Mk3, would stay on the existing for a while. Would appreciate your recommendation.

I came across your video as I am looking for a tutorial video or for advice. I've got an old turntable from Technics model SL-B202 on which I want to replace the old original RCA cable whose leads are directly soldered to the terminals inside the unit as well. To this end, I bought high-end brand new QED RCA cables ; so far so good, but problem when I cut both cables I noticed that are not two (as 'traditionally') but three separate wires in each cable sheath. Any idea how can I connect i.e. solder these 6 wires to the four-terminal circuit board of the turntable ? Many thanks in advance, Cheers from France

👌🏾

if you compare cable’s, it would be fair to take the same length. !? or i’m wrong ? especially on turntables !!! and also: same cable typ and different lengths will be produce different sound (impedance). but YES , the Van Damme seems unusable......cheers mate

A cable can't boost a signal. The hump must be coming from the cartridge or the phono pre-amp (or the record itself might not be as accurate as it purports to be!). So, DEFINITELY there's no "benefit" from what you're calling a flat response on the Van Damme cables...they're just very poor at higher frequencies than all the other cables.

Track ID? :P

Running it through a Numark M2 isn't going to do any frequency justice.

I'm betting that those Van Damme Cables have a very high capacitance.

The Van Damme cable is pure trash, its acting as a filter. The other cables are showing the correct slope. They are flat (more or less) till they reach the higher frequencies (where its not the cables' fault but rather the natural frequency limitation of the stylus) where they roll off gradually. That's why you see a frequency response spec they also provide you a range of tolerance AKA +/- db.

The original Technics cables are specifically designed for RIAA equalization curve which is on all tonearm pickups. Be careful with these aftermarket cables, as they do not have the correct core to screen capacitance for these turntables

Having the ground cable that close to the RCA cables will make the audio sound awful.

tape on the record? fail.

lower your volume before he plays back in audacity its very loud (squeaky) protect your ears

uggh i have that same mixer absolute junk

Use a Mogami Neglex mic cable.

1M Pulse Audio 😍👂❤💕💓