Where To Buy XLR Cables, etc.?

WetDaddy

Hey guys,

Anyone any opinions on the best / cheapest place to get XLR male to female cables? Specifically those (I need 6 - not necessarily top of the range quality - probably about 3 or 4 metres in length) and with a view to buying some other cables too.

Online? In Dublin? Maybe those of you who run studios (Eoin Madsen ) may have an idea!

Thanks.


-Seán

P.S. I'm putting in an order for an Edirol FA-101 from here and they sell 3m XLR cables for STG£6 each. Is this an ok price do you think?

Doctor J

Have a look at Turnkey in the UK, they're fairly sharp when it comes to prices, otherwise any of tthe guitar shops (upstairs in Musicmaker, Musician, Waltons etc) should be able to furnish you with anything you need.

Disco J

There not in Dublin, but Aquarius Sound and Lighting in Leixlip are good for stuff like that. They work out cheaper than town on most products and if they don't have to cables they will make them for you. 01 6243382.

daram

If your up to it you could make your own. far cheaper and (mostly) more reliable.

WetDaddy

Yeah daram, I was considering that.

There ain't too much to it, is there? I mean, I've done some simple soldering on parallel cables and serial cables for PCs. I'd imagine it'd be substantially less complicated than that (less pins and all that jazz)...

I know Maplins and Peats sell all sorts of jacks (including male + female XLRs). Is it just simple coax cabling you use after that?

Cheers,
-S

Doctor J

Nope, a balanced cable has 3 pins to connect - also the plastic sleeve which hold the pins is incredible easy to melt if you're in any way sloppy with your soldering technique.

http://groups.google.ie/groups?q=xlr+cable+pin+configuration&hl=en&lr=&selm=365DF13A.D3C2F9BC%40noname.com&rnum=9

NeMiSiS

Why not just buy good quality leads.. so that you don't have to replace em so often?
Pays off in the long run..

Tom

daram

Id say make your own. I just bought a big drum of good quality two core cable. Then whenever you need some class of new lead or a longer one or whatever, its easy to put em together. Soldering XLRs and such is a piece of piss.

WetDaddy

Yep, I think I'll go the DIY route.

Thanks for the link, Doc, and for the suggestion daram.

Last question: Is it just "two / twin core cabling" I ask for? Or am I *totally* naive in suggesting that maybe it should be three core, since there's three pins on an XLR jack?

Or does it have a different name altogether?

daram

no your right, its three core on XLR, but I think its a special type. The two core is for jack to jack which are the ones I find myslef making most.

Eoin Madsen

What you want is "balanced microphone cable", it contains two core wires inside a coaxial shield. The shield solders to pin 1 (ground), and the two wires to pins 2 (hot +) and 3 (cold -). Make sure you use the right soldering iron - 25-40 watts is best. When soldering, if something isn't working, just stop, let the component cool, and try again. If you hold the iron to the part for an extended period (10 seconds+) the part will melt internally. The cheaper the component, the quicker it will break, so you may not get even this much time. Some of the cheap jacks and xlrs you can get in Maplin are absolute feces, and not worth a cent for this reason. You would be best to go with Neutrik components - but they're not cheap.

Were you to buy from Thomann, this is what you need:

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_neutrik_nc_3mx_prodinfo.html
http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_neutrik_nc3fx_prodinfo.html
http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_cordial_cmk_222_sw_prodinfo.html

I prefer to make my own leads, but in the past (2 1/2 years ago) I bought some of these:

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_the_sssnake_sk233-6_mikrokabel_prodinfo.html

They seem a little light but they haven't broken yet!

To buy XLR leads in town will cost 15-25 euro. You can get them in Music Maker etc. and Maplin. The components and cable for the above will cost twice the price (not exaggerating) in Maplin on Jervis Street. Thomann shipping is €23 euro for all orders. So pull out the calculator and have a think!