OremuS

Ok, so from my last post, about my roommate buying new home theater gear....well, he got the setup that I posted. Now that everything is here, we need to get some better cabling. What I am most interested in getting is S-video from the digital cable box to the tv. Will this provide a cleaner signal? Also, I would like to hook up my computer (about 25 feet from the home theater setup) up to the receiver using the digital output from my sound card.

So basically, where is the cheapest place to get these sort of cables? Most all of the retail stores use these items to make their money and therefore mark them up crazy high.

Thanks for your help.

nomoney

www.partsexpress.com
Good stuff. Good service. Good prices. Look around for other shizzle too. They have got some cool stuff.

dave

You get what you paid for (in most cases anyway). I agree that Monster Cables are major rip offs.

I grabbed an Accustic Research component cable (12') for about 10 bucks over at eBay. If you are patient, there are some good deals to be had.

whitak24

when i put together my HT setup, i bought all Acoustic Research Pro cables from www.accessories4less.com

i highly recommend both ARPro cables (which are on the same quality level as monster, imo) and accessories4less.

while they are not a well-known retailer and their website isn't the best the the world (although they've improved it drastically since i ordered from them 9 months ago), they are a 4-star operation, in my experience. i ordered a marantz cd changer and $200 worth of cables. there was a problem with my credit card (i hadn't paid the bill -- oops!) so the order didn't process correctly. i called them the next day and they were very professional and prompt in dealing with the problem. the order shipped quickly (~3 business days), and shipping was only around $10 for the entire lot. everything was factory sealed and in perfect condition.

so my point is, you should be able to trust these guys, and they have the lowest prices i could find anywhere on the net.

smeakim

http://www.avcables.com. I bought mine from them. They work great and post all the specs if you want them. I even asked why they were better, I know a loaded question but they responded. They are also much cheaper and you can get any length you want. I would buy from again.

vdaddy

If you aren't afraid to do a little soldering you should look into making your own cables. I know DIY usually looks DIY, but once I made my first pair my co-workers were in awe. Audio/Video cables are one of the most grossly overpriced components of a HT system and if you think that Audioquest, KK, or Bettercable are the shizy... you need to do some research. John Risch interconnects are good beginner cables (also cheap)

mcdanelz

Sears

they carry AR cables and have a good price on them.

__________________
Zach (Agent_o2) McDanel
gotta find a niche for this

OremuS

I saw some bulk S-video cable and ends online for fairly cheap. I have to admit though, I was a bit timid in even thinking that I could make those types of cables. If all it takes is a little soldering, I know that I can do that....hmmm. Thanks for the idea.

Shane

http://www.clearcables.com

Apex uses my cables...

Best Regards,

Shane

__________________
More is better.

cyro

Got any special discounts for us?

Cheers,
-CyRo

---
http://www.cyberroach.com

paulwpark

Would your cables fix the humming that I hear from my subwoofer? I got some gold plated RCA cables from Radio Shack and my sub humms even with the receiver turned off. I heard it is because the wire picks up noise from power sources and such.

Any ideas/advice?

lvis11

paulwpark
remove the cables alltogether - if you still get a hum then it's your subwoofer amp that is humming....

paulwpark

If I disconnect the cable, the hum is gone. Only when I connect the cable do I hear a hum. Even when the sub amp is turned off and I have the cable connected, I hear a slight hum.

Recommend any cables? My friend bought the same sub and he's having the same problem. He said he has some Monster cables and still the hum. Is Monster cables no good?

lvis11

that is weird - it could also be your receiver creating the hum...although you did say if the receiver was turned off it still had the hum. I guess the best thing is buy another cable and check. Best buy has some AR cables if you do not want to go Monster Route. I do not think Monster is crap - they are just a bit overpriced compared to others with the same capability.

HitoZen2

Yeah Shane, a bunch of us might be looking to buy cables from the recent group buy. Volume discount perhaps?

Thanks!

paulwpark

I'll go and try the other cables out. Thanks for the input. If anyone else has any ideas, let me know! Thanks.

Shane

gotapex98546

Sure, why not? There is a 5% discount coupon, good for 60 days. I made 20 of them available. I know it is not much, but I have kept my pricing structure pretty low, so the discount on top of my already low prices should make for a pretty good deal vs. the competition.

For the poster above with the humming problem (Paul W Park)...it could be that the sub cable is having an "antenna" affect. Attaching it causes the hum because the cable is picking up the noise, and it is travelling backward into your amp and causing the problem. Are your current cables a twisted pair or quad twisted construction? Are they well shielded?

I am not going to flat out say that better shielding and / or twisted construction will fix your problem, but it could be the solution. It is also possible that you could have a deeper problem besides the cables, but by your description, it does sound like an interconnect problem may be the culprit. For my analog interconnects and sub cables, I chose star quad (4 twisted wire) microphone cable by Canare to prevent such problems. My background is from the car stereo world, and twisted construction often solved some pretty nasty noise problems in the mobile environment.

Also, whether you buy cable from someone like me or build your own, a construction technique that can sometimes remedy that type of problem is to attach the shield to only the "transmiting" end RCA outer barrel. This has the effect of letting the shield pick up any radiated noise and "dumping" it back into the transmitting component's RCA plug. The reason the shield is not connected at both ends is to prevent a ground loop, i.e. multiple ground paths for the analog signal to travel along through the interconnect. I employ this technique in my analog and sub cable construction as well. How long is the cable that is causing the hum? How about this Paul: send me the sub cable length you are using, and your mailing address, and I'll send you a sub cable to try. If it fixes your problem, you can buy it if interested, and if not, then just send it back to me. I am really curious on this one to see just what is going on with your rig.

Send the address to:

webmaster@clearcables.com


Best regards,

Shane

http://www.clearcables.com

HitoZen2

Shane - I left you a private msg...

Apex

To answer any questions:

Yes, build quality is excellent. Materials are top notch.
If you have any specific questions for me, feel free to ask. I actually have a bunch of pretty expensive cables (ie. audioquest), and the clearcables stack up quite nicely.

Here are a few picts.

Spades, closeup:



Banana, closeup:



Closeup of RCA connectors:



Full picture:




I would show you the s-video breakout as well, but *ahem* Shane hasn't made em yet.

paulwpark

Apex,

You think my Sub humming problem is caused by poor quality cables? Would these cables fix it?

Apex

None of my subs ever had a 3-prong power plug. It's the grounding wire that's probably causing the hum. To test this, you can go to home depot and pick up a 3 prong to 2 prong converter, otherwise known as a cheater plug. They're 99 cents.

Here are some more indepth suggestions:

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/g...oop/index.html

http://www.dplay.com/tutorial/cablehum.html

Shane

Apex makes a great point about the power supply grounding on your sub. The prong adapter could be a solution as he states, and you could also have "dirty" power feeding your system. The point that was intriguing to me is that the noise went away when you disconnected the sub cable...power supply noise would not normally go away, UNLESS the power cord is radiating the noise and the sub cable is picking it up. Cleaning the power supply (ie power cable) noise would give the sub cable nothing to pick up, and voila, problem solved. A Monster Power conditioner, a Richard Gray's Powerstation, or a home built supply conditioner could solve this problem if the ground cheater plug fails, and you determine your supply line is dirty. Of course if you are using a cheap sub with a poor amp/power supply, this is overkill to mess with this solution as opposed to upgrading the sub to something with good noise isolation...but nevertheless here are some links:

http://www.diycable.com/main/product...roducts_id=109

Build your own on that link above...

Or go professional:

http://www.audiolinesource.com/

Shane

PaulWPark, By the way, what kind of sub do you have? Brand / Model Number? A JBL Maybe?

paulwpark

Apex and Shane,

Thanks for the info. I went to Home Depot, paid my $.63 and got the adapter. I plugged my sub power cord with the adapter to the outlet and VOILA, NO MORE HUMMING NOISE! I can't believe it was that simple.

Shane, BTW, my sub is a Wharfedale PowerCube 12A. Not the greatest, but it fit my budget!

But once again, thanks for your help. I really appreciate Gotapex!

Apex

The cheater plug is normally only recommended for testing if you have a ground problem. Professionals normally do not advocate using one long term for safety reasons.

Please understand, I cannot be held accountable if your house burns down, your sub fries, you grow a third arm, the fun and games are over because someone loses an eye, you become sterile, strangers suddenly feel the urge to whap you upside the head, or anything else.

paulwpark

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

So what do "professionals" like yourself do as a long term solution for a ground problem? My friend is having this same problem so this info might be handy. And I'd rather not spend more the the cost of my sub to fix this "problem" either.

On the adapter, there is that little prong thing. Seems like a place to put a wire to ground the circuit. Would that help or would it cause the same humming?

Shane

I love it when a problem is solved...Nice job Apex. Paulwpark, now that you know you have a grounding problem, re-attaching that wire *may* bring back the noise. you can experiment; my guess is that the noise will return. What you need to do is "isolate" the power supply, ie clean up the power using filters and caps to break the ground loop. This is normally done by pros with a power line conditioner of some sort, similar to the ones in the links I posted above. If you are handy, I would grab that "build your own" kit; otherwise, Monster Power, Richard Gray's Power Company, or Panamax probably make a product that will serve you well. Go to a Tweeter or HiFi Buys store and look at the Monster Power demo...have a salesman explain to you what they do and how they do it, and you will get a better handle on what power line conditioning is all about. Also, you *may* want to try upgrading your sub's power cord (if you have an IEC plug on the end)...a three wire power cord with twisted construction may be the hot ticket if your normal cord is not twisted. You can build your own, or purchase one.

Good luck.

Shane

paulwpark

Shane,

If I get a power conditioner, that will fix my humming problem without the use of the adapter?

Also, if grounding isn't clean, could it make my sub non-responsive and as a result, the sub just humms even when it's supposed to be booming? The reason why i ask this is that when I first got my sub, it worked fine (except the little humming sound). But after an hour or so, the sub produced no other sound except the humming sound. I thought something was wrong with my sub so I am trading it with another new one. But could this grounding have caused this?

The sub seems to work fine now, especially w/ the adapter. Not sure if this sub is broken or not.

Paul

Shane

As far as whether the power supply cleaner will fix the hum, that depends on whether the unit you use has enough isolation to break the ground loop. As Apex had suggested and you have proven with the cheater plug, you definitely had a ground loop. A power supply conditioner uses transformers to break ground loops, and uses capacitors to filter out whining, hum, pops, static, and other annoying electronic noises that are audible. The only way to know for sure, unfortunately, is to try a power line conditioner. If you get one from a retailer with a return policy, you can see if it works, and if it does not, you can return it.

The grounding problem did not cause harm to your sub and cause the humming; this is likely the result of either a poor design in the sub amp or a fault in your sub amp. I intended to offense in my previous post to any JBL sub owners out there; I had just seen the exact type of problem in a JBL previously. I would definitely do as you say and swap it for a different unit. YOu might also try a different brand sub (borrow one from a friend) to see if maybe the circuitry in your house is "dirty". If you have any track lighting or dimmer circuits sharing the same breaker as the one your audio system is on, that could be a problem as well. Those two devices are notorious for polluting power supply lines.

Noise problems are always a pain, and unfortunately, as you have seen, any solution is theory until you try it and it works. If it were me, I'd try the different sub (same model) and a different sub (different brand) before I laid out any more money into power conditioning, then I would opt for the DIY conditioner because I like to build things. Any of them, however, should work if it is a supply problem. Ask Apex about Monster and Panamax; he has experience with both.

Shane