What recommendations for maximum xlr cable length for general usage if you only want to purchase one xlr/xlr cable connection? I plan to use for connecting my AT 897 and wired lav to dvx. What is maximum safe length? I did a searh on this but was surprised not to find anything. Are the quad balanced cables worth the extra money?
Max XLR/XLR Cable Length?
- Thread starter kmcgrath
- Start date
thisiswells
Retired
Canare star-quad is my favorite cable and I think it's worth the extra money, yes.
You should be safe to at least a hundred feet with star-quad.
What are you trying to do exactly? Maybe an ENG cable might be a better purchase as you may
have more use for it long-term if you're doing video production professionally and have a soundman....
Before you buy, let us know..
You should be safe to at least a hundred feet with star-quad.
What are you trying to do exactly? Maybe an ENG cable might be a better purchase as you may
have more use for it long-term if you're doing video production professionally and have a soundman....
Before you buy, let us know..
wabbit
Evil has Ears
At mic level? 10 feet is safe, anything over 25 feet and you will notice noise being introduced. At line level, 100 feet is pretty safe. Definately stick with star-quad especially if you want to go over 10 feet mic level.
It is definately a wise investment to have several lengths of cable that can be connected together for longer lengths and shortened when the length is not needed.
Good luck
It is definately a wise investment to have several lengths of cable that can be connected together for longer lengths and shortened when the length is not needed.
Good luck
I am definately not a professional. My most immediate need will be shooting my daughter's cheerleading event, and I was considering placing the mic right in front of them, and cabling back to my position in the bleachers (but this would be mic level, and probably not advisable from above posts regarding acceptable cable length). My other thought was to go wireless on the mic in front of the cheerleaders. This would be preferable than a mic level/25+ foot cable to the dvx, yes?
thisiswells
Retired
In my experience mixing bands a 100' cable run is not uncommon.. and this is with mic-levels..
When using multipin whirlwind cable snakes, 150' is not uncommon.. still mic level.. and without
any distribution amplifier to boost the signal...
You'd be fine with a mic level for a good long time before you have any need for a DA.
I'll second the notion of using the shortest cable possible. XLR cables can be daisy chained,
so yeah, if you get a couple of 30' cables for example (I prefer 30' XLR because it's easy to tell
them apart from the other guys cable.. think my next ones might even be a color other than black)
you could connect them easily for different lengths. The thing that makes cables expensive are
the connectors and the labor to install them... So, 3 x 30' cables will be a whole lot more $$ than
a single 100' cable. Does this make sense? Hope so.
www.haveinc.com makes great cables out of the same parts as everyone else and they're much
cheaper than everyone else... It is a hassle to fill out and fax in a P.O. though... and you'll have to
wait a week for them to make it usually, but I think they would have the lowest price. An off-the -shelf
option would be www.trewaudio.com. Ask for Skylor Morgan if you call Trew. He rocks.
Brian
When using multipin whirlwind cable snakes, 150' is not uncommon.. still mic level.. and without
any distribution amplifier to boost the signal...
You'd be fine with a mic level for a good long time before you have any need for a DA.
I'll second the notion of using the shortest cable possible. XLR cables can be daisy chained,
so yeah, if you get a couple of 30' cables for example (I prefer 30' XLR because it's easy to tell
them apart from the other guys cable.. think my next ones might even be a color other than black)
you could connect them easily for different lengths. The thing that makes cables expensive are
the connectors and the labor to install them... So, 3 x 30' cables will be a whole lot more $$ than
a single 100' cable. Does this make sense? Hope so.
www.haveinc.com makes great cables out of the same parts as everyone else and they're much
cheaper than everyone else... It is a hassle to fill out and fax in a P.O. though... and you'll have to
wait a week for them to make it usually, but I think they would have the lowest price. An off-the -shelf
option would be www.trewaudio.com. Ask for Skylor Morgan if you call Trew. He rocks.
Brian
What?!?!?!
What?!?!?!
I just came across this post and have to say that some people are so misinformed. I regularly run XLR cables in excess of 500' all the time and have no problems with noise being induced onto the line. 100' from the mic then 100' down the subsnake and 300' down a multicore snake that has 55 other XLR with it running all at the same time. No induced noise on any. Why is this? Because it is a balanced line scheme. Look it up to get the specifics why it works. The guy who says 10' max is talkiing about a unbalanced cable typicly 1/4" jack that has a tip/Ring config. Like a guitar cable. Mic cable is different in that it has 3 conductors instead of 2.
What?!?!?!
I just came across this post and have to say that some people are so misinformed. I regularly run XLR cables in excess of 500' all the time and have no problems with noise being induced onto the line. 100' from the mic then 100' down the subsnake and 300' down a multicore snake that has 55 other XLR with it running all at the same time. No induced noise on any. Why is this? Because it is a balanced line scheme. Look it up to get the specifics why it works. The guy who says 10' max is talkiing about a unbalanced cable typicly 1/4" jack that has a tip/Ring config. Like a guitar cable. Mic cable is different in that it has 3 conductors instead of 2.
Ted Spencer
Veteran
Correct. I don't think I've ever run anything close to 1000', but I work often in large recording studios, and between the cable connecting the mic to the input box and the cable connecting that to the console, it often totals in the hundreds of feet.
Low impedance balanced mics, cables and preamps are designed specifically so that sort of thing is possible. As someone else mentioned, high impedance mics and cables are another matter, although I often run electric guitar cables up to 50' with no significant problems.
I do recommend quality cables, but the expense of them is sometimes not really worth it. A cheaper one, depending on the application, can often be substituted with no sonic penalty. One has to look at the question on a case-by-case basis unless cost is not a significant limitation. A *lot* of money can be saved by not buying expensive cabling that isn't really helping anything.
I have many, many thousands of dollars invested in the three miles or so of cabling in my recording studio, and if it was all the pricey stuff I wouldn't have had any budget left for the equipment.
My $.02
Low impedance balanced mics, cables and preamps are designed specifically so that sort of thing is possible. As someone else mentioned, high impedance mics and cables are another matter, although I often run electric guitar cables up to 50' with no significant problems.
I do recommend quality cables, but the expense of them is sometimes not really worth it. A cheaper one, depending on the application, can often be substituted with no sonic penalty. One has to look at the question on a case-by-case basis unless cost is not a significant limitation. A *lot* of money can be saved by not buying expensive cabling that isn't really helping anything.
I have many, many thousands of dollars invested in the three miles or so of cabling in my recording studio, and if it was all the pricey stuff I wouldn't have had any budget left for the equipment.
My $.02
ullanta
Veteran
I'll "third" the above statements, with some qualifications:
1) Even for critical music abblications, as stated, hundreds of feet of cable is not uncommon and not unduly noisy. Mind you, these cables are generally routed carefull to avoid noisy electronics... but sometimes not, Certainly, 50' or 100' will be unlikely to cause you problems in any but the most electrically nasty environments.
2) Recording cheerleading events - except in very rare and extreme cases (e.g, running your cables parallel to a high-voltage power line an inch or two away), the ambient noise level will far outweigh any cable noise issues.
3) Connectors are where most cable problems occur. Especially in your situation, a longer, cheaper cable will likely be less problematic than a string of "better" cables with multiple connections. Especially if they may be exposed to crowds, etc.
1) Even for critical music abblications, as stated, hundreds of feet of cable is not uncommon and not unduly noisy. Mind you, these cables are generally routed carefull to avoid noisy electronics... but sometimes not, Certainly, 50' or 100' will be unlikely to cause you problems in any but the most electrically nasty environments.
2) Recording cheerleading events - except in very rare and extreme cases (e.g, running your cables parallel to a high-voltage power line an inch or two away), the ambient noise level will far outweigh any cable noise issues.
3) Connectors are where most cable problems occur. Especially in your situation, a longer, cheaper cable will likely be less problematic than a string of "better" cables with multiple connections. Especially if they may be exposed to crowds, etc.