Canare Star Quad info + help + making cables

Aug 27, 2004 at 8:09 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 23

thp

New Head-Fier
Joined
Aug 13, 2004
Posts
19
Likes
10
Hello. I'm new to making my own cables and have only recently started on the DIY stuff.

I'm asking for help on which canare star quad to get. I hear of star quad being a good cheap interconnect/speaker cable a lot on the forums here.

I'm interested in making some interconnect (rca -> rca), patch (1/4" -> rca) and speaker cables ( banana -> banana).

The interconnect/patch will be from 1.0m to 5.0 m.

The speaker cables will be 3.0 m to 5.0 m to 10.0 m.

I'd like to know which star quad would be good to get for interconnects and which one I should use for speaker cables. Also, if you could tell me where to get them in Oregon or online that would be great.

I'm currently thinking of getting the homegrownaudio.com locking rca connectors. They seem cheap and well built, but I'm open for suggestions as well.

I'm thinking of getting the $30 nakamich locking banana plugs that's all over ebay right now. Seems like a good price for 8 connectors.

Thanks for any help.
 
Aug 27, 2004 at 9:48 PM Post #2 of 23
There's a sticky thread on making interconnects at the top of the DIY forum. It will have answers to many of your questions.

I can't speak for speaker cables, but for ICs I use the regular Star Quad. Mini Star Quad would probably work as well, but I haven't tried it.

I tend not to use locking plugs myself, but the HGA RCA plugs I have are quite nice -- very solid construction, fits well on the jacks.

I most often use Canare F10s for plugs and entry-level Cardas jacks -- I'm of the school of thought that the only thing a low-quality IC will do is get in the way of the signal, but a decent cable doesn't need to be expensive.

As for a place to get stuff, Pacific Radio is the place to go. There's a link in the sticky thread I mentioned.
 
Aug 27, 2004 at 10:15 PM Post #4 of 23
definetly get normal starquad the mini stuff is too small.

i just make 5 cables today.

3 mini to dually rca cables using starquad.
1 subwoofer cable using canare lv-77s
1 digital audio cable using belden 1694a
 
Aug 28, 2004 at 3:17 AM Post #5 of 23
You can also buy Canare 4E6S Starquad for .39 a foot at Westlake Electronics.
http://www.westlake-electronic.com/

Unlike Markertek, there are no minimum order requirements, or any extra processing fees. Plus, they will ship first class, which saves you a few bucks on shipping costs. If you are buying in bulk, Markertek is the way to go because of the lower per foot cost, however if your're buying say 10-20 feet of cable, your order from Westlake will only cost you $9-$14 shipped.

They also sell a Belden Starquad, BEL-1192A , which is also very affordable at .44 a foot. In my opinion, I think the Belden cable is better sounding, and of a slightly better build, than the Canare Starquad.
 
Aug 28, 2004 at 7:30 AM Post #6 of 23
Anyone have capacitance figures for the Canare cables? I know the configuration is designed to minimize inductance, but unlike with speaker cables, for interconnects lower capacitance is more important.
 
Aug 28, 2004 at 8:49 AM Post #7 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by Prune
Anyone have capacitance figures for the Canare cables? I know the configuration is designed to minimize inductance, but unlike with speaker cables, for interconnects lower capacitance is more important.


Link to all of the specs:
http://www.canare.com/l4e6s.html

Capacitance is a bit high. Note: Canare Twister Pair Microphone cable has half the Capacitance of the Starquad.
 
Aug 28, 2004 at 4:47 PM Post #8 of 23
The Venhaus silver/teflon recipe gives a tenth of the capacitance, so I'm glad I used that for my balanced cables (though I did use the star-quad in my unbalanced ones). Too bad I don't see inductance figures in the Canare numbers.
According to http://www.canare.com/starquad.html, the configuration is designed to minimize interference, not inductance as I had read on a number of forums.
 
Aug 28, 2004 at 10:25 PM Post #10 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180
exotic boutique cables


Sounds like they should be in an expensive looking shop with a very snooty staff.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 6:22 AM Post #11 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by Prune
Anyone have capacitance figures for the Canare cables? I know the configuration is designed to minimize inductance, but unlike with speaker cables, for interconnects lower capacitance is more important.


This is why Canare recommends using their GS-6 cable for audio interconnects, rather than their Star Quad cable. I think Star Quad is more popular among DIYers simply because it has a "cooler" name, not because it is necessarily the best choice.
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 1:44 PM Post #12 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy
This is why Canare recommends using their GS-6 cable for audio interconnects, rather than their Star Quad cable. I think Star Quad is more popular among DIYers simply because it has a "cooler" name, not because it is necessarily the best choice.


Solution, give it a cooler name ... like Starfire or something.
icon10.gif
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 2:33 PM Post #13 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy
This is why Canare recommends using their GS-6 cable for audio interconnects, rather than their Star Quad cable. I think Star Quad is more popular among DIYers simply because it has a "cooler" name, not because it is necessarily the best choice.


I used StarQuad for headphone extension and portable mini-mini interconnects because of it's flexibility. How stiff is GS-6? ( not that it matters much for RCA cables. )
 
Aug 29, 2004 at 2:51 PM Post #14 of 23
Also on soething like that would you use the shielding for the ground?

Earwax I'd say it's fairly felxible, seems to be used for guitar hookups...
 
Sep 3, 2004 at 9:40 PM Post #15 of 23
Ordered some GS-6, 4E6S and 4S11 from westlake-electronic. They were 1 state away so it only took 1 day for shipping. Except it took them 3 days to process the order.

Now to head to my local norvac and grab some of that techflex stuff to make my cables pretty.

Using the homegrownaudio locking rca's and some locking bananas that looked pretty.

Thanks for the suggestions and links.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top