SUPER-SHIELDED
MINI/MICRO DIAMETER
SUBWOOFER CABLE
by
LUCID AV
A refreshingly simple approach
Buying decent subwoofer cable shouldn't be difficult. It has a simple job to do; get the signal from A to B with the minimum of loss and the maximum protection from interference. That's exactly what this cable does.
This is a high-bandwidth fire-rated cable with extremely low attenuation. It can carry a signal a very long way with minimal loss; ninety metres wouldn't be out of the question. The key feature though is the shielding.
The cable has two tightly-woven high-density braided shields. They're made from high grade copper with an outer coating of tin, and they're excellent at dealing with electro-mechanical (EM) and radio-frequency (RF) interference. This is exactly what you want when dealing with line level subwoofer signals travelling across a room.
How this fixes your sound problems
Hum - If we look beyond noisy sub amps which is really a design or repair issue, then there are two main causes of sub hum.
The first is the dreaded Ground Loop. This is where there are multiple earthing points in a system, and the signal interconnect completes a circuit between the earthing points which are at different levels. A better-shielded cable may help, but the sure-fire solution is a Ground Loop Isolator. As a test, move your sub next to the amp and plug in to the same power sockets. If the hum reduces then it's probably a grounding issue and you should try an isolator.
The other common cause is sources of radiated interference (EMI, RFI) such as noisy power supplies and stray magnetic fields. This is where a cable with a lot of shielding will help.
Poor standby wake-up - Does your sub fail to wake up when the amp comes on? This is a signal level issue. There are two parts to this.
First, your current cable is losing too much signal. Second, where the cable is allowing in too much interference then the difference between the background level and the signal won't be enough to trigger the Auto-On sensing. A cable with lower attenuation will help with the signal level, and one that does a better job of suppressing the background noise will make it easier for the Auto-On circuit to detect the signal.
Other benefits - The cable is thin and flexible. It's just 3.5mm in diameter. That's about the same as the thickness of a £1 coin. Being thin makes it easier to hide.
Why aren't all shielded cables equal?
There's a distinct lack of product knowledge within the trade. Resellers rarely know enough about the way cables work to make good product selections from their suppliers, and in turn the suppliers often focus on price points, margin and package deals rather than consumer benefits.
When resellers tell you that a cable is shielded, they rarely understand why some types of shielding is inadequate for certain types applications. They're just taking the manufacturer's word as gospel. For example, foil-only shielded cables have very little protection against mains hum. This is the most common issue for subs. Do you really want to buy a sub lead from someone who probably knows less than you?
Foil-only and spiral-wrap-only shield types both have their weaknesses. A single braided shield is better for low frequency (EMI) protection. A double-layer high-density braided shield provides both low-frequency (EMI) and high-frequency (RFI) protection. That's exactly what my sub leads have.
It's simply good engineering for the application.
No 'Hi-Fi cable-fu' or magic properties
Have you ever noticed how rarely Hi-Fi and AV cables come with any kind of specification?
There's no indication of the cable impedance, or the attenuation, its capacitance or the return loss. Often there isn't even an adequate basic description of what kind of shielding is used. What you get instead is pseudo-scientific sounding terms, vague hyperbole and some fancy packaging to help justify the price paid.
This mini coax has a full set of specifications. You'll get a copy with your cable.
Conductor 1 /0.31 +/-0.003BC - 100% plain copper
Insulation Material: Solid Natural PE
Nominal OD : 1.95 +/- 0.1 mm
Braiding 1 16/6/0.1+/-0.003TC / Nominal OD: ~ 2.45mm - tin coated copper - 91% Coverage
Braiding 2 16/6/0.1+/-0.003TC / Nominal OD: ~ 2.85mm - tin coated copper - 90% Coverage
Sheath Material : PVC / Colour : White
Min. thickness : 0.24mm / Nom. thickness : 0.30mm / Nominal OD : 3.55+/-0.1 mm
Minimum Bending Radius 20 mm single bend, 40 mm repeated bending
Voltage Test : Inner Conductor to Braiding: 5300V d.c/1min, No Breakdown
Nom. Capacitance : 67+/-2pF/m
Max. DC Conductor resistance : 236Ω/km, 20 OC
Min. DC Insulation resistance : 20,000MΩ/km
Characteristic Impedance : 75+/-4 Ω( 5MHz )
Maximum attenuation @ 100m measured at 1,000,000Hz (1MHz): 2.1dB
Delivery - eBay's estimated delivery is based on a worst case scenario. Most of my customers received their sub lead within two working days of their order. You'll get an order acknowledgement once your payment is made. You'll then get eBay's confirmed shipping notice and a message from me with a photo of your proof of postage. You can buy with confidence.
That's it. Simple, effective and great value.
My current listings go up to 90m.
Coming back in stock soon...
90 Degree right angle plug end for the sub
Perfect for subs close to a back wall.