Why is it impossible for anyone to make a decent aux cable?

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Why is it impossible for anyone to make a decent aux cable?

qwerty7

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#113630 22-Jan-2013 19:46

:/ :( 4 aux cables in 2 years. All rubbish, now in the bin. Where the hek do you find a 3.5 mm aux cable that is actual quality. Not just thick insulation making it look good - mutton dressed as lamb. They always drop out part of the signal e.g you loose the left or right audio, mostly at the plug end, but my last one the wire broke in the middle of the cable. Grrr cheap chinese cr*p!!! /rant off

B1GGLZ

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#749097 22-Jan-2013 19:54

I presume you mean audio stereo co-ax leads?
Never had any trouble with mine.
Very rarely had a failure with commercial cables with moulded rca plugs or 3.5mm stereo.
Home made ones with co-ax and plugs from Jaycar likewise rarely fail.
When they do its usually just a broken wire in the plug which I just solder up again or replace the plug.

scuwp

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#749111 22-Jan-2013 20:16

Never had a problem personally. Always find it is usually the socket full of crap that causes the problems you describe.

I am however quite careful with cables, never wind them too tight, protect against crimping etc

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

qwerty7

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#749126 22-Jan-2013 20:43

B1GGLZ: I presume you mean audio stereo co-ax leads?
Never had any trouble with mine.
Very rarely had a failure with commercial cables with moulded rca plugs or 3.5mm stereo.
Home made ones with co-ax and plugs from Jaycar likewise rarely fail.
When they do its usually just a broken wire in the plug which I just solder up again or replace the plug.

commercial cables? where do you get yours from

qwerty7

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#749132 22-Jan-2013 20:56

scuwp: Never had a problem personally. Always find it is usually the socket full of crap that causes the problems you describe.

I am however quite careful with cables, never wind them too tight, protect against crimping etc

It is certainly not the socket I tested the cables with a multimeter. I am careful with my stuff too but this is in my car so get moved around a bit. What annoyed me was a pulled apart my last one which was meant to be better quality, really thick, gold plated etc to find about 3 mm of insulation and the same thin rubbish less than 1 mm thick wire on the inside as an old cheap bargain basement type one I had. I think the cable was compressed somewhat by part of the dash but it's still cheap sh..

B1GGLZ

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#749177 22-Jan-2013 22:05

qwerty7:
commercial cables? where do you get yours from

You mean like these?
http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productResults.asp?whichpage=2&pagesize=10&keywords=&MID=4&SUBCATID=1013&SSUBID=879&form=CAT2#4

qwerty7

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#749520 23-Jan-2013 13:10

B1GGLZ:
qwerty7:
commercial cables? where do you get yours from

You mean like these?
http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productResults.asp?whichpage=2&pagesize=10&keywords=&MID=4&SUBCATID=1013&SSUBID=879&form=CAT2#4

yes, those are commercial quality?

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Dunnersfella

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#749886 23-Jan-2013 22:11

If $10 cables aren't working for you, move up the range a bit.
But don't be surprised if the next jump up in quality is from the likes of QED, and runs you $60 or so.

ilovemusic

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#749920 23-Jan-2013 23:00

^ good advice.

People say cables don't matter... BS !

richms

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#749947 24-Jan-2013 00:01

Most of the "audiophile" cables will fail even quicker since they do dumb stuff like solid wires, no shielding and other hairbrain designs.

I have had great sucess with some fake beats headphone style aux cables off DX, they are flat and one end had a right angle plug which I find always helps with cable stress.

Just remember that the 3.5mm plug/socket is an antique design which is quite frankly a total POS for most things.

Richard rich.ms

Dunnersfella

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#750192 24-Jan-2013 13:43

I do like the way QED's mid-range RCA cables are terminated - the strain relief design seems very well thought out.
However, I haven't had a chance to see their 3.5mm to 3.5mm's...
The shielding looked tops too - however the price certainly makes the Jaycar options look like a steal. But, I'd rather buy once and buy right...

Oubadah

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#750690 25-Jan-2013 13:28

richms:

Just remember that the 3.5mm plug/socket is an antique design which is quite frankly a total POS for most things.

Yes, those horrid little sockets are the No. 1 point of failure in laptops, phones, sound cards etc. in my experience. And now that they're all plastic, one solid yank of the cord and the barrel splits in half.