Tonearm cables with a large 'separation' between right and left rca plugs?

howiebrou

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Jun 29, 2012
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I have a peculiar problem with a phonostage with right and left inputs at opposite ends of the phonostage meaning most cables will not fit as they tend to have a bridge or clamp of some sort holding the output ends near. Does anyone know of any off the shelf phono cables where this is the not the case? Looking for din to XLR and din to rca. Thanks
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I have a peculiar problem with a phonostage with right and left inputs at opposite ends of the phonostage meaning most cables will not fit as they tend to have a bridge or clamp of some sort holding the output ends near. Does anyone know of any off the shelf phono cables where this is the not the case? Looking for din to XLR and din to rca. Thanks
I have exactly the same problem with my Lamm LP1. MC1 inputs are at the farthest ends of the LP1. I can attach the phono wires but it is virtually impossible to attach the ground wire to the grounding post. The good news is my phono stage is dead quiet now so the lack of grounding has not been an issue. This seems to be a common problem for the Lamm LP1 with VDH tonearm cables.
 

howiebrou

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I have exactly the same problem with my Lamm LP1. MC1 inputs are at the farthest ends of the LP1. I can attach the phono wires but it is virtually impossible to attach the ground wire to the grounding post. The good news is my phono stage is dead quiet now so the lack of grounding has not been an issue. This seems to be a common problem for the Lamm LP1 with VDH tonearm cables.
Steve, for me the ground wires are fine but the right and left rca or XLR inputs are almost 18 inches apart so i basically need a phono cable that splits as soon as it leaves the Din plug in the tonearm. The Shunyata ones may do this but i would really need to see one to tell and it is weird to choose a cable brand based on this requirement!
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
when I used the Graham Phantom Elite tone arm in MC1, the tone arm wires supplied with the graham arm had an "O" ring holding the left and right wires together. If you neeed more length you merely roll the "O" ring down which gives you more length

Bob's tonearm cable is very good and IIRC is made by Nordost
 

howiebrou

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when I used the Graham Phantom Elite tone arm in MC1, the tone arm wires supplied with the graham arm had an "O" ring holding the left and right wires together. If you neeed more length you merely roll the "O" ring down which gives you more length

Bob's tonearm cable is very good and IIRC is made by Nordost
That sounds like exactly the kind of system I need although I am not a particular fan of Nordost. I might check it out.
 

dan31

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Jul 22, 2010
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I had a similar issue with my Aesthetix Io. Call the cable manufacturer and they can usually custom make one for you.

I called Cardas about a Clear phono cable and they said no problem. Just spec the distance and they would build it.
 

howiebrou

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I had a similar issue with my Aesthetix Io. Call the cable manufacturer and they can usually custom make one for you.

I called Cardas about a Clear phono cable and they said no problem. Just spec the distance and they would build it.

Many thanks.
 

shakti

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Facing the same problem with my Boulder 2008, I am using now the following DIN to XLR cables:

- JPS Phonocable, done with 2 separate wires
- vdh the Rock, done with 2 separate wires.
- HMS Gran Finale, done with 2 separate wires

JPS and vdh are more on the analytic side, HMS is more on the neutral side.

Still looking for alternatives, as for tonal balance I prefer my Glanz DIN to XLR cable. But unfortunately does not fit into the Boulder.
 
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howiebrou

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Facing the same problem with my Boulder 2008, I am using now the following DIN to XLR cables:

- JPS Phonocable, done with 2 separate wires
- vdh the Rock, done with 2 separate wires.
- HMS Gran Finale, done with 2 separate wires

JPS and vdh are more on the analytic side, HMS is more on the neutral side.

Still looking for alternatives, as for tonal balance I prefer my Glanz DIN to XLR cable. But unfortunately does not fit into the Boulder.
Thanks. Were they all custom made? Or do they come as separate wires terminated with a Din?
 

dan31

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Jul 22, 2010
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I think Stealth Audio is worth a look at the higher price level. Last I looked they use individual cables that tie together at a din plug. The hyperphono is around $4k and the top cable is pricey. I could not justify the $4k given my level of equipment.
 

howiebrou

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Jun 29, 2012
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I think Stealth Audio is worth a look at the higher price level. Last I looked they use individual cables that tie together at a din plug. The hyperphono is around $4k and the top cable is pricey. I could not justify the $4k given my level of equipment.
Thanks. 4k is waaay more than any of my phono cables but will check them out anyway. Cheers.
 

shakti

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May 9, 2015
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Cologne, Germany
Thanks. Were they all custom made? Or do they come as separate wires terminated with a Din?

they all come as standard separate DIN to XLR.

here as an example a picture of the JPS Super Conductor V (pic is DIN to RCA, DIN to XLR available))

superconductor_v_phono_rca.jpg
 
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