Topic: Low profile mic cable. Looking for alternatives to Belden 1804a

[JNT]

Looking for suggestions for low profile mic cables to use with 3 pin mini xlrs connectors.  What have people used besides the 1804a?

Joe

[cshepherd]

Van den Hul's Orchid mic cables have an OD of 2.9 mm.  They are extremely light weight.

PM me for details.

Chris

[Patrick]

AT 853 cable.  You can get it for about $.50 a foot directly from AT.  I'm going to look into that Orchid stuff though, if it will work with switchcraft mini xlrs I might have to re-do my active setup 

[cshepherd]

Yeah, that's it..now you're talkin'!   

Chris

[thegreatgumbino]

I'd second the AT cable & the 1804a for tiny OD stuff.  The Van Den Hul's material looks pretty sweet as well.  Don't know what it runs $/ft though.

[eric.B]

belden 1503a

[thegreatgumbino]

belden 1503a

I think the down side there is that it has a foil shield.

[cshepherd]

The Orchid is $445 for a 1m set.  $1335 for a 3m set (msrp).  It's not available off the spool.  It uses a solid core wire as the main conductor and the inner screen as the return conductor.  The screens are saturated in their patented Linear Structured Carbon.  Those who have bought the Orchid rca's for their hi-fi system consider the cable to be a bargain.  We've seen it replace Audience Au 24, Analysis-Plus Solo Crystal Oval as well as van den Hul's previous flagship rca, The Second (all-carbon conductors).  Someone on Audiogone also compared it to the Nordost Valhalla. 

Chris

[thegreatgumbino]

The Orchid is $445 for a 1m set.  $1335 for a 3m set (msrp).  It's not available off the spool.  It uses a solid core wire as the main conductor and the inner screen as the return conductor.  The screens are saturated in their patented Linear Structured Carbon.  Those who have bought the Orchid rca's for their hi-fi system consider the cable to be a bargain.  We've seen it replace Audience Au 24, Analysis-Plus Solo Crystal Oval as well as van den Hul's previous flagship rca, The Second (all-carbon conductors).  Someone on Audiogone also compared it to the Nordost Valhalla. 

Chris

   That's some f**ck'n pricey stuff!!  Is a "set" two cables?  Assuming that it is, a pair of 15 foot mic cables would run $2,225!!

[Ryan Sims]

The Orchid is $445 for a 1m set.  $1335 for a 3m set (msrp).  It's not available off the spool.  It uses a solid core wire as the main conductor and the inner screen as the return conductor.  The screens are saturated in their patented Linear Structured Carbon.  Those who have bought the Orchid rca's for their hi-fi system consider the cable to be a bargain.  We've seen it replace Audience Au 24, Analysis-Plus Solo Crystal Oval as well as van den Hul's previous flagship rca, The Second (all-carbon conductors).  Someone on Audiogone also compared it to the Nordost Valhalla. 

Chris

   That's some f**ck'n pricey stuff!!  Is a "set" two cables?  Assuming that it is, a pair of 15 foot mic cables would run $2,225!!

Uh yeah.  About that. . .

[Chuck]

Hey doOd, yer cables cost more than my whole rig... 

[Brian Skalinder]

It's [the ORCHID] not available off the spool.

So Van den Hul manufactures its own cable?  Or has a private label arrangement with a manufacturer for this custom cable available only to VdH?  Curious...

[JasonSobel]

there's also Canare L-4E5C Miniature Star-Quad (0.189in O.D.).  you can get that at markertek.com for 40 cents / foot.
http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=L%2D4E5C+BK&off=46&sort=prod

[cshepherd]

My 184>Orchid>722 rig has a new sticker price of about $5400.  That's not a ridiculous figure.  It's not the most expensive rig in a tapers section.  I have a V2, but I'm certainly not scared to run without it if I need a small, lightweight rig for the night.  Most other cables on par (sonically) with The Orchid have an OD of at least 7 mm.  For me, it's worth a premium to have an audiophile cable the size of a spaghetti noodle.  YMMV.  There isn't much reason to invest into audiophile cables for your taping rig without having some sort of decent playback system.  Regardless, The Orchid is one of the few cables out there small enough to handle the mini-xlr connectors and still have proper shielding and durability. 

van den Hul manufactures all of its wire.  You can't buy it on the bulk market like Canare and Belden.  They have distribution in 68 countries around the world.  At CES, A.J van den Hul was bragging about their top end silver cable getting orders in China.  He said they tried to knock it off and couldn't.  Their 16 amp a/c power cord has been knocked off relentlessly (in looks, not performance).  He started telling us about all the vdH knockoffs that come out of China and mentioned a power cord.  He pulled one out and it was the very cord we bought on Audiogone.  Somebody was selling fake Mainsstream Hybrid a/c cords for $125...it's a $450 a/c cord, and we bought one.  They claimed you could buy a better cable at Home Depot.  It all made sense because the cord made amps sound bright and thin.  It didn't work on anything.  We ordered an authentic Mainsstream Hybrid a/c cord and there simply was no comparison.  We've sold seven of those cables to various folks who had originally bought the fake.  The fakes come up for sale on the Gone from time to time.  The authentic a/c cords don't.  They are that good.

Chris

http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/artpap.htm  - reviews and articles A.J. van den Hul has written regarding phono, cables, hi-fi and other relevant topics.

http://www.vandenhul.nl/artpap/pro-apps.htm

[Brian Skalinder]

van den Hul manufactures all of its wire.

I thought I remembered so from an earlier post of yours.  Thanks for the confirmation.