# XLR Cable



## cedgar01 (Apr 3, 2009)

I am wondering if any one know a good and fairly cheap place to buy bulk XLR cable, also looking for durability. Also has anyone made their own connectors for XLR, I did a quick google search some methods you solder and others I guess crimp. 

Thanks


----------



## howlingwolf487 (Apr 4, 2009)

First off, get it out of your head that you want cheap cable. I don't want cheap cable interconnecting everything in my system - if it fails, I'm left blowing in the breeze. Buy quality and you will NEVER have to worry about that. Plus, quality cable isn't too pricey, anyway. Just stay away from Monster...not that it's bad cable, just overpriced for the majority of the work we do (and the connectors are a bit too beefy sometimes, so they don't fit in tight spaces easily).

Anyways...here you go:

Camel Traders

Audiopile

Parts Express

For the hard-to-find stuff, check out Full Compass and/or B&H Photo/Video.

I recommend soldering your connectors...I haven't personally crimped any of mine, but I have heard from other whose opinions I trust that it is not the most reliable method of termination for those connections. Your mileage may vary...


----------



## TimmyP1955 (Apr 4, 2009)

I like Horizon LowZ1, available from any Horizon dealer. The only downside is that although it comes in colors, it does not come in all 10 EIA colors (no brown or gray - you get pink or dark blue instead).

A little nicer (and available in proper colors) is Wirelux Musilux cable, available from any Wirelux dealer.


----------



## museav (Apr 4, 2009)

cedgar01 said:


> I am wondering if any one know a good and fairly cheap place to buy bulk XLR cable, also looking for durability.


There is no such thing as "XLR" cable, XLR is a connector type and can be used for a number of different applications. What is the application as in type of signal (mic, analog line level, AES/EBU, etc.), run length, single or multipair, installed or portable cordage, rating (plenum, riser, etc., if applicable) and so forth?


cedgar01 said:


> Also has anyone made their own connectors for XLR, I did a quick google search some methods you solder and others I guess crimp.


Do you mean terminate the cable yourself? There are both solder and crimp connectors available, I too prefer solder, but connectors are also available in a wide range of quality and cost. And in many cases the extra cost for better quality connectors like some of the Neutrik connectors is well worth the investment.


I am curious about the application as unless it is a special application, such as pulling through conduit, cables cut to length in a rack, or for training/education purposes, very few people find it more cost effective to make their own cables. If you do want to proceed, you could also check with some local audio and AV contractors and manufacturers, they often purchase cable and connectors in large quantities, and thus at a a discount, and you might get them to add a box or roll or cable and quantity of connectors to their order for you.


----------



## BillESC (Apr 4, 2009)

What's your idea of bulk? 1000', 5000' 25,000'?

I ship several hundred thousand feet of mic cable a year so let me know what your actual needs and application are. I'm sure I can be of assistance to you.

Solder connections are superior IMHO.


----------



## museav (Apr 4, 2009)

BillESC said:


> What's your idea of bulk? 1000', 5000' 25,000'?
> 
> I ship several hundred thousand feet of mic cable a year so let me know what your actual needs and application are. I'm sure I can be of assistance to you.


I liked it when the company I worked for installed the International Broadcast Center for the Atlanta Olympics. All the interconnect cable going in and out of racks, which included a lot of custom bundled cable from Belden, came in one shipment. It was something like 16 semis, but one shipment!

All the racks were on flats and when the Olympics were over, they took a Sawzall across the backs of the racks, used forklifts to load the racks onto trucks to be moved off site and deinstalled, then used the forklifts to 'bulldoze' all the cable into dumpsters. There was a lot of good "B" stock Panasonic broadcast gear available for some time after that as well.

For the Nagano Winter Olympics IBC they rented a warehouse space here, mocked up the physical layout of the facility in Japan and literally built and tested it all here, then bundled everything up in manageable chunks and shipped it to Japan. I believe the Sydney games were handled similarly.


----------



## Anvilx (Apr 4, 2009)

cedgar01 said:


> Also has anyone made their own connectors for XLR
> 
> Thanks



_Oh I just finished whittling one this morning._

On the aspect of solder, get silver solder because it has the best conductance.


----------



## Chris15 (Apr 5, 2009)

Bulk takes on a new meaning when you are sufficient a customer to get all available stock at the factory shipped half way across the world... Particularly when someone's paying air freight on more than a hundred kilos of multicore...

Be sure to use that new fangled RoHS solder, apparently it won't kill you like the old stuff. What a shame that it don't hold together so good...

Brad, by all accounts, the Sydney games saw cabling being disconnected by means of axe. The Doha Asian games saw tactical fibre come back to Australia in more pieces than it left.

Crimp connectors done properly can be of equal performance to solder. Done poorly they can be a mess. Crimps generally are quicker though which can be good, especially when doing multipin connectors... Just avoid IDC connectors like the plague for anything that's not a one hit wonder. They slowly work loose and you have no means of reflowing solder or the like to fix it. They need to be turfed...

Basically cheap and durable may occasionally go together. Add reliable to the mix and it ain't going to happen...


----------

