Audio Cable source? 1/8 right angle->RCA, 16-20'

[JFrankParnell]

Any y'all have a good source for audio cables? I'm looking for 1/8" stereo, right angle male to dual RCA male, 16-25 feet long. Ok, 5-6 meters would work...

I've googled, amazon'd, zzounded, radioshacked etc. Coming up dry.

[sumgai]

JFrank,

Short of getting a custom-made doohickey from Redmond Cable, you're gonna have to settle for adapters on the ends of your long-run cables. Sorry.



sumgai

[JFrankParnell]

The kind ladies at Redmond Cable offered to make this cord for $38. Also, linked me to a non-right-angle cord at amazon, $11.50 plus whatever.
www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMR-225-Cable-3-5MM-TRS/dp/B004NCUM7C

[farren]

Hosa is pretty infamous and $38 is a bit much... I would go the adapter route.

[sumgai]

farren,

Yes, $38 does seem high, until you visit a guitar store near you, and see that plain ordinary guitar cables can reach Monster Cable-level pricing, even when they're obviously crap. And only one or two mid-level cable companies will throw in some kind of warranty, the rest of them just leave out you in the cold, regardless of the retail price.

Redmond Cable doesn't work that way. They've been making cables all kinds for OEM's for nearly 30 years, but they also do one-off, custom work. This isn't some mom-and-pop operation, working out of their garage, this is the real shiznitz, with over 40 employess working in a building that covers something like 24,000 sq. ft. For them, the custom stuff is something they have to do by hand (mostly), and they have to fit it into their schedule of previously contracted high-volume operations, so yes, they are justified in asking for a pretty penny.

But they do warrant their workmanship. Bent pin? Likely your fault, it gets repaired at your expense. Cable broken off right at the end of the connector? If it doesn't look like you took a Bowie knife to it, then they'll fix it or replace it, done deal.

I've had them make cables for me, over the last 2 decades or so, all the way from a simple parallel cable up to a 24-channel snake with 4-way returns, a hundred feet long. Always quick, considering what else they do, and always at what I call a fair price, again considering that they are fulfilling my needs when no on else would. Can't argue with that.

And of course it doesn't hurt that they are located less than 10 miles from my front door.

And when's the last time you heard of a company guiding you towards a competitor's product, eh? That's called Service With A Smile, always worth a bit more than your usual grumpy, hungover, high-school-dropout found at nearly every local shop.



The only reason I favor adapters is that so-constructed signal cable can be considered temporary - all the parts are re-usable for other purposes, if/when the time comes. I tend to like that kind of utility, that's all.

HTH




sumgai

[JFrankParnell]

Yeah, I really wanted a one piece deal and am considering paying the high price cuz of the inability to lose little pieces. Oh, I could have made this cord, easily from radioshack with 2 cords and a couple couplers. A. The person who will use it is not as organized as me. 2. This cord is liable to be plugged and unplugged and moved around fairly occasionally. III. I wanted to make a bit of a present of it and didnt want some bunch of cords and doodads.

[farren]

sumgai,

First off, "bit much" was relative to online costs rather than brick and mortar. One only pays ridiculous brick and mortar prices if they don't have time to wait for shipping or if they don't have the knowledge of what's available for less online

But anyway, I can appreciate the fact that it costs them to make a one-off for someone on request and wasn't suggesting it's a rip-off. I was in the market for nearly the same cable to hook a 1/8" TRS device up to two channels of a mixer. I ended up going with a series of three adapters/cables as it was hardly an audiophile-grade application demanding military-grade durability, and like you said, the modular components often come in handy later. I'm not trying to step on your business--Redmond sounds like a good company.

Only kidding

Anyway, in light of JFrankParnell's latest follow-up, I'd go with the custom cable. A mess of adapters wouldn't make it a very pretty gift, and the Hosa cable might not work at all given their stuff generally consists of the worst cheaply-made OEM cables and connectors available IME...

[sumgai]

farren,

Agreed on that HOSA stuff, and most others priced in that category.

At least in our state (Washington), where the sales tax is well over 9% in some localities, the difference between that and shipping is just about a wash. At that point, the Internet retailer wins my business only for free shipping, and that's easy to check up on - is the retail price (comparing apples to apples, no sales gimmicks allowed) the same as the local brick-and-mortar store? If so, then the free shipping gets the nod. If not, then I opt for the local guy.

The only other reason might be selection, where a store just refuses to carry some particular item that you happen to favor... then they lose to the Internet, once again.

As for shoddy clerkmanship, I usually try to cultivate a friendship with the Manager, or at least an Asst Manager.... that helps to keep the bungled transactions down to a minimum.

This is true for all manner of merchandise, not just musical instruments. At least, it works for me - YMMV.


As for JFrank: Yes, I agree that a gift should be of considerably higher quality than what I'd personally use for myself. And if it's business related, then that 'mark of quality' is doubly necessary - nothing de-impresses a person like receiving an item that looks like a refugee from a recalcitrant Rube Goldberg machine.

HTH




sumgai