Decent rca cable with ground wire.

Telsenick

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Hi

Just after some recommendations for some rca with ground wire cables.

Nothing silly priced if poss folk's.

Thanks
 
The standard RCA cable uses the outside as the ground or return . And the inside connection is the live. Almost anything beyond the freebies is good enough ,with the more expensive ones having milled connectors rather than the simple swaged tin plate on the freebies . I bought Cambridge Audio ones , probably 10 pounds in the early 1980s ,for the audio from a CD player, and the grip is still very tight.
 
What you are looking for, an RCA Pair with separate Ground Lead, are specifically for Turntables.

While you can find some cheaper version on Amazon, because these are unique and rare, then tend to be more expensive -

Amazon product ASIN B07B4DLC53
Amazon product ASIN B07BJJN2J6
Amazon product ASIN B07KT9J57K
Note I selected links to simply illustrate examples. I gave no regard to length of cable, you will have to get he length you need.

The 1STec seem to be reasonable quality and are double shielded, and come in assorted sizes (1.5m up to 5m).

Here are more expensive versions -




Steve/bluewizard
 
My advice would be not to buy the 1STec turntable cable as the earth grounding wire is too short. Once you have connected the phono plugs then the ground wire it puts a strain on the cable. In my opinion the ground wire should be at least 100mm"s longer than the phono cable either end. I know this from experience.
 
Buy or use any standard RCA interconnect, and a separate wire (any wire) for the ground.
 
Buy or use any standard RCA interconnect, and a separate wire (any wire) for the ground.
Actually, this is what I did. I needed to extend my Turntable Cable, so I just used regular RCA-to-RCA cable. For the Ground Wire, I just taped some bell wire to the RCA extension, and coupled the two Ground Wire Ends together.

However, the Original Poster specifically asked for RCA Cable with a Ground Wire in it. So, that's the answer I gave him.

However, he should be aware of all options. So well worth mentioning just using a separate Ground Wire with regular RCA Cable.

As to the mention of the Ground Wire on the ISTec cable being too short, for a turntable, the Ground Terminal is usually very near the Phono Connection. More wire can be stripped out of the cable pairs and that might make it work better.

But I agree, the ground wire should extend beyond the RCA connector for best fit.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bluewizard
 
the ground wire should extend beyond the RCA connector for best fit.
It’s amazing how many makers of such cables don’t get this, even a TT manufacturer like Clearaudio - the groundwire on the integral tonearm cable on my deck is way too short, I had to extend it so that it would reach the terminal without bending the interconnect itself at an extreme angle.
 
It’s amazing how many makers of such cables don’t get this, even a TT manufacturer like Clearaudio - the groundwire on the integral tonearm cable on my deck is way too short, I had to extend it so that it would reach the terminal without bending the interconnect itself at an extreme angle.
I checked my own turntable, the Ground Wire is indeed about 4" (100mm) Longer than the RCA leads.

It is like they don't know what the cables will be used for.

For me it wouldn't be a problem, I could extend the wire, but that's asking a bit much from the average consumer.

Steve/bluewizard
 
...the groundwire on the integral tonearm cable on my deck is way too short,...

I suspect to add 4" (100mm) of ground wire to each end, you also have to extend the RCA by 4" on each end, then trim the RCA cable pair back 4". That means you lose 8" of each cable pair for every cable you make. Fine for one cable, but if you are making hundreds or thousands, that adds up.

So, I suspect it is merely cost savings. Not that they don't understand.

That doesn't help us the consumer, but it helps the manufacturer.


Steve/bluewizard
 
I suspect to add 4" (100mm) of ground wire to each end, you also have to extend the RCA by 4" on each end, then trim the RCA cable pair back 4". That means you lose 8" of each cable pair for every cable you make. Fine for one cable, but if you are making hundreds or thousands, that adds up.

That doesn't help us the consumer, but it helps the manufacturer.

...which would give any cable manufacturer the excuse to ramp up their prices. Hey Presto - another win!
 

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