Multichannel cables (1 Viewer)

[Ken Woodrow]

Where can one find multichannel interconnects -- i.e. ones that combine 6 or 8 interconnects into a single cable bundle? I've found one from Ixos here, but I am not satisfied with its quality. My goal is to clean up the rats nest of cables behind my rack!
Someone must be doing this! If not, it would make a good DIY project, I'm sure.
Thanks,
Ken

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Actually, Radio Shack and Monster both sell ganged sets with L/R/Video, L/R/SVideo, Digital/SVideo, etc. They really help clean things up.
I would hesitate to recommend a 6-conductor cable as this is very thick and hard to work with, and you only save if you have all 6 connections going from one box to the other.
You can help the "rats nest" by putting the receiver/amp on the bottom of your rack. This allows the speaker wires to flow out onto the floor and not hide the other components. Then you pull the power cords to one side or the other, and let the various interconnects hang down loosly in the middle. You can use split-loom tubing or velcro wire wraps to bundle things if you must.
If you really want to go mulit-conductor, Canare makes some nice bundles of RG6 coax (up to 5 channel) from www.markertek.com. But it sells for $1.92 /ft and I think you have to buy 25 feet minimum.

 

[Howard_S]

It is always best to have each cable separate from each other. So it might be a sacrifice between convenience and sound if the cables aren't done right. The safe bet is to buy 3 pairs of interconnects. If not I would contact some of your favorite cable manufacturers and ask if they can build you a custom one.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

You get RFI/Electro-Magnetic interference when you push current through a wire. Line level signals have very little current so it is quite safe to have them bundled so long as each individual cable is made of coax.

In fact, most component video cable sets are made with bundled coax, and Canare/Belden all make bundles for production studio & broadcast work.

You want to avoid mixing speaker-level (powered) signals in the same bundle with line-level cables.