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Topic: Question about performance and shielding 3.5mm stereo cables (Read 7942 times) previous topic - next topic
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Question about performance and shielding 3.5mm stereo cables

Recently I have been hearing a lot buzzing and crackling appearing in my music. At first I thought it was my headphones, then my sound card, then my amp. But neither of those were the source of the noise. I have now finally figured out it is my stereo cables that are the cause of the noise. I had never really invested time or effort into looking specs of my stereo cables, but now I realize I should have (always used to buy just the cheap bundle at RadioShack)
Therefore, I am looking in to buying some new 3.5mm stereo cables (around 3-5' long and Male to Male).
So my questions are:
  • Where can I buy cables that have outstanding shielding?
  • Is there a rating/numeric system for cables that describes the level of shielding that have? If so what is it? (or just point me to the place where it is explained)
  • Is there rating/numeric system that describes the performance of said cable?

    Thanks.

    Also, product suggestions are most welcome.

    In addition, if this is a double post of a similar question allready posed (I had google searched the board using the search at the top of the page, but couldn't find any relevant hits per se), could you please direct me to that thread?

Question about performance and shielding 3.5mm stereo cables

Reply #1 –
Stop worrying about outstanding shielding! The problem with your cables has nothing to do with shielding, but is due to a poor connection, such as a corroded connector, cold solder joint, or nearly broken wire. Any decently made audio cable will work just fine.

My guess is that you identified the cable as the problem by wiggling it, and heard noises when you did. That spot in the cable is where the connection is bad.

Question about performance and shielding 3.5mm stereo cables

Reply #2 –
Quote
...a lot buzzing and crackling appearing in my music.
  Buzzing could be shielding.  Crackling is something else.

If the buzz gets louder when you move the cables near an AC power cord, that's a shielding problem.

If moving the cables around causes the crackling sound, that's a bad connection.  If the buzz suddenly comes-and-goes when you move the cables around, that's a bad connection too.  A bad connection could be a bad solder joint inside the cable (where the connectors are soldered to the cable).  It could be corrosion on the plug (male), the jack (female socket), or both.  It could be a bad or worn-out jack.  Sometimes you can use some sandpaper to "clean-up" the plug-end, but this can damage the plating so do it at your own risk... 

I've never seen a rating for shielding.  I have seen cables marked "100% shielded", and cables with a clear plastic cover that allow you to see the braided-shield are usually 100% shielded.  Most good audio cables will be fully shielded...  You don't need to buy audiophile-grade cables... But most are not labeled either way. 

I've seen partially shielded cables,  but they were never labeled as-such.  I've only discovered this when repairing or building cable assemblies.  (I could see thorugh the shield-braid.)  And, I've seen unshileded cables, but these are never (almost never?) sold as "audio-interconnect" cables.

Your headphone cable does not need to be shielded.  The impedance is so low, that you can't pick-up electrical noise from the air.  The same is true for (non-amplified) speaker cables.  Cables sold as "headphone extension cables" or "speaker extension cables" may not be shielded,  so don't buy one of those and use it for line-level or mic-level connections.