splitters

[Welder]

On the second picture from the left at the bottom of the main page are some signal splitters.
Can someone tell me who makes them please and if any particular make is better?

[John]

I used these in the past and worked well
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2x-RCA-Phono-Female-1x-Male-Audio-Splitter-Adaptor-Gold-/390286179573?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_PowerAdapto rs_SM&hash=item5adede7cf5

[Welder]

Cheers John :)
I was wondering about the one in the picture in particular though.

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi John, i think you'll find they are specials that convert some weird connector that only Mark Levinson used to standard phono sockets. Not going to be of much use to you m8 at the end of the day ;)

[Welder]

Cheers Mark. I did wonder. I can't recall seeing them anywhere.

[The Grand Wazoo]

They're Camac connectors - they're made by Fischer or Lemo. They used to be used on ML gear. I think the splitter in the photo is a Lemo - that picture is the back end of Barry's ML preamp. Camac's are really good connectors, but a bit of a pain if you want to mix gear. Also, they're pretty expensive & generally restrict you to small diameter cables.

[Welder]

Thanks Chris :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

You're welcome!
Barry will no doubt spill the beans on the provenance of his splitters. Meanwhile, if you're slightly interested, I started a little thread about Camacs here:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2740

They're also used in loads of non-hifi applications and there are loads of different pin configurations. I think Leica use them, for example.

[Barry]

Hi John,

Yes, they're CAMAC signal splitters made by Lemo. The actual part number is FTY.00.250.NTF (for the "Y" splitter) and FTL.00.250.NFT (for a "T" splitter)

http://intra.lemo.ch/catalog/ROW/UK_English/00and01Coaxial_en.pdf

As Chris and Mark have both pointed out, the use of CAMAC connectors is virtually unique to early Mark Levinson electronics. As a connector, they are superb: designed for use in safety-critical situations, such as on medical equipment; in the nuclear industry; in the broadcast industry and in telecoms.

Being a precision connector they are expensive - very expensive! They make the audio industry standard, that is the RCA phono, look like the poor design that it is. But like it or not, the RCA phono has become the standard audio connector.

RCA phono "Y" -splitters are available from Maplin: http://www.maplin.co.uk/gold-plated-2-into-1-phonoadaptor-34195

Regards

[Welder]

Cheers Barry :)

I was wondering about using them from a single socket SPDIF from my music server build. But, as you note, they are somewhat expensive for an adaptor :eek:
But, they would give me the screening capability I was looking for because at the moment I’ve got SPDIF running out next to a bloody great SMPS :doh:
Prolly cheaper to re-route ;)