Long Turntable-Amp RCA/Phono Stereo run - cable advice

[chris_s]

Hi folks,

Just after some opinion please - because of restrictions in where i can place my Turntable (Technics 1200 mk2) it ends up being around 8m from my amp after routing in trunking around the chimney breast and hearth.

Well aware of the "keep it as short as possible" mantra but unfortunately in my setup (more specifically my house) , I can't move the turntable any closer.

I've seen lots of talk about conductance and capacitance issues but not sure how these translate into a long run like mine.

So need some sensible recommendations about what cable to use between the phono pre-amp (next to turntable) and the amp, but without breaking the bank.

Works out at a run of about 8m. I have a 2 pairs of Neutrik ProFi phono plugs to use but just need some ideas of cable.

I have seen this:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Van-damme-Hi-fi-Twin-Interconnect-268-500-000-Shotgun-Figure-8-Cable-Per-metre-/140733405509

which is about the cheapest on the web at about £5/m

Question is - is it really going to give me significant gains/value for money over something like the van-damme classic xke instrument cable (doubled up obviously for stereo pair):-

http://www.van-damme.com/19.html

at about £1/m

or something else perhaps?


Sensible advice/opinions welcome

Thanks all!

Chris.

[walpurgis]

Yes, 'they' (whoever they are) recommend the shortest distance. But, is it sounding OK? If it is, why worry? You won't damage anything.

[struth]

As it is the line level that is doing the distance run, it should be ok, although 8mtr is pretty long. As Geoff asks, if it sounds fine then fine it is.

[chris_s]

The cable i am currently using is actually 3 temporary (cheap/nasty) stereo rca/phono's cobbled together with 2 couplers to get me the length i need, so very much not ideal, hence why the requirement for a good decent cable to make one up - plus it means i can shut the lid on the trunking finally :lol:

[RichB]

This may be like sacrilege to some here but how about not doing cables at all and sending your tt output to your amp via a Bluetooth transmitter and receiver. Presuming your phono stage is near the turntable.

I helped a mate with this recently who needed to send audio from a chromecast dongle plugged into his projector to an av amp at the opposite side of his room.

It worked surprisingly well and sounded very good. There was no noticeable lag with movies etc.

Such kits are easily available and will be plug n play.

Its another way to skin the cat I suppose and gives you flexibility for moving stuff around in the future.

[struth]

The cable i am currently using is actually 3 temporary (cheap/nasty) stereo rca/phono's cobbled together with 2 couplers to get me the length i need, so very much not ideal, hence why the requirement for a good decent cable to make one up - plus it means i can shut the lid on the trunking finally :lol:

This stuff is remarkably good for the money http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HQ-Twin-Phono-2-RCA-to-2-RCA-Audio-Lead-OFC-Cable-0-5m-1m-2m-3m-5m-10m-15m-20m-/370654418872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item564cb997b8

The Bluetooth idea intrigues me

[walpurgis]

This stuff is remarkably good for the money http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HQ-Twin-Phono-2-RCA-to-2-RCA-Audio-Lead-OFC-Cable-0-5m-1m-2m-3m-5m-10m-15m-20m-/370654418872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item564cb997b8

Have you tried it Grant? I had a couple of shortish ones and did not like what I heard.

[struth]

Not with a tt but have with a dab radio and it sounded pretty much the same as a short decent quality one(VDH)...it was a 10 metre one I had. currently use 2 of their digi coax ones (longish) and the ar good to my system anyhoo and as good as when I had a short one.

[Reffc]

8m is pretty long, even for line level in a single ended connection. I'd perhaps be considering how things could be arranged to shorten the length as much as possible as a first stab. If it can't be avoided then capacitance is only really an issue if the output impedance from the phono pre is highish, which it probably isn't?

The best cable for long runs would imho be a well screened coax as this also gives low capacitance. The Furutech cables I use for example are around 65pF/m which is pretty low. You don't need to go to mega bucks cables but for that length run I'd be using as decent a quality cable as you can afford...just make sure it's well screened and it should be ok.