advertisement


Calling ATC Active speaker users

Whizzy

pfm Member
I have not previously used active speaks that have XLR connectors, so am not aware whether different makes/types of XLR cable have any effect on sound. Can any users of ATC active speakers recommend any XLR connection cables. One of the speakers will require a 7m cable, so ideally not looking for anything too expensive. Thanks
 
I have not previously used active speaks that have XLR connectors, so am not aware whether different makes/types of XLR cable have any effect on sound. Can any users of ATC active speakers recommend any XLR connection cables. One of the speakers will require a 7m cable, so ideally not looking for anything too expensive. Thanks
www.designacable.com will make perfectly good XLR leads any length and any color you want at a very reasonable price. Stick to decent pro cable like Van Damme or Mogami and connectors from Neutrik and you won’t go wrong. Many of the recordings you listen to will be made with such cables.

https://www.designacable.com/van-damme-tour-grade-classic-xke-microphone-cable.html
 
If you are particularly keen to prevent pick up of inteference you might go with star quad cables (I do) although it isn;t really necessary. The likes of vanne damme mogami and gotham will make them.
 
Another vote for Designacable. I have 5m length Mogami 2534 cable with good metal Neutrix plugs. Sounds great on my 40As. You save a lot of money compared to quality speaker cables. :)
 
I understand star quad cable can give reduction in highs, a trade off against improved EMI rejection.

I use mogami W2549 10m long from pre to power amplifiers with neutriks. Great cable.
 
From wikipedia-
"The disadvantage is that star quad, in combining two conductors, typically has more capacitance than similar two-conductor twisted and shielded audio cable. High capacitance causes an increasing loss of high frequencies as distance increases.[7][8] The high-frequency loss is due to the RC filter formed by the output impedance of the cable driver and the capacitance of the cable. In some cases an increase in distortion can occur in the cable driver if it has difficulty driving the higher cable capacitance.

The capacitance of a 4 conductor quad-star cable is roughly equal to the capacitance of a standard 2 conductor cable about 1.5 times as long. The increased capacitance of the star quad cable is not usually a problem with short cable runs, but it can be an issue for long cable runs. For example, an 8 m (25 ft) star-quad cable has a capacitance of 150 pF/m[9] for a total capacitance of 1200 pF for the entire length of cable. With a 150 Ohm source impedance and 1200 pF load capacitance, the frequency response of this RC circuit is -0.02 dB at 20 kHz. If the cable were 80 m instead of 8 m, then the frequency response would be -0.2 dB at 20 kHz, and -3 dB at 88 kHz"
This could be a real issue at 500m
 
Gotham GAC 4/1 has much lower capacitance than several other popular star quads.

Similarities to Mogami 2534:
- star quad for EMI
- double shield for RFI
- capacitance is significantly lower than some common star quad cables

Differences to Mogami 2534,
- both shields are braided https://studioelectronics.biz/reussen-shielding/
- viscose wrap between core and shields
 
www.designacable.com will make perfectly good XLR leads any length and any color you want at a very reasonable price. Stick to decent pro cable like Van Damme or Mogami and connectors from Neutrik and you won’t go wrong. Many of the recordings you listen to will be made with such cables.

https://www.designacable.com/van-damme-tour-grade-classic-xke-microphone-cable.html


I don’t have ATC actives, but I have Buchardt actives and used designacable to get some van damme + neutrik cables made up (2x 10m runs). Worked perfectly, delivered the day after ordering, sounded great.
 
Yes, different xlr-cables sound different. No need to spend fortunes though. I recently tested bunch of these and ended up keeping Vovox Sonorus Direct S with my 50ASL’s. They had slightly smoother sound with great low frequency detail and punch. If you want utmost clarity, go for Grimm TPR. Belden 8760 is what ATC recommends I think, I have one pair of these as backup cables. Very good and cheap cable.
 
I'm using Belden 8760 cable into mine and it seems fine, although I'm interested in trying something different to satisfy my curiosity.

Which speakers are you getting?
 
I have not previously used active speaks that have XLR connectors, so am not aware whether different makes/types of XLR cable have any effect on sound. Can any users of ATC active speakers recommend any XLR connection cables. One of the speakers will require a 7m cable, so ideally not looking for anything too expensive. Thanks

After several years of Canare L46ES from the excellent and highly recommended Mark Grant, I read up a little and decided to try some Belden 1800F which I ordered from Blue Jeans Cable (though I now understand Mark may also make these on request). I swapped back and forth for less than an hour, expecting to hear little difference, but I did and the Belden have stayed.
 
I'm using Belden 8760 cable into mine and it seems fine, although I'm interested in trying something different to satisfy my curiosity.

Which speakers are you getting?

Have been using Bang & Olufsen Beolab 9 active speakers for around six years and had an itch to try some ATC SCM 19a speakers just to see if it might be worth a change. Have now purchased some SCM 19A's off this site and have been running them with some Van Damme XKE cables alongside the Beolab 9s. So far I have been unable to decide which speakers I prefer as although they both have a slightly different sound, both really do sound excellent and it's made me realise just how good the Beolab 9s are. The Beolab are connected using proprietary cables supplied by a B&O specialist so my next step is to try slightly better cables with he ATCs to see if that helps me identify a preference and helps me decide which speakers to keep. Taken the plunge and ordered some Mogami 2549 xlr cables from dsignacable.
 
Last edited:
I did and the Belden have stayed

When I bought my 100's & SCA2 I had all my interconnects made up with it and have never felt a need to change. Others have arrived at my place with different interconnects, none got me tempted.
 
I assume most users are using balanced connections, or are you talking about feeding them from an unbalanced phono socket? I made mine up from Linn Silver cable with Neutrik XLRs, simply because I use Linn Silvers in the rest of the (balanced) system, which has a silver wound passive preamp too. Probably foo but it sounds OK.
As others have said, ATC will run you up a pair.
 
Mogami 2534 & Neutrik connectors here, supplied by Designacable. Van Damme and Gotham work just fine too.

If using an unbalanced preamplifier, then they can wire up a starquad cable running RCA --> XLR, which works very well too.
 


advertisement


Back
Top