Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Read 925 times.

djbnh

Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« on: 21 Mar 2023, 05:20 pm »
A pair of Van Damme balanced cables with Neutrik gold connectors are working nicely in our system,. Wicked inexpensive (we got a 2M pair, $76.74 shipped free from the UK), available thru an eBay vendor, (https://www.ebay.com/itm/165829972779), etc. I subscribe to a newsletter put out by a member of the industry circle section of AC; it turns out that the Van Damme microphone balanced cables were highly recommended. YMMV.

veloceleste

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 403
Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #1 on: 21 Mar 2023, 05:50 pm »
Hi,
Is the cable the VanDamme XKE silver plated? Thanks for the heads up!

jmc207

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 382
Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #2 on: 21 Mar 2023, 06:26 pm »
If this is the correct cable, 7 strands of the 39 total strands are silver coated copper, the rest are copper.

https://www.van-damme.com/vandamme_product/van-damme-tour-grade-classic-xke-starquad-microphone-cable/#1537534704632-c472e6a0-7e3824df-956f

Conductors   7 x 0.08 mm bare silver plated oxygen-free copper
   32 x 0.08 mm bare ultra-pure oxygen-free copper
Conductor size   39 x 0.08 mm, 0.196 mm2, ~ AWG 25
Insulation   Cross-linked polyethylene
Screen type(s)   128 x 0.10 mm braided tinned oxygen-free copper, 98% Optical coverage
Jacket material   Flexible PVC/Neoprene composite
Overall diameter   6.00 ± 0.15 mm
Bend radius   10 x overall diameter

djbnh

Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #3 on: 21 Mar 2023, 07:00 pm »
If this is the correct cable, 7 strands of the 39 total strands are silver coated copper, the rest are copper.

https://www.van-damme.com/vandamme_product/van-damme-tour-grade-classic-xke-starquad-microphone-cable/#1537534704632-c472e6a0-7e3824df-956f
jmc207 - yes, that appears to be the cable used. I imagine one could go w/o the STARQUAD configuration. I figured at the price it wouldn't hurt to get the quad configuration re: EMI/RFI rejection. I also note that the price, and shipping times, have each increased slightly.

jmc207

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 382
Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #4 on: 21 Mar 2023, 09:19 pm »
jmc207 - yes, that appears to be the cable used. I imagine one could go w/o the STARQUAD configuration. I figured at the price it wouldn't hurt to get the quad configuration re: EMI/RFI rejection. I also note that the price, and shipping times, have each increased slightly.


I have some Van Damme twisted pair cables that have a similar small amount of silver coated strands. The net effect is just a bit of extra highlighting in the overall sound. Can be good if other components lean to the dark or thick side.

Speedskater

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 2672
  • Kevin
Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #5 on: 22 Mar 2023, 04:51 pm »
XLR StarQuad is useful in harsh interference situations, like on stage with theater lights and smoke machines. Seldom needed in residential systems.
At audio frequencies, save the silver for contact points. At frequencies well above 100 megahertz, silver plated solid conductors are great.

mr_bill

Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #6 on: 22 Mar 2023, 08:14 pm »
I think Bryston interconnects used to use Van Damme cable

djbnh

Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #7 on: 23 Mar 2023, 01:22 am »
XLR StarQuad is useful in harsh interference situations, like on stage with theater lights and smoke machines. Seldom needed in residential systems...
Speedskater, at the price it was a no-brainer for me to go for the STARQUAD configuration re: EMI/RFI rejection, over the twisted pair configuration. YMMV. And happy listening.

navi

Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #8 on: 24 Mar 2023, 11:35 am »
I'm a big fan of the Van Damme cable. I've used the Van Damme coax. MIC cable. dirt cheap and really good but their better cable is the LoCap50 coax. I use it in my system when I ran unbalanced gear.

I'm going to give their star quad a go.

djbnh

Re: Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Cable
« Reply #9 on: 24 Mar 2023, 12:20 pm »
I'm a big fan of the Van Damme cable. I've used the Van Damme coax. MIC cable. dirt cheap and really good but their better cable is the LoCap50 coax. I use it in my system when I ran unbalanced gear.

I'm going to give their star quad a go.
Good to know, ty. And their cable certainly is "Cheap and Cheerful".