[Levi]

Hi James,

I recently bought Bryston XLR cables online.  However, when I received the cables they don't have any marking or prints that it was Bryston cables.  They are neutric connectors and black. 

How can you tell if they are infact authentic Bryston XLR cables?  Anything that I should look for?

Thanks!
-Levi

[James Tanner]

Hi James,

I recently bought Bryston XLR cables online.  However, when I received the cables they don't have any marking or prints that it was Bryston cables.  They are neutric connectors and black. 

How can you tell if they are infact authentic Bryston XLR cables?  Anything that I should look for?

Thanks!
-Levi

Hi Levi,

Our name is not on them - did you buy them from us?

james

[brucek]

They are neutric connectors and black. 

How can you tell if they are infact authentic Bryston XLR cables?

I don't know about today, but when I bought my Bryston cables (from Bryston) in 2000, they certainly had no markings of any kind on them. They are as you describe them.

brucek

[nikolas]

Hi James,

I recently bought Bryston XLR cables online.  However, when I received the cables they don't have any marking or prints that it was Bryston cables.  They are neutric connectors and black. 

How can you tell if they are infact authentic Bryston XLR cables?  Anything that I should look for?

Thanks!
-Levi

I bought Bryston cables (from Bryston) in 2007, they certainly had no markings of any kind on them They are as you describe them.

[Levi]

No I did not buy them directly from Bryston. 

It would be nice if there are Bryston sleeves on them.  Then again, if this would raise the cost.  Leave it.

Thanks for the input Guys. 

-Levi

[grsimmon]

I bought those cables factory direct about 3 years ago and I regret selling them,  they remain my favorite.   From memory they definitely DID have markings but did not say Bryston;  instead they were marked something like "star quad microphone cable" in small print,  and were finished with neutriks.   I have seen a couple sellers on ebay with cables they claim to be Brystons,  but looked a little suspicious to me.   

[Levi]

Here are some pictures for identification purposes.


and

[muski]

I recently received a set and indeed noticed that they are not Bryston branded.

Two other comments:

1) It would be really nice if you could somehow differentiate between the two XLR interconnects -- just to avoid L/R confusion when plugging them in.  I looked on the Neutrik site and there is a little red ring that you could add to one of the the connectors to do this.

2) To be honest, from a 'theory of electronics', I never really understood why some cables have a concept of signal directionality...  But I did notice that Bryston speaker cables have this -- there is a little arrow on the cable indicating the flow of the signal from the amp to the speaker.  Of course, XLR cables have an inherent signal directionality just because of the connectors.  But one thing I noticed is that on one cable the lettering on the cable went in one direction and a different direction on the other.  So, I guess that the microphone cable you use to make these interconnects has no signal directionality?

muski

[Levi]

Are they Van-damme or canare Quad? 

Hopefully, James can make clear of this.  By looking at my pictures above, can someone tell? 

Solder does not look clean.

[BRYSTON4LIFE]

I checked under one of my Bryston cables, they seam to be exactly the same as your photo's, even under the connectors. 2 blue, 2 white, and a braided shield. That is Quad mic cable and those are definitely Neutrik XLR's.

[James Tanner]

Hi All,

Yes we use Van damme for speaker cable (9.5) gauge. And we use Canare (75ohm) for RCA interconnect and Van damme low noise microphone cable for XLR. The RCA and XLR connectors we use though are specially ordered. The RCA connector is heavily GOLD plated (including the internal spring) and breaks and makes ground first and last when you plug and unplug to prevent pops and noise. The XLR connector is gold plated as well (so are the ones on the amplifiers) to ensure that no corrosion or rectification goes on over time.

That being said we are always experimenting and testing cables as we go so the cables have changed over the years.  Our philosophy with cables is quite simple - "the best cable is no cable at all " - so we look for the cable that 'changes the signal the least".  Then we listen to it in a variety of our demo systems and decide if a change is needed.  So far we have been happy with the cables we now use but the search continues. 

Again we never intended to get into the cable business. Customers would call and ask what we were using in our studio setups or just because they were tired and confused with all the 'cable marketing at the expense of scientific marketing' going on in the cable industry. So we just decided to offer to our customers the current cables we were using in our professional setups.

I like the idea of labelling the cables left and right but with so many people using cables in a surround setup its hard to know where the left/right cables will eventually be used.

james

[Levi]

Thanks guys.

-Levi

[muski]

Again we never intended to get into the cable business. Customers would call and ask what we were using in our studio setups or just because they were tired and confused with all the 'cable marketing at the expense of scientific marketing' going on in the cable industry.

I'm sure it's not a high-margin product line for you, but for your customers, it sure does takes the mystery and confusion out of connecting Bryston gear together.  So, thanks for being in the cable business!

muski

[vegasdave]

I use FM Acoustics interconnects...they are very similar to the Bryston cables. I wonder if they're sourced from the same company?

[denjo]

I use FM Acoustics interconnects...they are very similar to the Bryston cables.

Vegasdave
Do you have a link to FM Acoustics? I googled and found the company deals with CD recordings. Not sure if it is the same company.

Best Regards
Dennis

[smerlas]

If you read the white papers on Bryston's site and review the Van Damme or Canare cable properties you can evaluate alternative cables based on the cables inductance, capacitance and resistance.  Bryston has done their homework in this regard and the cables they are using work best for the connection of their equipment.  When connecting a preamp to amp one needs to review what the preamp output signal is.  The Bryston (Van Damme) balanced cables maximize the performance of a Bryston preamp with a Bryston amp.

You can bet that they have selected cables that work best with their gear, otherwise they would not be providing cables to studios.

Ordering the cables from their website provides an added level of convenience.  If you have a little bit of mechanical prowess you can order colored casings / rings for the Neutrik connectors to identify the cables by channel.  The connectors are readily available on the web.

[vegasdave]

I use FM Acoustics interconnects...they are very similar to the Bryston cables.

Vegasdave
Do you have a link to FM Acoustics? I googled and found the company deals with CD recordings. Not sure if it is the same company.

Best Regards
Dennis

Sure. fmacoustics.com

As a former owner of FM equipment, I can say that Bryston is as good, for thousands less. That's not a knock on FM, that's praise for Bryston!

[Toka]

If you read the white papers on Bryston's site and review the Van Damme or Canare cable properties you can evaluate alternative cables based on the cables inductance, capacitance and resistance.  ectors are readily available on the web.

I can't seem to find the inductance figure for the Van Damme speaker cables...I'm only curious as they don't use the more commonly seen twisted configuration...my nerdy side wants to know why! 

[smerlas]

Van Damme does make a quad microphone cable, Bryston has chosen to use the Classic cable for their balanced cables based on their tests / results with various cables.  If I have misspoken here, James feel free to chime in / correct me.  The following is some light reading material courtesy of Bryston  with respect to balanced interconnects.

http://www.bryston.ca/newsletters/82_files/vol8is2.html
http://www.bryston.ca/newsletters/83_files/vol8is3.html


From Van Damme:

Classic UP SPOFC microphone cable

Van Damme Classic microphone cable combines flexibility, durability, noiseless operation and signal transparency without compromise. The range now features an upgraded conductor - ultra pure silver plated oxygen free copper, and has incorporated advances made in plastics technology in the PVC composite jacket material. It can be found in use in many disparate environments- from blue-chip company boardroom tables to High Street music shops to the demanding rigours of on the road touring use.

Materials
This cable now uses a mixture of Ultra Pure Silver Plated Oxygen Free Copper and Ultra Pure Oxygen Free Copper for its conductors. As with the ultra pure oxygen free copper used in other Van Damme Cables ‘solderability’ and conductivity are much improved. The additional advantage of UPSPOFC is that silver is approximately 5% less resistive than copper. High frequencies, which gravitate to the outside of the conductor due to the skin effect, are conducted slightly more efficiently than the lower frequencies which tend to saturate the UPOFC conductor. In addition silver is less susceptible to corrosion than copper and so the plating offers a protective barrier between the conductor and the insulation or free air.

Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) is used for the conductor insulation. Although considerably more expensive than conventional polyethylene it offers distinct advantages over other insulation materials. XLPE has a low dielectric constant (2.2 at 1KHz), essential for minimising high frequency signal losses, and is stable at high temperatures. This temperature stability ensures that the insulation material resists shrink back during the soldering process. It has good abrasion and stress-cracking resistance yet remains flexible down to –40 degrees C. XLPE also is less environmentally damaging than other insulation materials as it releases carbon dioxide and water during combustion with no halogen emission.

The conductor pairs are twisted together with natural textile fillers to eliminate the build up of static charge and are overlaid with a tightly lapped spiral UPOFC copper screen for excellent rejection of electromagnetic, radio frequency and mains borne interference. The natural fillers used also prevent capacitance changes along the cables length and allow for noise free operation. The overall jacket of Van Damme microphone cable is extruded using an improved anti-abrasion PVC/neoprene composite. This enables the cable to remain flexible even in sub zero temperatures. The cable is available in ten colours, which can be used for length/application coding.

Applications
• Microphone and line level analogue balanced audio use
• Ideal for on stage use
• 10 colours available for application specific coding
• Compatible with AES/EBU signals reliably up to 5 metres



 
Mechanical pair specifications
Conductor Material Bare silver plated ultra pure oxygen free copper wire
  Stranding 7 x 0.10mm
  Material Bare ultra pure oxygen free copper wire
  Stranding  21 x 0.10mm AWG 24/28 combined
Insulation Material Cross linked polyethylene (XLPE)
  Diameter 1.60mm ± 0.10
  Colour coding  Red & Blue
 
 
Electrical pair specifications
Description Unit of measurement  Actual result
Resistance Ohm/km   
Conductor    83.5
Shield   83.2
Insulation  Mohm/km  <1200
Capacitance  pF/m   
Core to core    98.6-99.0
Core to shield    182-190
     
Test voltage  Volt  1000v/min no cracks
 
 
Overall jacket properties
Jacket Material Flexible PVC/neoprene composite
  Average thickness  0.40mm
  Overall diameter  6.35mm
  Tensile strength  0.85Kg/mm2
  Elongation  >250%
  Heat shock  120 °Cx h no cracks
  Temp Range  -10 to +60 degrees C
Cable Weight kg/km  65kg