[jazzcourier]

I am curious as to any that have had defective interconnects of any brand and/or price point.What was the factor that led you to believe that they were in fact defective,as opposed to not compatible with your components.At what point in the break in process was this revealed? What were the sonic characteristics that led you to realize that they were defective? I have been using a "new" one meter pair of IC's between my CDP and the preamp and have experienced some speaker level unbalance and distortion.Running all tubes i have addressed the obvious and switching speaker wires transferred the problem to the other channel.I put in another set of IC's and everyone seems happy.Am i looking at a defect or just a pair that won't behave? Thanks kindly for your thoughts and comments! Name of company withheld to protect the innocent until trial. O.K. it might actually be of some help to the post-Jungson Golden Dragon-Other set working nicely on Phono amp.

[JoshK]

Since this is the lab and not a cables forum, I'll touch on the question of whether the cables are defective.  Do you have a multimeter?

Measure the resistance of each leg of the cable (center pin to center pin on opposite side of cable, outer shield to outer shield) for both cables.  Report back all measurements.

[Bemopti123]

I have had a pair of Audioquests that were worth around $99 a pair with intermittent sound loss from one of the channels.  I can say that the factor behind this was questionable physical contact between the AQ connector and the RCA terminal (these connectors are rather loose.)  To me, it sounds as if something is physically wrong or not well connected between the IC and the terminal plug (solder?)

[jazzcourier]

Thank you for your comments and others are welcomed.Hey,i went right to the lab where the smart guys hang out! My multimeter is buried somewhere and can't be located for now.

[wilsynet]

I once had a pair of ICs that seemed fine, and then after moving some components around and unseating and reseating the cables, I found that they were unusually bright sounding.  I sent the cables to the manufacturer who noticed nothing wrong on initial inspection.

There was some discussion about cutting the cables to a shorter length and re-terminating, and it was when this work was being done that the manufacturer noticed that a ground wire had become loose.  So on initial inspection nothing, and then after looking more closely, yes, a problem.  Happy to say that the cables came back in excellent condition and performed flawlessly after that.

[JoshK]

I once had a pair of ICs that seemed fine, and then after moving some components around and unseating and reseating the cables, I found that they were unusually bright sounding.  I sent the cables to the manufacturer who noticed nothing wrong on initial inspection.

There was some discussion about cutting the cables to a shorter length and re-terminating, and it was when this work was being done that the manufacturer noticed that a ground wire had become loose.  So on initial inspection nothing, and then after looking more closely, yes, a problem.  Happy to say that the cables came back in excellent condition and performed flawlessly after that.

That's hopefully what the resistance measure would illuminate.  The complication might be if there was both a return leg and a shield with partial tying of the shield or AC coupling.

[Russtafarian]

Last year a friend brought over an expensive pair of interconnect cables from one of the established high-end brands to try in my system.  We connected them between my preamp and mono block amps and got a huge buzz out of one of the amps.   It turns out the ground wasn't connected on the right channel cable.  My friend had never noticed this because he always used the cables between stereo components where only one of the cables had to connect to ground for them to work. 

Because the connections were all heatshrinked up, we could't tell if this was a construction defect or an intentional part of the cable design.

Russ

[markC]

What do you mean by "other set working nicely on phono amp"?

[Russell Dawkins]

I bought a cheap Behringer cable tester that has the convenient function of storing "intermittent fault" indications until reset. This lets you plug in any interconnect (any type) and go from one end to the other, wiggling every part to create open or short circuits without having to constantly monitor the tester. This aspect is particularly convenient - analogous to having three hands.

[markC]

Does it work? Find any bad cables or variations in the readings?

[Russell Dawkins]

absolutely! It tests XLR, 1/4" TRS and TS, RCA, 5 pin MIDI and has an LED matrix to tell you which contacts are being made and which are not.
The beauty is that fault display hold feature, though. That way you can take your eyes off the box and concentrate on manipulating the entire cable, inch by inch. Then you simply check the box to see if any of the 3 "intermittent fault" LEDs are lit.

Saves a lot of time. There is also a test tone feature which sends a tone down the cable at your choice of three levels and two frequencies, one of which doubles as a tuning aid (440Hz).

[markC]

How much does it cost? Sounds like a very usefull tool for those who don't have standard test equipment. Detecting faulty cables would be a snap for them.

[Russell Dawkins]

looks like $30 USD
This is an identical looking device, just so you can see one side of it:
http://tinyurl.com/73y9bh
but this is the Behringer:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHCT100

[JoshK]

Looks like a nice little gadget.

[NewBuyer]

I have that same cable tester, it truly is an excellent little gadget to have.