[Ilkatze]

I'm wondering whether anyone can illuminate me on a cable question.

I have two pairs of 2m Bryston XLR cables.

My first pair (I'll call it "P1") is Van damme "Tour Grade Classic XKE starquad microphone cable" (stock code: 268-026-000).
My second pair (received today, I'll call it "P2") is Van Damme "Tour Grade Classic XKE microphone cable" (stock code:268-020-000).

From what I can guess, P1 might be nice for "electrically nasty" environments (I'm not an EE, so please forgive what will likely be imprecise use of terms in this post).  The shielding (optical shielding?) provides 98% coverage.

I do not have information for P2's shielding/optical shielding/coverage.  It seems that since it is not a "quad-kind" of cable, its use in a non-electrically nasty environment would be fine (this is a guess I'm making after having read blurbs/descriptions).

Maybe, then, "quad-type" cables (e.g., Canare L-4E6S Star Quad, my "P1 Van Damme) are indicated for nasty electrical environments, and other cables (e.g., Belden 1800F, my "P2" Van Damme) are proper for other environments, such as home systems?

Since Bryston seems to have made a change in cable choice, I'd like to know more about why that might be.

Another question I have is whether anyone knows the capacitance of P1 and P2.  Belden 1800F is 13pF/ft, and I'd like to know the figure for the Bryston/Van Damme cables.  And the "shielding coverage" (or whatever the correct term should be) of P2?

I'd appreciate any light anyone can cast my way.

[BrysTony]

I have 3 pair and they are all 268-026-000.  The specifications including capacitance for your "P1 and P2" can be found at http://www.van-damme.com/products.htm  The main difference seems to be that the capacitance is lower for the 268-026-000 but I do not know what the significance of that is.

Tony

[Fullvolume]

does anyone know why there would be 2 different cables used?
Is one better than the other?

[redbook]

I was trying to find the capacitance as well. I think for interconnects the lower the better. Perhaps James can offer a figure.

[BrysTony]

Looks like the website that I referenced last July has been shut down.  Specs for these cable can be found here: http://www.vdctrading.com/products_gridview.asp?SubSectionID=1&ProductID=7&secName=Van+Damme+Cable#p7

Find "Tour Grade Classic XKE Starquad Microphone Cable" and "Tour Grade Classic XKE microphone cable" and download the PDF specification sheets.

[Fullvolume]

The specs really don't mean much to me, it's all Greek! I know the 268-26-000 is more expensive per foot...lol

[BrysTony]

The specs really don't mean much to me, it's all Greek! I know the 268-26-000 is more expensive per foot...lol

FV,

The resistance and capacitance specs are really pretty close.  I think the main difference is that the 026 is a starquad configuration and the 020 is a twisted pair.  This would make a difference in areas where there was high electronic interference or where you needed very long cable runs.  IMHO, for a typical 1 or 2 meter interconnect it is unlikely that you could perceive any difference.  Here is an article about Star Quad cable configuration. http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov09/articles/qa1109_4.htm

Tony

[Robert D]

I have 4 pair and they are all 268-020-000

Robert

[ralph1950]

I just looked at mine and they are 026 quads.