This post is a reminder to all of you - and to me - that you don't have to spend huge amounts of money to get high-performance interconnects.
It's easy to spend many thousands of dollars for pairs of high-performance shielded RCA interconnects, and those spendy interconnects are a dime a dozen, so to speak.
Yazaki-san (center) visiting with friends.
However, out of all the fancy interconnects I am privileged to try - and some are really, really, good - when it comes to laying down my own hard-earned money, the Yazaki-san recommended Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects are always at the top of my list when I need a shielded interconnect.
Yazaki-san constructs the Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects like this: One conductor goes to the RCA pins (hot), the other conductor goes to the plug housings (ground), and the shield is connected at each end to the ground.
Belden 8402 microphone cable ICs terminated with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors from Best-Tronics.
This is a little different connection method than is traditional here in the USA, where the norm is to connect one conductor to hot (pins), one conductor to ground (plug housings), and connect the shield only on one end (normally the source end) to the ground. Yazaki-san’s Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects worked beautifully in my various audio systems.
Think about this for a moment: It turns out that back in the day that Belden 8402 was the choice for microphone cables in a fair number of recording studios (and other pro-audio applications), so there’s a reasonable chance that for your beloved recordings, the live music went to the microphone, down the Belden 8402 microphone cable, and eventually onto the master tape.
Part of what you and I associate with ‘the master tape sound’ is unsurprisingly the sonic characteristics of the Belden 8402 microphone cable. I would suggest that the microphone cable may in fact be the most important cable in the entire audio chain because it transmits the music being recorded from the microphone to the mic preamp, as well as to a lot of other recording connection applications along the way.
There is just something so "right" and "real" about the Belden 8402 microphone cables performance, and they always seem to complement a system's musicality, as well as providing very well-balanced sound quality from top-to-bottom frequency-wise.
As a bonus, the price is a paltry $77.70 USD for a 1-meter pair of Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects terminated with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors, an RCA connector that is so highly regarded that Shindo uses them for their own statement interconnects.
Recently I contacted Best-Tronics Pro Audio to have them build me two pairs of one-meter Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects terminated with Switchcraft 3502A connectors for a an upcoming Jeff's Place and Positive Feedback review component that is in the works (more to come on this as I receive more information).
Best-Tronics Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors.
I've been telling readers what a great value Best-Tronics is for building up custom sets of Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects for quite a while now, and Best-Tronics are my first stop when I need to buy some Beldens for myself.
In fact, Best-Tronics will build them for you at a price that is likely less expensive than building your own DIY pair. HERE is a direct link to the Belden 8402 interconnect page for your own reference.
Vintage Altec Corona 832A loudspeaker.
As a side note, I'm in the process of slowly outfitting a bedroom system that I have dedicated to friend Yazaki-san to honor his contribution to the audio arts, and to my own personal enjoyment of hifi.
At the moment the system consists of my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers, which are outfitted with the most desirable sets of vintage Altec drivers from the 803/802 series, the 803A bass drivers (1947-1958) and 802D compression drivers (1957-1972). 811B HF horns, along with N800E crossovers, round out the components.
The Corona 832A cabinets were custom made for Altec by Glenn of California, which was a craft furniture maker producing furniture in the California Modernist style that was popular in the 1940s-1950s, and the cabinets were one of the Corona's selling points.
The main difference from other Altec cabinets is the Altec 832A Corona's cabinets were designed to be easily placed in room corners like corner horns, although they're not actually a true corner horn, as the bass driver is not horn-loaded, whereas the Valencia's are a more traditional ported box loudspeaker.
I really like corner placement of loudspeakers, as it makes a lot more sense in a lot of rooms than the typical audiophile placement of loudspeakers out into the room, in a rule of thirds or rule of fifths placement. This approach works best with loudspeakers designed to work optimally in room corners like the Coronas.
Their components complement would place their production circa 1957-1958, which is about the same time I was produced, so they are now over six decades old and perform like they are brand new off the showroom floor, unlike me.
SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier
For amplification I am using the superb SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier (Class D) designed by Yazaki-san.
At the moment I am connecting the Altecs to the SPEC amp with Duelund DCA16GA tinned-copper speaker cables, which are an heir to the famous Western Electric WE16GA tinned-copper speaker cables that Yazaki-san recommended, and sparked a world-wide appreciation for these style of tinned-copper cables.
Western Electric WE16GA tinned-copper wire recommended by Yazaki-san.
My intent is to eventually fully outfit my Yazaki-san tribute system with the Western Electric WE16GA speaker cables in honor of Yazaki-san's original recommendation for speaker cable, but at the moment I'm still needing to find a set in the correct length.
Now I want to tell you about a little cable serendipity that has taken place that brings to light a new application for the Belden 8402 microphone cables.
I had set up a Sony Blu-Ray player in my bedroom system for viewing movies or listening to music before retiring for the evening. I was curious to hear how the Sony Blu-Ray player would fare being connected via a coaxial cable to my beloved Mhdt Lab Havana vacuum tube DAC for playing CDs.
I didn't have a 'proper' coaxial cable for digital purposes, so I used a single Belden 8402 microphone interconnect to connect the Sony to the Havana to see how well it would work in that application. The result was remarkably satisfying, giving a very "real sound" result that really made the music come alive.
Shortly after my little experiment with the Belden 8402 as a coaxial cable, my friend Dilhan Weerasinghe contacted me asking for advice about digital coaxial cables. Dilhan had been using several highly-regarded coaxial cables in his system that were in the kilo-buck range, but was looking for something better.
I mentioned to Dilhan that I didn't have much experience comparing coaxial cables, but that I had tried the Belden 8402 microphone cable in that coaxial application and was very pleased with the result, and encouraged Dilhan to give it a try and let me know what he thought of it in that application.
After trying the Belden 8402 microphone cable in that coaxial application, Dilhan sent me the following message (used with permission):
"Wanted to send you a quick thank you note for the great recommendation of using the Belden 8402 as a coaxial cable.
"Honestly, this change left me a little baffled. There was a "tremendous improvement" in my system when I swapped the Van Den Hul coaxial cable with the Belden 8402. The complete sound spectrum improved, the soundstage became very big life size performers like, the system got more dynamic, better more fleshed out bass and there were so much more details I heard on CD's I have been playing for decades.
"The best part was the system became so smooth and analogue-like while being super-detailed. I really don't know how to explain this improvement, either the VDH cable was so bad or there is something quite special going on with the Belden 8402 used as a coaxial digital cable.
"I have used Oyaide and Transparent Audio digital coaxial cables before but there is no comparison at all to the Belden. I thought of mentioning this improvement to you as you said you haven't tried many digital coaxial cables. In case you happen to try any other cables vs. the Belden 8402 as a coaxial cable in the future, I would be very interested to know your opinion.
"To make sure I was not imagining stuff, I mentioned this to another audiophile friend using Tannoy Turnberrys and a Line Magnetic amp. He experienced similar improvements and said this is the single biggest improvement he experienced in his system. His Line Magnetic amp is also modded with the Arizona Cactus capacitors. I have not used a non-75 Ohm cable as a digital coaxial before."
Thank you Dilhan for sharing your results in comparing the Belden 8402 microphone cable as a coaxial cable to your other coaxial cables - very much appreciated.
Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors.
As a final note, I want to thank everyone at Best-Tronics Pro Audio for making me up two pairs of one-meter Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors at no charge.
It turns out that the Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects with Switchcraft 3502A RCA connectors are such a steady seller to audio enthusiasts around the world, that Best-Tronics wanted to say thanks for bringing such a great value in interconnects to light, and then sending customers their way to build them, so they sent my order at no charge to say thanks.
All I can say is "Thank you Best-Tronics, you really are the best!"
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
