View Full Version : Ven Den Hul...
Lockjaw
11-02-2003, 03:54 PM
I heard Ven Den Hul makes very good cables, and I heard D-102 III hybrid are the best. When I saw them, I got an interest in buying them. Does anyone else have these cables or any knowledge of them?
For example here is a quote from the user reviews in harmony central:
"Normal cables have a signal loss greater than 100 pF/m and quality cables like George L's and Monster Cable have a signal loss of 70 pF/m. But this cable has a signal loss of 37 pF/m, which means 3 METERS OF THIS CABLE HAS AS MUCH SIGNAL LOSS AS ONE METER OF MONSTER CABLE !!!!."
Are these cables worth the cash? Any thoughts are appreciated.
El Grinder
11-02-2003, 04:12 PM
Hmm, you'll prolly want to talk to maarten er tubefreak (whichever name he's using now).
I'm pretty sure he has some stuff to say about those cables on www.tubefreak.com
From what I've heard those are great cables if you're serious about your sound. For now I'm just using monster jazz cables (which were a huge upgrade from cheap-ass horizon cables).
I was going to buy those cables for my rack... but after seeing the price here (around $75/meter) I could care less for it's quality. I bought a few meters of cable from supra (http://www.jenving.se/), and they sound pretty nice.
Lockjaw
11-02-2003, 05:22 PM
Where can you find a price on the Van Den Hul cables? I didn't see a number on their website to order from....
Has anyone used their speaker cables?....Are they any good...( I mean in comparison to monster cable from example..)
Lockjaw
11-02-2003, 05:57 PM
By the way, El Grinder....... I found out about those cables from tubefreak's website.
Lockjaw
11-02-2003, 06:44 PM
BUMP
El Grinder
11-02-2003, 08:45 PM
I donno much about them first hand.. getting ahold of tubefreak (try pming him if you haven't already) could answer some more questions...
There are a few other forumites that use them, I don't know offhand which ones though.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lockjaw
[B]Where can you find a price on the Van Den Hul cables? I didn't see a number on their website to order from....
I contacted the local distributor. You can check it out here: http://www.vandenhul.com/distrib/distrib.htm
nickdahl
11-03-2003, 08:05 AM
I use them. $23/meter from May Audio Marketing in Niagara Falls, NY. That's for unterminated cable. You have to put the ends on them yourself--use Neutrik.
Nick
Lockjaw
11-04-2003, 05:46 PM
Ya......and how you you attach the connectors to the cables?
nickdahl
11-05-2003, 06:26 AM
Solder. Rane Note #110 is very helpful at showing you ways to wire your terminals for whatever application you need. For me, it was either balanced XLR plugs or unbalanced 1/4-inch plugs.
Nick
Lockjaw
11-05-2003, 04:23 PM
Can you explain balanced/non-balanced to me please. Which is better any why? I think I have 1/4 jacks on the back of all my rack gear, how would I make, for example, XLR connectors work?
Thanks.
stinkfist
11-06-2003, 01:00 AM
i have a couple of thier cables.
really bright. so bright i cant use them with a guitar---amp setup. they are a god send for guitar to buffer then amp setups.
one 16 footer cost me 400 bucks. i use it first, to my cornish splitter/wah/mute/boost unit, then use mit and two rock cables to the amps from their.
stinkfist
11-06-2003, 01:01 AM
www.mayaudio.com
their are better van den hul cables for guitar than the d102 or whatever.
adamquek
11-06-2003, 01:16 AM
Originally posted by Lockjaw
Can you explain balanced/non-balanced to me please. Which is better any why? I think I have 1/4 jacks on the back of all my rack gear, how would I make, for example, XLR connectors work?
Thanks.
If I remember, balanced connectors send out 2 signals, and one earth. The 2 signals are anti-phase.
What happens is you send out anti-phase signals
let's call them signal A and -A
When they pick up noise along the way, you get
A+noise and -A+noise
Then, at the other end, the flip over the antiphase signal and the noise and sum everything together
So now you've got
A+noise + -(-A+noise) which is A+noise+A-noise
So you've got a little gain in volume (is it 6dB? I can't remember) and less noise (because the noise picked up along the way cancels out when you sum the flipped over signal)
Okay I realize this all sounds very cryptic but I think that's how it all works... Unbalanced cables don't do anything with the noise pickedup along the way, and don't have a second signal to be summed together to get the volume boost.
So there you have it, balanced = hotter signal, less noise
1/4" jacks can be balanced, if they're TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) basically you need 3 conductors for a balanced cable (the 2 signals and the earth?) and 2 conductors for an unbalanced (signal and earth?)
Well. Something like that.
There's a Rane article that shows you what needs to be done to connect balanced to unbalanced, it's really clear on how it all works I reckon
Originally posted by Lockjaw
For example here is a quote from the user reviews in harmony central:
"Normal cables have a signal loss greater than 100 pF/m and quality cables like George L's and Monster Cable have a signal loss of 70 pF/m. But this cable has a signal loss of 37 pF/m, which means 3 METERS OF THIS CABLE HAS AS MUCH SIGNAL LOSS AS ONE METER OF MONSTER CABLE !!!!."
Are these cables worth the cash? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Yeah, that's a quote from Tubefreak (Maarten) ... Don't mind him, he's obsessed with tone. ;-) Even more than we are.
Every time he changes a tiny thing of his gear he writes "Oh, the bottom end really comes alive now, tones have become crystal clear, etc etc". Each and every time, after every change. Not only concerning this cable but speaker cables etc. Still, he uses a Behringer enhancer??
Anyway, don't want to rant and I'm a gear snob as well, but hell, there are limits. Those cables may be the best, but will you really be able to tell the difference with Spectraflex/Klotz/George L etc.?
tubefreak
11-25-2003, 02:30 AM
Originally posted by Yek
Yeah, that's a quote from Tubefreak (Maarten) ... Don't mind him, he's obsessed with tone. ;-) Even more than we are.
Every time he changes a tiny thing of his gear he writes "Oh, the bottom end really comes alive now, tones have become crystal clear, etc etc". Each and every time, after every change. Not only concerning this cable but speaker cables etc. Still, he uses a Behringer enhancer??
The Behringer Enhancer and mixer are long gone. And yes a few changes really made a huge improvement. Here are the ones which each made a big improvement:
* Good cables
* Rewiring speaker cab
* Telefunken ECC83 tubes
(* Biasing the poweramp)
I'm one hell of a tone freak and do hear the difference clearly with the above mentioned improvements. I bet everyone can hear it. If you don't hear the difference between a chinese 12ax7 and a Telefunken ECC83, then there's either something wrong with the setup or your ears.
If you are happy with your setup, enjoy it. I don't say you have to use the best you can afford. Just use what sounds best for you and in the mix.
Maarten
Sorry Maarten, shouldn't have written that, got a bit carried away ...
tuvokzeta9
11-26-2003, 10:37 AM
Yeah the math of it all is nice and neat and thats cool. However, I just don't buy the idea that all the groovey math determines how great your tone and overall final sound is. Sorry, just not buyin it. There are other factors to consider.
(this is not an anti-Van Den Hul post, just an alternative perspective on cables and their functions in a rig)