most road worthy 3.5 mm cable

[brin831]

looking to replace a number of our "who knows" brand 3.5 mm to 1/4 mono cables any recommendations been searching amazon and other places ... want something that will work with phone cases ... for example i have an otter box on my ipad and i have had to pull out the knife and shave some plastic off just to get the tip in !! (there is a joke here somewhere?)

thanks in advance!

 

[FMEng]

Hosa.

 

[DavidJones]

+1
Hosa, for my money, makes one of the best prices to quality ratio products, The 1/8" fitting in the phone is really dependant on the case though. There are some pretty slim ones that work for many.

 

[BCAP]

looking to replace a number of our "who knows" brand 3.5 mm to 1/4 mono cables any recommendations been searching amazon and other places ... want something that will work with phone cases ... for example i have an otter box on my ipad and i have had to pull out the knife and shave some plastic off just to get the tip in !! (there is a joke here somewhere?)

thanks in advance!

If you're handy with a soldering iron, I recommend making them. The most robust 1/8" TRS connector I've ever found is a Canare F12 line plug. One can use any cabling, in cables I've built I use Canare L4E6s star quad and Neutrik NP2C connectors on the ends, with a section in the middle covered by heat shrink that connects the Y (sometimes I use hot glue inside the Y then heat shrink over it). Maybe someone else has a better recommendation, but I have found this build to be the most road worthy and robust I've used so far, they work with an iPhone and otter box, at least the one with a flap around the connector.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&O=&Q=&ap=y&c3api=1876,{creative},{keyword}&gclid=CL66lOvmsNQCFRCraQodhpQCbQ&is=REG&m=Y&sku=899705

I have found Have, Inc. to be a good resource for cabling, they will build custom cables as well. http://store.haveinc.com/default.aspx

 

[MNicolai]

Hosa's what I use. I usually buy half a dozen at a time knowing I'll lose them or roach them. I also stockpile them in different places so I minimize forgetting to pack them on any particular day wherever I may be that I need one.

Those Canare plugs are not case friendly. They're a pretty sizable width once you hit the barrel.

 

[rsmentele]

To be specific, Hosa makes a cable purpose built to be used with phone cases. The plug is very slim, the cable itself is quite rugged too. I have a couple and love them. They make a couple flavors. 1/8" to 1/8" and 1/8" to dual RCA

http://www.fullcompass.com/search.php?parent=471&search_simple=true&txtAll=hosa+drive

 

[DavidJones]

Yep, those. I do prefer 1/8" to dual XLR, though but be mindful that is phantom power is ON either of those channels, it WILL roach the headphone amp in an iPhone. RCA or 1/4" won't have that problem, but neither are available on most professional desks. A USB DAC, or something like a Radial Pro AV DI, will avoid phantom power issues too, and probably(almost always) sound better. Of course, that is a lot more expensive, but sometimes worth it if you use it all the time.

 

[BCAP]

Hosa's what I use. I usually buy half a dozen at a time knowing I'll lose them or roach them. I also stockpile them in different places so I minimize forgetting to pack them on any particular day wherever I may be that I need one.

Those Canare plugs are not case friendly. They're a pretty sizable width once you hit the barrel.

Well, I just tried my buddy's iPhone / otter box with an F12 plug and the opening is too small for the plug. Works fine in mine, though. Strange. So I'd have to agree with you, not a universal solution then.

I started making my own for the exact reason you mention, they get roached at the least opportune time...

 

[brin831]

Thanks guys next question maybe 3.5 to rca with 1/4 adaptors or to 1/4 like the thread ...

Also preference for di???.. have plenty of imp. From whirlwind ... also pcdi. Is great but pricey... I personally use my focusrite USB io, but I'm usually running rta but we wanna have something in every console case ...

 

[BCAP]

If you think Imp or PCDI are pricey, then you probably won't like what I have to say, but I prefer Radial. The newer models of JDI Duplex have an 1/8" TRS connector on them and are quite reliable and sound very good from what I can tell. The JPC2 or ProAV2 might be an option, but they are expensive or on par in comparison to the Imp or PDCI as well. To improve upon what the Imp or PCDI would offer - maybe would be better to build something yourself. It depends on what you're going to use this for, if it's mission critical I wouldn't spare any expense, personally.

 

[brin831]

Oh no BACP! you are very right and I very much agree with your assessment actually use the jpc it's 3.5 rca and 1/4 separate stereo and phantom powered with a pad it's the go to on mission critical if not coming from a usb interface. No this was more breakout room or work box the "beggars can't be choosers" option.

+1 for radial can't be beat and generally industry standard ive never ever seen a band player say haaa man I don't want that j48 or jdi.

 

[FMEng]

Connecting to phones is always going to be problematic. Radial makes a Bluetooth direct box for that purpose. I vaguely recall some other brands of BT interface, too.

In terms of general purpose direct boxes, it all boils down to what you are doing with it. There are two types, passive and active. Passive is usually much less expensive. If you are connecting a phone, computer, keyboard, or an electric bass with it, passive is perfectly fine. Where active types really shine is for sources with feeble, high impedance outputs, such as certain acoustic guitar and upright bass pickups. Many people use nothing but active boxes so that one kind fits all.

The ProCo DB1 is a good, economical, passive unit. The Countryman 85 is an excellent active unit.

 

[TimmyP1955]

Hosa. They hold up fine, and the modest cost means it's not an ordeal when one of them wanders off or get's chopped by a case lid.

Use 1/8"TRS to dual XLR ONLY when that is the only option, as the accidental application of phantom power will toast your phone/tablet/computer. Having a passive DI on hand is a good idea in case you encounter a console with no 1/4" or RCA inputs (LS9 for instance).