Choosing cables for your hi-fi can seem like something on a minefield. Not because of the cables themselves, but the sheer amount of choice from mass-manufactured leads from China to stratospherically expensive handmade cables filled with exotic copper, expensive solder and usually a healthy dose of snake oil, sleeved with bullshit and marketed by subjectivists who genuinely believe that an electrical conductor can have as big an influence on the sound quality as any one component. These are not (and will never be) the subject of our article today.
Instead, herein we feature Designacable, a UK-based company providing a massive range of custom made audio and video cables for musicians, studio, stage, cinema and broadcast, essentially any sector of the pro audio, installation or domestic hi-fi market. The Nottingham-based company’s product range covers everything from a simple microphone patch lead, RCA interconnect or quarter-inch TRS cable, to multicores, snakes and looms, power cabling and cables for digital applications.
Cables are manufactured from high-quality, industry-standard cable and connectors and are customisable via the company’s website. They can also be ordered via Amazon or eBay. You can take a virtual tour of the Designacable facility Here.
Designacable kindly supplied us a sample pair of their Carbokab XLR Leads, the name taken from the Sommer Carbokab cable used in their construction. They come fitted with Neutrik NC3FXX and NC3MXX plugs, with one-metre lengths priced at just over £18.
The Carbokab cable utilises ‘Carbon Conductor Smoothing’ around the centre core, essentially a carbon wrap making the centre core act like a solid copper core rather than individual strands. This gives the sonic benefits of a single core cable but the flexibility and durability of a stranded core. This cable also has three layers of screening; a braided tin-plated copper screen, a vaporised fleece surrounding the cores and a dense PVC jacket. The cables are expertly made and professionally soldered to a high standard.
Designacable also supply cable off the reel, including the excellent Van Damme UPLC-OFC speaker cable. A range of Parts is also offered, including connectors, bulk cable and soldering and finishing supplies.
They supply cables specifically for Naim and Quad, not to mention a massive range of Single-ended RCA / Phono, Balanced, Pseudo Balanced and even Headphone cables.
In most cases when I receive a cable from a company, they will receive a mention within a specific article as I choose not to cover cables in dedicated posts. Besides mechanical and electrical construction quality and perhaps aesthetics, there’s very little I can write about any given cable without resorting to ridiculous audiophile hyperbole that only those who spout such would believe anyway. I made an exception in this case because of the product range on offer, and because I found Adam a pleasure to deal with during my communications with Designacable. Whatever your cabling need, give Designacable a shout.
