bnc to rca adapters

marvda1

if i have to get some bnc to rca adapters, what are some good sounding ones?
or is it best just to buy cables with rca to start out ?

Clipdat

What are you trying to accomplish exactly?

marvda1

I have all rca's as non of my dacs or cdp have bnc, but this made me think.

I would never buy a S/PDIF coax that is terminated to RCA's. It cannot be done cleanly without creating a big impedance discontinuity. You are better off to get BNC's and add 75 ohm RCA adapters.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio

pitdogg2

marvda1 wrote: »

I have all rca's as non of my dacs or cdp have bnc, but this made me think.

I would never buy a S/PDIF coax that is terminated to RCA's. It cannot be done cleanly without creating a big impedance discontinuity. You are better off to get BNC's and add 75 ohm RCA adapters.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I call BS Marvin.

Many cables in the past came with BNC to RCA adapters. Acoustic Research master RCA cables all came with the adapters. I think I still have some at home.

So this guy says that Coax cable cannot be terminated to RCA without problems? But yet an adapter wont cause a big "impedance discontinuity" ?? OK then. On my coax stuff I use Canare and then use their TRUE 75ohm RCA ends. works good. Then again my system is not like many here so just maybe I'm completely compromised

marvda1

I noticed nordost digital cables are terminated in bnc and come with rca adapters

tonyb

Marv, it's one of those things where I doubt you'd be able to hear the difference either way. Many really good digital cables come terminated with RCA ends, 75 ohms, and nobody has ever complained or thought a BNC connection was better. Least not to my knowledge. BNC was more prevalent on gear back in the day, and BNC to RCA adapters were just a means to make them compatible with todays cabling.

As far as sound quality benefits go, I'm a bit skeptical on that one. Maybe there is some, if measured, but as we know not everything measurable is able to be heard.

marvda1

guess i'm just trying to figure a way to spend money.
best I keep what I got

pitdogg2

correct Tony because commercial A/V stuff was BNC to keep the cords from coming loose on gear moved around.

So Marvin I mis-spoke the AR stuff came with ends to go TO BNC from the RCA ends on the cables.

I'm with Tony on this one as you can tell from my first post here.

SCompRacer

The thing about BNC is you get an exact 75 ohm termination where you may only get close to it with RCA. The idea is to prevent signal reflections within the cable. IIRC Canare RCAP get closest to 75 ohms with RCA connectors.

Bluejeans has a good article on it.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/75ohmrca.htm

mhardy6647

If you open up a seriously old-school NTSC analog TV with an analog, mechanical tuner, you would, more often than not, find a piece of nominal 72 ohm coax (RG-59) coming from the antenna inputs, terminated with an "RCA plug" and plugged into the tuner.





If you look closely (top left), you'll see one on the chassis of this ahem RCA 1960s era CTC-16 21 inch round color TV chassis. Analog color TV VHF tuners were extremely critical applications.

Borrowed image, but dang I'd love to have a CTC-16 in working condition

msg

Maybe Black Cat?
Was just looking them up, and read that Chris Somovingo is moving back to the US...

steveinaz

If you have an RCA terminated cable that is spec'd for digital transmission, it will make zero difference. Belden 1694A is an excellent (and surprisingly cheap) example. See Blue Jeans cable for the 1694A, IMO it's a "best kept secret" in the digital coax world.

pitdogg2

steveinaz wrote: »

Belden 1694A is an excellent (and surprisingly cheap) example. See Blue Jeans cable for the 1694A, IMO it's a "best kept secret" in the digital coax world.

Yes A VERY good cable for both music and video.

steveinaz

I have been meaning to pull the DH Labs coax I'm running right now and put my 1694A back in, I'm just lazy as hell. LOL

Most "audiophiles" are scared off by a $20 coaxial cable. That's dumb. Don't be dumb. In the analog world we generally don't bother with cable spec's, but rather prefer just listening to the cable to see if we like it. I think in the digital realm, specifications are of more critical importance--and here, spec's beat "esoteric styling" and "rare metals" every time. Belden doesn't mess around, they know the demands that video and digital signals require, and build/spec their cables to exceed it.

marvda1

this gets some thumbs up talk.
https://www.amazon.com/Geistnotes-Apogee-Wyde-Cable-WE-RR/dp/B01N29180M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1533488548&sr=8-1&keywords=apogee+wyde+eye