Worth paying extra for Neutrik?

[adrian_k]

Hi,
I'm about to make up some cables, I've always bought Neutrik before for home made stuff but I'm just looking at some Studiospares own brand made up leads I've had for at least 10 years and never had a problem with despite being lugged around for location recording.

So I'm thinking I might save some money and go own brand for the connectors this time, especially since once they are plugged in I will rarely move them.

Anyone any experience of these?
thanks
A

[Drew Stephenson]

This may not be a popular opinion but personally I've found Neutrik XLR plugs awkward to solder and prefer their 'Rean' sub-brand.
But I think it really comes down to use - if it's fit and forget then I think you can go budget fairly safely. If it's for a live rig that's going to be taken down and reinstralled on a regular basis then it's worth investing.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I'm intrigued, Drew -- what is it about the Neutrik that you find fiddly and why is the Rean easier for you?

For the OP, I can certainly see the argument for saving money on connectors for permanent installation. The only thing I'd say is that not all XLRs are built to the 'correct' dimensions and I have come across instances of unreliable connections in the past that turned out to be due to poor mating of no-brand connectors!

Rean is a lower-cost variant of Neutrik, though, so should at least meet the right tolerances...

[adrian_k]

Thank you chaps, I shall have a look at the Rean ones. At least I would if Studiospares website would let me log in. It thinks I am a robot and has temporarily disabled my login.

Perhaps I am! I mean how would you know?

[Hugh Robjohns]

Perhaps I am! I mean how would you know?

If you cut yourself white gloop comes out instead of red juices...

[adrian_k]

Perhaps I am! I mean how would you know?

If you cut yourself white gloop comes out instead of red juices...

Ok it's orange gloop what does that mean?

[Hugh Robjohns]

Time for a service.... you've been a very bad robot?

[Drew Stephenson]

I'm intrigued, Drew -- what is it about the Neutrik that you find fiddly and why is the Rean easier for you?

Ah. Now that you mention it, and I think about it more sensibly, I recall that I'm remembering having issues with TRS plugs (particularly right-angled ones) not XLRs.
And it was just that the solder points were very close together on the Neutrik plug and better spaced on the Rean ones.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Ah yes, that makes a lot more sense.

All right-angle connectors are fiddly, and I know what you mean about the proximity of tip and ring terminals in the Neutrik TRS plugs.

It is possible to ease the ring terminal out slightly if necessary, but I find the trick is to cut the wires (and screen) to the right lengths first! Pre-tin the right hand edge of the sleeve, solder the hot wire into the tip connection, then feed the cold wire through the hole in the ring connection and solder on top, and finally solder the screen to the sleeve.

[Nazard]

I've just checked my parts box and tried in unsoldered male XLRs into my mic preamp. The Neutrick and Crean insert and remove as expected, whereas the generic XLR is slightly stiffer.

The Neutrik reminds me of the old Cannon connector, in terms of heft. Otherwise, in practice, there is little to choose from between the Neutrik and Crean, other than cost.

[Mike Stranks]

I have some Studiospares pre-made cables.

They are very robust and not at all flimsy BUT both male and females are a very very tight fit into their other-sex counterparts made by other companies.

OTOH I've also had some pre-made cables (budget make - can't remember which, but not Sspares) where the female plug was a very sloppy fit onto an XLR mic causing intermittent loss of signal when the mic was handheld.

I'm a fan of Rean connectors too.

[Fishnish]

I have cables with Neutrik XLRs as well as Studiospares and Thomann own brand ones in use in a home studio.

The Neutriks are probably 30 years old (a remnant from touring PA days) and have never given me any problem. The own branded cables are much newer. They've never given me any problem either, but the connectors can be a bit stiff, so I tend to use them in set and forget scenarios. The cables with Neutriks are the ones I pick out of the box first for more temporary cabling tasks and I try to avoid plugging the others into the outputs of my (semi) posh mics etc. Pulling the cheaper connectors out of similarly non-branded sockets on budget gear can sometimes trigger my tennis elbow. The cables work fine, as do my Pultec clones, but the money I saved ends up going to the physio.

I have quite a few cables with Rean connectors too and they usually give me no problems.

[John Pinchin]

If it's in a studio setting an rarely going to move, then I would be happy with cheaper connecters - imho the main cause of failure with home made cables is the soldering and strain relief more often than the type of connector.
I'm happy with the rean connectors and wouldn't hesitate to use them though.

[ef37a]

I too find the tags a bit tricky in the Neutrik TRS pug, specially now my depth perception is shot.

Cheaper plugs? Yes, a few years ago I needed a lot of TRS plugs and found a very nice Gold plated job, heavy gauge metal body and a strain relief spring and I got three for the price of one nukey. I am not knocking the more costly product, they are worth the extra for certain jobs but a bit silly to spend that much for them to spend the next five years behind a patch bay!

One thing the cheaper plugs don't have is a really good cable clamp so I run 30mm or so of heatshrink over them and that locks them up nicely.

Dave.

[adrian_k]

I am not knocking the more costly product, they are worth the extra for certain jobs but a bit silly to spend that much for them to spend the next five years behind a patch bay!

That's where I'm at I've now found a website that doesn't think I'm a robot (little do they know), so I'm sorted. Thanks all!

[ronmac]

I have used Neutrik connectors the past few decades for my studio/live cable stock (100+ cables) and several theatre installs. They have always worked well.

I decided to try some Amphenol cables, on advise from a colleague, and find them quite good. After having had a few hundred connectors in the field for a couple of years I have not had a single failure.

They are priced about half of what a Neutrik costs in my market.

[ore_terra]

My local dealer didnt have any neutrik male XLR the other day and sold me Switchrafts instead. I knew the brand for guitar electronic parts but never herd of their XLR.

I found their design quicker to work with than Neutrik’s. Performance wise, they look pretty solid too, and tightness is ok. I think they’ll be all right.

[Sam Spoons]

Switchcraft were one of the good makes before Neutrik became common. They'll be fine.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I knew the brand for guitar electronic parts but never herd of their XLR.

Cannon invented the X connector... then added a latch (XL) and then used a rubber insert to hold the pins/sockets (XLR).

Switchcraft subsequently designed their own compatible version... and then later Neutrik came up with a more elegant version with simpler and quicker assembly, which has become extremely popular and widespread.

All three brands are high quality and reliable, and they each have their own small practical strengths and weaknesses.

[Martin Walker]

Well I must admit to finding many Switchcraft designs somewhat more elegant.

Neutrik products can be trampled on by a herd of elephants and survive, but while Neutrik XLR's may be 'de rigueur', I find their 1/4-inch jack range bloated and totally over-engineered compared to Switchcraft and others

Martin

[Luke W]

Neutrik products can be trampled on by a herd of elephants and survive, but while Neutrik XLR's may be 'de rigueur', I find their 1/4-inch jack range bloated and totally over-engineered compared to Switchcraft and others

I like the Neutrik 1/4" for things like guitar cables, but I've found them to be a bit too bulky when space is more of a concern. When put my guitar effects rack together choosing Switchcraft TS connectors meant being able to save enough space behind the pedals to fit everything on a single shelf rather than having two.

[Hugh Robjohns]

...while Neutrik XLR's may be 'de rigueur', I find their 1/4-inch jack range bloated and totally over-engineered compared to Switchcraft and others

They current range is certainly well-engineered... but bloated and over-engineered? How so?

I would agree that their earliest attempts were daft in being way too large, but the current PX series, especially, are slim, easy to work with, and very secure and reliable.

[merlyn]

It's about the strain relief, innit? I've got Neutrik and Switchcraft 1/4" jack leads. The strain relief in the Switchcraft is the basic two prongs that I have clamped onto the cable with a pair of pliers and this is fine for a lot of applications. Mercifully the Switchcraft doesn't have a spring, as I have come to hate springs. The two prongs are enough, but if I made an effort I could pull this apart.

Not so with the famous chuck-type strain relief. When bending the cable on a Neutrik jack connector the cable will give out before the connector. There is approximately zero strain on the cable inside the connector meaning the solder joints are purely electrical.

I don't think it's over-engineered as much as the design goal is different for Neutriks -- zero strain inside the connector, so my gigging leads are Neutrik.

[ef37a]

There are a couple of things to be aware/wary off with the, shall we say "lesser" connectors.

Jack plugs first: The tip of a Neutrik plug is all one piece of metal with the rod that goes into the body . Thus it is extremely unlikely to break off and get stuck in a jack.
Other designs can have tip retained by a thread and thus can and has been known to come off. The result is that the tip is almost impossible to retrieve and the jack must be replaced, for some sorts of gear that can be quite a task.

Next the XLR. Some designs use an insulator which softens at even Lead solder temperatures so ALWAYS plug the 'plug' into a mating connector to solder then even if the matrix softens the pins will retain their positions.

Dave.

[adrian_k]

That’s a good tip (sorry), thanks.