Following the buzz around the Belden 8402 microphone cable used as an interconnect, which was circulating around Jeff’s place, I decided to build one myself. I also decided not to follow the classic convention of connecting the conductors and shielding to the RCA plugs suggested by Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki, nor the contemporary practice of connecting the shield only at one end to ground. Instead, I followed the methodology suggested by the French forum member and frequent visitor to Jeff’s place, Dominique.
What he did was actually connect both conductors to the hot pin of the RCA plugs, while using the shield alone for the ground connection (plug housings) on both sides. You can learn more about this approach here.
It took only a few bars of music to realise that this cable is something special. It is an incredible interconnect that outperformed my Goldkabel Profi stereo cinch cable.
The most striking thing is how convincingly and believably it portrays acoustic events. This cable is a revelation, and I can only recommend it to those who strive for realism in audio reproduction.
Update December 2017
I decided to rewire the Belden 8402 interconnect cables in the standard way, with the shield soldered at one end only, meaning that the shield was no longer used for signal transmission. It turned out that this wiring method delivers better results: a dead-silent background and a more relaxed, effortless reproduction.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Dimitar,
I haven’t done all test but i think it can be better to keep one interconnect cable on the two channel, connected at both end.
In fact this depend how electric earth and signal ground are connected inside your elements.
The aim is to avoid “ring” of signal ground and ring of electrical earth.
One element connected at electrical earth on the electrical distributor from the wall is sufficient, only if the ground signal is linked to the electrical earth in each of your hifi equipement and that at least on interconnect cable is connected at both end to allow balancing of the little leak of current.
This is free tweak.
Also try plug your element in electrical phase, in general it’s better because normaly the current leak is less (so less stress for you equipement) Sometime hifi element are not sensible at this, but often yes.
Hi Guys,i have just bought 2m of this belden cable and after reading various articals i am a little confused on what configuration on how to wire these cables to the plugs,which is going to sound the best,can you please help.
Kind regards
Mark
Hi Mark, I am glad to help you.
I find the contemporary way of connecting the shield at one end to the ground the best. So you have to solder the black cable to the hot pin (the central one) of the RCA plugs and the white to their ground pins, or the other way around, it doesn’t matter. Then you have to solder the shield to the ground pin of one of the RCA plugs and mark this cable end with a sticker or something, the other end of the shield you don’t solder, simply cut it. The RCA plug to which the shield is soldered should be plugged into the line output of the preamplifier or whatever component precedes the amplifier (DAC, CD, etc.) That’s it pretty much.
Regards,
Dimitar
Hi Dimitar,thank you so much for all that,i will make up the cables tomorrow,its much appreciated that you have taken the time out to make it clearer and help me in my quest for better sound
kind regards
and thank-you again
Mark
You are welcome Mark,
would love to hear how this experiment is going, keep us in touch!
Cheers,
Dimitar
Hi Dimitar, Hi everybody! I am the Dominique you are talking about who promoted the special and weird way of connecting the Belden.
On the French audio forum I participate in, following my suggestion, many people have tried the Belden connected in many different ways and in many different systems.
Now, what are the results…?
You guess! No unanimity at all! Nobody agrees on one way of connecting the cable being better.
I would say that, as for everything in HIFI (from speakers to accessories), it’s system dependent and I would add, it mostly depends also on the listener’s tastes.
On the forum, some said “Waouh!!”while others almost said: “it’s bullshit” and this, whatever the type of connection they used…
So, my advice is the followings:
Try all the possibilities hereunder (see the schematics) and leave time i.e. listen for days to each of them to really appreciate which one immerses you the more into the music. It’s really a question of days or more…
First method: the classic one:
https://img.lght.pics/2MVn.jpg
Second method: The japanese one (promoted at Jeff’s place):
https://img.lght.pics/2MVb.jpg
Third method: The weird one (à la Dominique):
https://img.lght.pics/2MV1.jpg
Hope I helped. 🙂
Very glad to see you here Dominique!
Thanks for sharing the schematics and throwing some light on the cable configuration. I completely agree with you and consider the choice of interconnect cables dependent on the overall system voicing and user preferences.
Kind regards,
Dimitar
Your links do not work.
Hi. I think the link is broken. I would like to see the Japanese schematics as I am trying to set up a long set of these interconnects ( 4M)
Hi Andrew, if you mean the link to the schematic Dominique has posted in his comment, I can’t help. You don’t really need schematic here, it is pretty clear, the so called Japanese way consist in connecting the cable shielding to the ground pin at both ends. To my experience this is not the right way to wire an interconnect cable and sounds inferior. The thing is that the outer copper mesh is meant for screening only, not for carrying the signal. Thus the shielding should be connected to ground at one end only.
Cheers,
Dimitar
I followed the called Japanese way; 1 core signal, 1 core ground and shield connected at both ends of the Switchcraft gold plated rca plug.
The Belden 8402 is wonderful with my 6ca7 tube amp at depth of image, 3D soundstage and precise imaging. It makes a big step to get close to fidelity sound reproduction to what I describe as ‘emotional’. The bass is calm. The mid is rich like the 19364 power cord of the same brand. The high is smooth. This is the best cable I found after the great Klotz MC5000.
Dimitar good evening, I purchased the belden 8402, and since I am curious to know how to solder the cable!
where there is Dominique’s post unfortunately the Host Zupimage site does not work.
does not open the photos, is it possible to have some images?
Thank you
Hi Mauro, sorry but I can’t help recovering images I didn’t even upload. Basically you can try all three ways of connecting the cable to the RCA plugs. Dominique’s way is to connect both white and black wires to the hot pin and shielding to the ground pin as seen in the images. The Japanese way is to connect white wire to the hot pin, black and shielding to the ground. The standard way is to connect white wire to the hot pin, black to the ground and shielding only at one end to the ground pin.
hello Dimitar, thank you
I will do the 3 tests.
a somewhat particular question
: ‘there is some difference if I use the black cable instead of the white one as the central pole (+)
and the white one, as negative (-) ‘?
thanks
Hi Mauro, there should not be any difference, both cables are of the same type just the insulation color differs. Please keep us posted on the progress of your findings.
Best Regards,
Dimitar
Hello,
I purchased some 9497 and made up some sets of speaker cable for two different systems. I was amazed at the difference in my main system (SET into stacked Large Advents) so I am thinking I will buy some 8402 and make up some interconnects; I will test various ways of wiring the conductors and shield.
I have seen Switchcraft connectors mentioned here – is there a model number? Are there are other RCA connectors that are also well regarded?
Has anyone tried any of the Mogami microphone cable for interconnects and compared it to the Belden?
Finally (sorry for more than one question!) what is the capacitance of the 8402? I ask because I would like to know if it is suitable for phono leads from turntable to phono preamp.
Hi Earl,
I am glad to hear you enjoy Belden 9497 in your system, this speaker cable is so good that I am afraid 8402 will not impress you as much. The model number of the recommended Switchcraft RCA plug is 3502AAU, here is a link to the exact item I used. You can try another connector if you like but for the given price Switchraft is among the best on the market.
The data sheet says the nominal capacitance of Belden 8402 microphone cable is 30 pF/ft. I haven’t tried it in a phono section but I have to say this interconnect cable is not the last word in terms of clarity and silent backgrounds, it has certain appeal when implemented in vintage systems but that’s pretty much it.
Hope this helps,
Dimitar
Hi
The Belden 9497 is perhaps thee best performing speaker cable if price is taken into consideration.
And even when not.
As witnessed by Shindo lab choosing this Belden 9497 speaker cable for his speakers.
Now, while we’re at different cable configurations:
Try splitting/ separating the tightly wound 9497 conductors in two and have a listen!
Don ‘t try to straighten out the two curly conductors. They’ll only look worse afterwards.
Common “wisdom” normally dictates winding audio cables together for better sound – (or is that a neater visual presentation?)
But to my mind – and countless others who’ve heard the difference – there is no more going back to the original twisted version of the Belden 9497.
It’s cleaner sounding – with a (minor) tendency toward “glare” in the upper mids removed – by separating the Black and Orange conductors.
Given the rather obvious sonic improvements garnered by this simple “trick”. I’m amazed you don’t see any mentioning of this on the internet.
Perhaps “…old habits ….” and all that?
Happy listening!
Cheers
Henrik
Hi Henrik,
Thanks for the interesting report. I have to confess that the idea to modify the Belden 9497 speaker cable has never entered my mind. I don’t doubt what you say, but just assume the improvement you hear might be system dependent for bringing apart the tightly twisted wires will inevitably shift the inductance/capacitance balance the cable presents to the rest of the system. Whether such a shift would affect the performance in a positive way, I guess depends on things like amplifier damping factor, speaker impedance curve and who knows what. Although I wouldn’t expect this tweak to bring consistent results across any system I do consider it as a tuning opportunity.
Some time ago I made a mains cable out of Duelund silver foil wire and I can say that when braided this cable yields better performance. The braid is a bit loose though, but one can’t make tight braid with a flat wire like this.
Cheers,
Dimitar
Hi Mauro, what was the result of your tests? Which method was the best for sound?
Best regards,
David
Dimitar thanks, rest assured , I will keep you updated.
My question about color is due to the convenience of soldering, or crimping, on the RCA connector …
which is easier to work seeing that the white cable is more centered than the sock and the black cable.
Best Regards
Mauro
Just made up a 8402 interconnect and it’s stunning. I know there is a lot of debate about whether to have the shield connected at both ends or only one. I went with the former both ends connected having read what Graham Slee has to say about boutique cables and shielding that doesn’t carry a current and hence doesn’t work. Just to inject more fun, some will cry overkill, cleaned the contacts areas with deoxit, and wiped with meths prior to soldering. That’s following advice from Caig to get the purest connection. One thing very clear to me is this cable is the best I’ve heard and beats some very expensive commercial cables.
Hi Dimitar,
Yes a 2022 viewer of this blog post. I made my own Belden 8402`s after reading Jeff`s place etc.
Just a quick question, I used the Dominique way, both cores to + and shield at 1 end, sounds amazing but just picking up on your 2017 edit…
When you rewired to only have the shield at 1 end did you also split the cores? I.e. 1 core + 1 core – and shielded at one end or just how I have mine.
Cheers
Stu
Hi Stuie,
yes, you should split the cores otherwise you’ll have an open circuit and you won’t hear anything.
Cheers,
Dimitar
Hi dudes, here is my recent experience with the Belden 8402.
I have it since many years, it is set in all my systems, amplifiers: triodes 45se, triodes 6em7, Etalon with excellent Mulidine speakers and various wideband (Cube Audio Magus, Auditorium 23 Rondo, Qual-ifi Bach).
I recently made the “Dominique” assembly and I am very pleased with what I hear. It seems the full information is flowing, with a big tape fully open (more than usually), together with the usual excellent articulation, timbres and silky, delicious sound.
I have not noticed anything compressed or dirty at all.
For the sake of information, I should mention that I have compared it to Duelund cables (16AG, 20 AG). They do sound pretty similar in the midrange, albeit the Belden being more dynamic, more expressive, with more bass.
I should add that so far overlaying the same cable one behind the other (waterfall from dac pre then pre to amp) does not seem to give satisfactory results, so I use it between the DAC and the pre, and I use the Duelund between the pre and amp.
Still exciting things and configs to test in the future though.
Hi guys. Has anyone noticed that the Belden 8402 IC done as suggested by Mr Yazaki yielded a somewhat dark sonic character? While everything sounded smoother comparatively …. Instruments like cymbals especially sounded more distant and smaller (less HF energy?). While this could be a Godsend for systems that sound assertive … systems that are laid back and a little on the polite side will notice this most imho.
Hi guys, I’ve been using the Belden 8402 for about ten years, and I can say that the Dominique configuration is the most satisfying, I’m reading your blog for the first time, I tried the cables without knowing the Japanese or French system, since the seller sent me two cables, one Japanese Yasaky system, the other Dominique but I didn’t know about this whole discussion about the cable, from continuous listening with the Yasaky san one the sound appears a little light with a certain darkness at the extremes, a little dull and it seems to me when you try to raise the volume a little the mid range becomes more accentuated…. in fact the cable seems to be unable to control the current and goes into a bit of cripping… then when the second cable arrived I saw the two white and black wires soldered on the hot pole and the ground network at both ends… so I asked myself how will it sound like this? I tried it for a while but immediately I felt a different energy, more control, more thickness, full midrange well structured same wide scene more articulated but equally natural…. I play with a few watts 4.5 and you can immediately feel certain sensations….. not only I use Canare F-09 I find them much more musical airy and more natural than the Switchkraft 3502. As for the 9497 Belden are excellent cables but I find the Supra play 2.0 much more natural and musical…. greetings to all
Hey Mario,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! Completely agree with you that there are much better alternatives than the Belden 8402 as interconnect cable. I also find it quite colored, perhaps a better match in the context of vintage based audio systems. For example the basic yellow Audio Note AN-A interconnect cable sounds much better in my system, even when built with the same Switchcraft 3502 RCA plugs.
Greetings,
Dimitar
Hi Dimitri, I didn’t say that the Belden doesn’t sound good, I had the Audio Notes, the Kondos, and I can assure you that the Belden 8402 sounds better… I don’t get along with the Izaky method, at least on my Western Electric system, so I’d like to point out that the Canare F 09 RCAs sound much better than the Swichkraft 3502s. With the Sw3502 Izaky method, they are defined as aggressive, the double bass is a bit invasive, the soundstage isn’t very wide, little 3D… that hyper detail is tiring after long listening sessions… while with the Canare F09 French Dominique method, the sound is very natural, the separation of the instruments is exceptional, the soundstage is deep and 3D… wide, delicate but very musical and it gives off a very valve-like sound… while the other one seems like a transistor… and I can assure you that you can listen to the system for hours and it doesn’t tire your ears… I also tried it with the Japanese Izaky method… it’s the same but with less synergy… as if the current was not enough and a gripping is evident in the mid-range…..with double black and white pole on the hot pole, and external braid to ground it works fine and noise is 0….. I recommend this test and would like a feedback. Greetings to all……Have a good Sunday
Dimenticavo, visto che qualcuno ha parlato di Belden 9497, li ho avuti e ce li ho da un po di tempo ho suonato quasi x 4/5 anni, poi ho scoperto il supra play 2.0 che va decisamente meglio……