Canare LV-61S Precision "Spec Your Own" Cable

Canare LV-61S Precision "Spec Your Own" Cable - Custom cable in your choice of ten different cable colors, twelve different strain relief options, and six different connector types!

This Canare LV-61S Precision "Spec Your Own" Cable offers a custom-configured, Canare precision cable, with your choice of 10 different cable colors (green cable is 20% off, while supplies last!), 12 different strain-relief options, and six different connector options -- RCA, RCA-female, BNC, "F", or "TS" type.  The cables are suitable for many kinds of video, audio, and RF applications.

For example, use a single cable for SPDIF Digital audio applications, such as Dolby Digital or DTS.  Alternately, a single cable also makes an ideal composite video cable, or specify "F" connectors for cable TV and satellite patch cables.  Terminated with BNC connectors, they are ideal for test equipment.  Use a pair for analog audio interconnects, three for component video, five for RGBHV video, six for SACD audio...the possibilities are almost endless.

For RCA-male,  BNC, or F connectors, you may specify your choice of flexible silicone boots, which enhance the appearance of the cable, while avoiding sharp bends at the connectors, and provide visual identification of the channels.  The RCA-female terminations are completed with heat shrink only which will match the cable.  The cable can also be made with no boots - required for lengths less than 0.5 meter, and some customers prefer the streamlined appearance, and shorter profile.  The 1/4" TS phone plug option uses a spring-type strain-relief.

The Cable

With cable design, it is certainly true that there are many compromises to be made.  That is why some cables may be good at audio, but not good for video.  Likewise, cables that are good for video are often poor for audio.  That is why it may be hard to understand how Canare LV-61S can be so good at so many things.

Nonetheless, LV-61S has plenty of bandwidth for all kinds of video, including both composite and component video, right up to 1080p and beyond.  We have customers using these cables for component video runs in the hundreds of feet with excellent results.

Audio presents its own set of challenges, so it is somewhat surprising that a cable that works so well for video also excels with audio signals.  We had not actually considered using this cable for audio until our founder visited with an engineer at one of the local television stations, and noticed that they were using this cable in most all of their patch panels - for both video and audio.  More about audio later!

While it is true that you might not want to use this cable for long, high-bandwidth RF runs, such as satellite down-leads, the unique connector implementation means that it often outperforms cables with better specs (on paper), when used for short RF runs.  (for long RF runs, please consider these cables)

These Canare cables are lightweight and extremely flexible.  Considerably more flexible than Monster or even the highly regarded Tributaries.  They have PVC jackets with a smooth, non-glare finish.  They are smooth and pleasing to the touch.  They even stay flexible in sub-zero weather!  Hopefully, your equipment will never be subjected to such an extreme temperature, but the point is that the cables really are made of high-quality materials. Here are some specs on the cable:

• Outside diameter, 6.1mm (.240 in.)
• Low loss - less than .042 dB per meter at 10 MHz, and less than .42 dB even at 1 GHz!
• Tightly woven all-copper shield with greater than 95% coverage
• Nominal capacitance, 67 pF per meter at 1 KHz
• Nominal impedance, 75 ohms
• Velocity of propagation, 66%

In our experience, this is one of the finest all-around coaxial cables available at any price.  For patch cables and other relatively short runs, we prefer it even to other offerings from Canare, such as the CFB series cables (which we also offer), for several important reasons.  Compared to the CFB series cable, LV-61S is much more flexible and is easier to work with.  It also stands up better to handling and bending.

Canare RCA Connectors

It is hard to imagine a finer RCA connector than Canare's.  They are precision machined to maintain a constant 75 Ohm impedance.  We install them using a Canare tool that always prepares the cable ends, just right.  The connectors are crimped in place, using heavy, precision-machined dies.  The crimps are so tight that oxygen is excluded, and thus corrosion is prevented.  It's an awesome system, and the resulting terminations are in a class of their own.

Generic RCA audio plugs and cables have been around since the 1940s, but the old solder-type plugs typically have an impedance of about 25 Ohms.  They exhibit extremely poor return loss performance, even when mated to high-quality cable.  Some of the so-called "high end" cables use exotic-sounding materials and make unsupportable claims, but still fail to solve this very real and important problem.

Canare's innovative 75 Ohm RCA crimp plugs solve these problems.  Their impedance-matched design achieves excellent digital and analog performance, with a usable bandwidth to 200 MHz!  The connector design ensures consistent and extremely reliable terminations.  VSWR is typically less than 1.1 from DC to 200 MHz.  The crimp design excludes oxygen, preventing corrosion associated with dissimilar metals, which can degrade even the best soldered connections.

The center shaft is gold plated.  If you look closely at the picture at the right, you can see the internal pressure fingers, which ensure good contact, while solving the "grip of death" problem, which has been an issue with Monster's connectors.  The "grip of death" connectors put unnecessary strain on your equipment.  Canare connectors connect up smoothly, and maintain good contact, while protecting your equipment investment.

Canare RCA-Female Connectors

Canare does not offer an RCA-female connector, as such, but we have come up with a very good work-around.  We start with Canare's excellent BNC connector (described below), then add a high-quality Canare BNC/RCA-female adapter.  These are not your average adapters - these are Canare adapters, and they are about as good as such an adapter can possibly be.  As you may notice, the high quality of the adapters is reflected in their cost.  We then heat-shrink the complete assembly to maintain excellent electrical and mechanical integrity.  You can see how the finished assembly looks in the picture at the right.

Canare BNC Connectors

The BNC-type connector is the best connector that is commonly available for applications of this type.  In general, it is both mechanically and electrically superior to an RCA connector.  It has a twist-lock mechanism to ensure that the connection is mechanically secure, and the electrical design of the connector does a good job of maintaining constant impedance at the connector.

Canare takes this inherent superiority to the next level.  For example, many BNC connectors have a characteristic impedance of only 50 Ohms, but Canare connectors are engineered to maintain a constant impedance of 75 Ohms.  This make a lot of sense because virtually all A/V equipment is designed to work best with 75 Ohm cables.  It follows that if you want the best performance your equipment can deliver, you will need cables and connectors that maintain this impedance.

This electrical superiority is the result of superior mechanical design, high-quality materials and precision manufacturing.  Canare's BNC connectors are almost artful in their design...and they work very well indeed.

In our experience, the key to great video cables is in the connectors.  Exotic conductors and shielding are fine, but it's the connectors that really make the difference.

Canare "F" Connectors

The unique Canare "F" connector design features an electromechanically stable nickel-over-brass body, with an extra-wide torque nut and machined threads.  Unlike virtually every other "F" connector, Canare's design does not unitize the center conductor of the coaxial cable as the plug's center contact pin.  Instead, the center pin is made from gold-plated brass.  This innovative approach avoids problems that are often associated with typical "F" connectors, such as corrosion, misalignment, incorrect length, and poorly shaped tip of the center contact.

The dedicated center pin design prevents equipment damage that can occur with lesser designs.  For example, the instruction manual that comes with Jensen Transformer's excellent VRD-1FF Cable TV Ground Isolator specifically warns that the warranty can be voided by damage resulting from using a center conductor that is misshapen, or too long.  This kind of damage will never happen with a Canare "F" connector because it is always exactly the correct length and shape!

The precision of the body design, combined with the dedicated center pin results in a precision connector.  This precision results in a 75 Ohm impedance-matched connector that connects up smoothly and accurately, providing a consistently reliable connection and thus a very high level of performance.

Canare 1/4" and 3.5mm "TS" Phone Plugs

Canare's excellent 1/4" and 3.5mm phone plugs use a patented "V-Lock" system that ensures good electrical contact by keeping the plugs tight where others pull out.  These connectors feature a one-piece body with a pure brass bar that runs the full length of the handle.  The design is 50% stronger than ordinary plugs and 20% stronger than other high-grade plugs.

The solid brass handle shuts out static and EM noise.  A satin-finished nickel plating provides long-lasting protection and beauty.  A spring-type strain-relief prevents cable damage due to repeated bending at the cable entry point, so cables last up to three times longer than with plugs that do not have strain-reliefs.

Also available (but not shown) is the F-12F, a 3.5mm TRS-female (stereo mini-phone jack).  Since this is a two-conductor cable, we wire wire only the "T" and "S" contacts.

Please notice that if you choose this connector option, you must also choose the "Spring" strain-relief option as well, as this connector is not compatible with Canare's strain-relief boots.

See For Yourself !

In some ways, it's easier to see the difference that video cables can make, than it is to hear a difference with audio cables.  We have tested these Canare cables in video applications against Monster, and some other more esoteric video cables.  In our test setup, the Canare cables always produced a visibly superior picture.  If you don't believe it, you can try it yourself.  If you don't already have it, get a copy of the Video Essentials or Avia test disks for your DVD player, and take a look at the test patterns.  Look for ghost images and "ringing" that are visible with lesser cables, then switch to the Canare cables and see the difference that constant impedance can make.  The difference ranges from visible to dramatic.  We have tested cables ranging in length from 1 meter to 100 meters.  The Canare cables, without exception, always looked the best to us.  Some of the cables that we tested had better specs for loss than the Canare cables, but we never actually saw any cable produce a better picture than Canare.

Some of the same characteristics that ensure great video performance are also desirable for great audio.  With analog audio, constant impedance helps to avoid non-linearity in your amplifiers, and the lack of reflected energy in the cable ensures maximum signal transfer.  Muddiness and distortion are avoided.  High quality precision cable protects you from audible hum and interference.  Your sound will be clear and clean.

Digital audio presents a different set of challenges, but the same rules apply.  Constant impedance eliminates ringing, echo, and signal delays which may cause decoder errors.  Extraneous noise is excluded, so your digital signal gets to the decoder intact.  The end result is the same in either application -- great sound.

Ordering Notes

For lengths of 3 meters or less, we try for a finished tip-to-tip length that is exactly the same as the nominal length.  For example, if you order a 0.5 meter cable, we cut the cable shorter than 0.5 meter so that once the connectors have been installed, the finished cable will actually measure 0.5 meter from connector tip to connector tip.  This is typically not an issue with longer cables, but for very short cables, an inch or two can be important, so we want you to be aware.  Our method ensures the greatest consistency for shorter cables, but since some shops just cut the cables to length and then add connectors, we thought it might be worth mentioning.

Lengths under 0.3 meter (1 foot) are built as Signature Series 61, meaning that we use heat-shrink tubing in place of the normal pro-series shrink marker and silicone strain-relief boots.  This frees up some length that is normally occupied by the boots and shrink marker, while still providing strain-relief and color-coding. These super-short lengths can be found at the bottom of the drop-down list.  Please be aware of the measuring note above.

For lengths over 3 meters, we cut the cable to the nominal length and then install the connectors, which results in a finished cable that is slightly longer than the nominal length.