Audio Question - Using coax as speaker cables

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Audio Question – Using coax as speaker cables

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May 18, 2010 at 10:15 am

#696510
1

cheeseweasel

@cheeseweasel

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I’m currently sound engineering on a ship that houses a travelling theatre troupe. We perform a show on the deck of the ship, with PA speakers attached to the masts and a couple of other points on the ship. We’re in the pre-production stage now, and the show won’t start for a couple of months so I’ve been checking over the equipment on-board.

At some point, someone has installed speaker cables that run from the amp rack in the ship’s belly to speakons positioned near where the speakers are mounted. I had a close look at them and the cable that has been used is thick coax with a bit of mic cable bodged onto the end (which needs to go as they are connected to 2kW power amps!)

So my question is, is it OK to use coax for speaker cables? I’m looking to upgrade the ship’s sound system to more powerful speakers (about 500W each) and I want to get the best out of them. Am I likely to get significant signal loss or capacitative losses from using coax compared with regular speaker cable? I’d prefer not to rip them out if I can help it as it would mean taking half of the ship to bits, but I will if there’s any serious issue with using them.
May 18, 2010 at 11:05 am

#935075
1

process

@process

Member
you working on a cruise ship? sounds pretty sweet if so!

no idea about the speaker Q im afraid tho!
May 18, 2010 at 11:52 am

#935073
6

General Lighting

@general-lighting

Moderator
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coax is used for way higher frequencies than audio. you say “thick” co-ax – this sounds like the stuff used for radio transmission rather than reception. it might be Ok..

However, its also way more expensive than speaker cable! I wonder if this was done for a reason?

Grounded coax also keeps out interference. I would try and find the ships’ radio operator and speak to him or her… it may have been done to stop stray RF from comms equipment finding its way into audio kit. they may also know about cable access ports/ducts if you do want/need to re-cable the installation!

(as an aside in Eastern bloc countries you are much more likely to find women doing these jobs than the West!)
May 18, 2010 at 4:16 pm

#935079
1

cheeseweasel

@cheeseweasel

Participant
Cheers GL, btw when I say I work on a ship its more of a floating hippie commune than a proper organisation. We get all of our gear and money by scrounging from scrapyards and blagging from manufacturers in return for sponsorship. I think its more likely that the cable was used because someone found or recycled it from somewhere else than for any technical reason (the sound system is only used for shows, when the boat is moored and the navigation/comms gear is turned off), and was possibly installed by someone who wasn’t too clued up on sound equipment.

To me the cable looks thick enough to carry the power the system needs – I was just concerned whether it would cause any audible signal degradations, as the speakers I’m hoping to blag are really high end and I don’t want them to be compromised by shit components elsewhere in the signal chain.
May 18, 2010 at 4:26 pm

#935076
1

process

@process

Member
@cheeseweasel 384717 wrote:

btw when I say I work on a ship its more of a floating hippie commune than a proper organisation. We get all of our gear and money by scrounging from scrapyards and blagging from manufacturers in return for sponsorship.

that sounds a lot better than being stuck on a cruise ship with loads of oaps tbf!. how long you been out there for? just looked at where montenegro is and im now very jealous! 😉
May 18, 2010 at 6:55 pm

#935080
1

cheeseweasel

@cheeseweasel

Participant
@process 384724 wrote:

that sounds a lot better than being stuck on a cruise ship with loads of oaps tbf!. how long you been out there for? just looked at where montenegro is and im now very jealous! 😉

Been here a week now, staying on the ship til mid-september! It’s a wooden pirate ship. We’ve got two months in Montenegro sorting shit out, building the set and doing all the pre-production stuff, then two months tour of the Adriatic, up the coast of Croatia, Slovenia and into northern Italy, ending in Venice – should be sick!

This is a vid of the company if you’re interested:

[YT][/YT]
May 18, 2010 at 7:55 pm

#935077
1

process

@process

Member
@cheeseweasel 384744 wrote:

Been here a week now, staying on the ship til mid-september! It’s a wooden pirate ship. We’ve got two months in Montenegro sorting shit out, building the set and doing all the pre-production stuff, then two months tour of the Adriatic, up the coast of Croatia, Slovenia and into northern Italy, ending in Venice – should be sick!

that looks and sounds quality! dont suppose there still looking for people are they?:wink:
im at a bit of a loose end at the moment since i came back from travelling. might be off to america some time this year, but this sounds like a proper adventure!

reminds me of this

[YT]46lJn64VDvQ[/YT]

amazing film if you havent already seen it! all about a travelling theatre company. :weee:
May 18, 2010 at 8:21 pm

#935081
1

cheeseweasel

@cheeseweasel

Participant
@process 384747 wrote:

that looks and sounds quality! dont suppose there still looking for people are they?:wink:
im at a bit of a loose end at the moment since i came back from travelling. might be off to america some time this year, but this sounds like a proper adventure!

reminds me of this

[YT]46lJn64VDvQ[/YT]

amazing film if you havent already seen it! all about a travelling theatre company. :weee:

Mate we watched that the other night in the lounge – it’s exactly like that but on a boat! Give em a ring if you want, its unlikely they’ll offer you anything but its worth a go, just sound keen and up for doing any work they have going, maybe they would take on more riggers or something?
May 18, 2010 at 8:27 pm

#935078
1

process

@process

Member
@cheeseweasel 384748 wrote:

Mate we watched that the other night in the lounge – it’s exactly like that but on a boat! Give em a ring if you want, its unlikely they’ll offer you anything but its worth a go, just sound keen and up for doing any work they have going, maybe they would take on more riggers or something?

safe. can you pm me the number? prob give them a bell next week when i know what the crack is with me going to america or not…
May 18, 2010 at 10:49 pm

#935074
6

General Lighting

@general-lighting

Moderator
Staff
@cheeseweasel 384717 wrote:

To me the cable looks thick enough to carry the power the system needs – I was just concerned whether it would cause any audible signal degradations,

AFAIK it shouldn’t. The Soviets did used to send very high level signals down coax cables for propaganda broadcasts, certainly in the mainland USSR. I am unsure if this reached Yugoslavia but this may have once also been present there and could well be where the cable came from. might be worth a test and if it does sound ropey, at worst case you could use the old cable to pull new cable through..
May 19, 2010 at 3:17 pm

#935082
1

cheeseweasel

@cheeseweasel

Participant
@General Lighting 384767 wrote:

AFAIK it shouldn’t. The Soviets did used to send very high level signals down coax cables for propaganda broadcasts, certainly in the mainland USSR. I am unsure if this reached Yugoslavia but this may have once also been present there and could well be where the cable came from. might be worth a test and if it does sound ropey, at worst case you could use the old cable to pull new cable through..

Cheers, that may well be where the cable came from. Interesting to think that the sound for our travelling theatre show might be coming through cables once used for communist propaganda broadcasts!

Anyway, I changed the bodged on mic leads for proper speaker cable and checked all the lines with audio. Sounds ok to me, though the speakers we have right now are pretty shonky to start with.
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