Van Damme Digi Grade AES/EBU Microphone Cable

Description

An AES/EBU cable and a microphone cable both end in an XLR, and that is where the similarity stops. Digital audio needs a controlled characteristic impedance — 110 ohms, held consistently along the whole length. Run AES down a standard mic cable and the impedance mismatch reflects part of the signal back down the line, which shows up as jitter, and eventually as clicks and dropouts. It often works over a couple of feet and starts failing at twenty, which is what makes it such a frustrating fault to chase.

This cable is built for that job. Van Damme’s Digi Grade holds 110Ω with low capacitance, so the signal stays clean over long runs instead of degrading somewhere between the converter and the desk. A 24AWG ultra-pure oxygen-free copper pair sits in foam/skin polyethylene, which is what keeps the impedance stable — foamed dielectric holds its geometry and its dielectric constant far better than solid insulation under bending and temperature change. The screen is lapped bare copper at better than 90% coverage, and the minimum bend radius is fifteen times the diameter — about 93mm — which tells you where this cable is happiest: run once, dressed properly, and left alone.

It isn’t only for AES. Anything running 100 to 110 ohm balanced data works on it: DMX512 for lighting, RS422 and RS485, and timecode. It will also carry balanced analogue audio perfectly well, so a run installed for digital doesn’t become useless if the room gets repatched. That flexibility is worth having in a rack you’re wiring once.

Terminated with Neutrik gold-contact connectors, in XLR or TRS, hand-soldered with lead-free ROHS-compliant silver solder, built to order and tested before it ships. Backed by our lifetime warranty.