Speakon cable problem

[Mudpup]

i just bought a couple of speakon cables from Amazon to keep in my spares box.
They look pretty standard to me but i hooked them up to check them yesterday and they dont work.

Weirdly its both of them - the odds of getting 2 duff ones seem pretty remote so i wondered if i was being dumb????

I left the amp running and changed them to my usual ones which worked absolutely fine, swapped back to new ones and once again no output at all. Its an Ashdown amp so i could see from the VU meter that i was getting input into the amp too.

Any ideas?? I had a look inside and tightened the little screws up a tad just in case but all seemed in order - well there was a red and a black wire connected at both ends (thats my limit to techie wire stuff)

its these ones...
[url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003ZZ7RNA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]https://www.amazon.c...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/url]

Edited October 15, 2017 by Mudpup

[T-Bay]

I could be remembering this wrong but aren't there two different ways of wiring them up?

[Mudpup]

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1508087018' post='3389657']
I could be remembering this wrong but aren't there two different ways of wiring them up?
[/quote]


Really??? i thought a speaker cable was a speaker cable???

[T-Bay]

I am trying to dredge my memory but failing, I know there are two and four Pole variations but I think there are two ways you can wire the four pole ones. Hopefully someone with a better memory or more knowledge will be along soon.

[T-Bay]

Yup seems I was right-

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/aguilar-ag-500-speakon-outputs-not-working.590217/

Mods- apologies for posting a link to TB, if it's an issue please just delete.

[Mudpup]

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1508088064' post='3389669']
Yup seems I was right-

[url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/aguilar-ag-500-speakon-outputs-not-working.590217/"]https://www.talkbass...working.590217/[/url]

Mods- apologies for posting a link to TB, if it's an issue please just delete.
[/quote]

Ahhh, off to google it now. Cheers!

[Grangur]

Return them and get some from our own Obbm.

Top quality cables, so I've heard

[Mudpup]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1508088310' post='3389672']
Return them and get some from our own Obbm.

Top quality cables, so I've heard
[/quote]

Yep i know but they're better than i need for the spares box and these were very cheap. Would have been handy if they worked though :-)

[hubrad]

Are they wired to 1+/- or 2+/-? , and which do your amp and cab use. Usually 1+/-.
Obviously it makes a difference. If they're on the wrong contacts it's an easy fix, but I wouldn't be buying anything else from that lot in a hurry!

[Mudpup]

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1508091817' post='3389698']
Are they wired to 1+/- or 2+/-? , and which do your amp and cab use. Usually 1+/-.
Obviously it makes a difference. If they're on the wrong contacts it's an easy fix, but I wouldn't be buying anything else from that lot in a hurry!
[/quote]

Checking the wiring tonight. They're actually branded Chord ones, not homemade, so i assumed they would be pretty standard

[Mudpup]

just changed them both to 1+/- and they still don't work
Doh
:-(

[gary mac]

I learnt from experience that the cheap ones aren't worth having, even as spares.

If you can be bothered and have a multimeter, you could test for continuity. Or just send them back and like Grangur suggested, get on to OBBM.

[obbm]

The red should go to terminal 1+ at both ends and the black to terminal 1- at both ends regardless of whether the plugs are 2-pole or 4-pole

Are the connectors genuine Neutrik Speakons?

Just looked at the Chord Cables web site and they don't list any Speakon cables. Did the packaging say they were made by The Chord Cable Company, Amesbury, Wiltshire?

[obbm]

A bit more research shows that there are 2 companies trading under the name Chord.

The Chord Cable Company who specialise in high-end Hi-Fi and other music related cables. Their Speakon cables start at £40 and go to £100.

and

Chord music brand, part of the AVSL Group Limited. [url="https://www.avsl.com/brands/chord"]https://www.avsl.com/brands/chord[/url]

Very confusing and misleading.

I think the OP's cable is from the latter, probably made in the Far East.

[Mudpup]

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1508102761' post='3389815']
A bit more research shows that there are 2 companies trading under the name Chord.

The Chord Cable Company who specialise in high-end Hi-Fi and other music related cables. Their Speakon cables start at £40 and go to £100.

and

Chord music brand, part of the AVSL Group Limited. [url="https://www.avsl.com/brands/chord"]https://www.avsl.com/brands/chord[/url]

Very confusing and misleading.

I think the OP's cable is from the latter, probably made in the Far East.
[/quote]

They're definitely cheapo ones - not genuine Neutrik plugs and Chord branded cable.

Oh and thanks for the wiring advice too - much appreciated :-)

Edited October 15, 2017 by Mudpup

[dannybuoy]

Get yourself a Behringer CT200. I have the CT100 and it has saved me loads of time diagnosing intermittent faults in patch cables, but the CT200 has Speakon support!

[LITTLEWING]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1508088310' post='3389672']
Return them and get some from our own Obbm.

Top quality cables, so I've heard
[/quote]
I have two from OBBM and after four years they're still perfect and have never let me down.