Is this part difficult to find? (RCA solder board)

[heyraz]

The copper braid (uninsulated) is a shield. It catches EMI and drains it back to the TT's ground. The braid shields the signal wires.
The shield is not connected to the RCA plug's ground.
The two insulated conductors in the cable are for the cartridge's signal (R) and ground (W).
The fifth terminal is Ground. You should run a separate wire (green) out from that terminal to the input of your phono stage.
It can be argued that the green wire is redundant...and it probably is. That seems to depend on the turntable. On my turntable(s), the ground wire has continuity with the center spindle. It seems to drain static charges that develop on the surface of the spinning vinyl. Without the green wire...some people get hum, I hear static during playback.

 

[JP]

If running MM, careful with W2552 as capacitance to shield is quite high at 90pF/m.

 

[heyraz]

For reference:

MOGAMI® - Low Cost High Performance Superflexible Balanced Microphone Cables

Mogami Polar Flex Cables are a superior quality, extremely durable microphone cable for demanding live and remote broadcast applications.

mogamicable.com

 

[Klebby]

If running MM, careful with W2552 as capacitance to shield is quite high at 90pF/m.

Oh wow I did have MM cartridge. Hmm

 

[heyraz]

Oh wow I did have MM cartridge. Hmm

If you have a Grado cartridge, capacitance won't affect response.

 

[Klebby]

If you have a Grado cartridge, capacitance won't affect response.

It’s an AT-VM95E/H

 

[JP]

VM95 likes a bit of capacitance - about 300pF total is ideal with a 47k load.

 

[Klebby]

VM95 likes a bit of capacitance - about 300pF total is ideal with a 47k load.

Sheesh, this is all new to me… will the RCA cables I am looking for say 300pF and 47k load on the package or is this something I have to look for online to get the specs of? Any chance you could share a link of whatever RCA cables have these exact specs? It would be greatly appreciated… thank you regardless for the info!

 

[JP]

Resistive load comes from the phono stage - 47k is the standard for MM, so not something you'll need to worry about. Capacitance is from the wiring in your arm, the interconnect from the 'table to your phono stage, and the phono stage itself - they all add up. It's not going to harm anything, but different loads will manifest as differences in frequency response from the cartridge.

 

[heyraz]

something I have to look for online to get the specs of

The reference table I attached to post #23 lists capacitance/ft for different Mogami cables.

 

[Klebby]

Resistive load comes from the phono stage - 47k is the standard for MM, so not something you'll need to worry about. Capacitance is from the wiring in your arm, the interconnect from the 'table to your phono stage, and the phono stage itself - they all add up. It's not going to harm anything, but different loads will manifest as differences in frequency response from the cartridge.

So should any of the three cables listed above in the Mogami link perform just about the same? My 5 lug strip just arrived and I’m all ready to buy some new RCA cables to solder to it and see if I can get this machine running again. Any advice on what the best cables may be for the VM-AT95E/H? What’s a good website or store to get them from?

 

[heyraz]

I use Parts Express for cables, plugs, heat shrinkable tubing, etc..

 

[JP]

So should any of the three cables listed above in the Mogami link perform just about the same? My 5 lug strip just arrived and I’m all ready to buy some new RCA cables to solder to it and see if I can get this machine running again. Any advice on what the best cables may be for the VM-AT95E/H? What’s a good website or store to get them from?

Most people go as low capacitance cable as reasonable as you can always add capacitance later, whether via loading options in the phono stage, or Y splitters with loading plugs. I've no idea what's ideal for you as I don't know the capacitance of the wire inside your tonearm nor your phono stage, and phono stages capacitance isn't what's written on the tin more often than not.

This is what the response of a VM95ML looks like with different capacitance. EN should be similar and the overall trend will be the same.

 

[Klebby]

Most people go as low capacitance cable as reasonable as you can always add capacitance later, whether via loading options in the phono stage, or Y splitters with loading plugs. I've no idea what's ideal for you as I don't know the capacitance of the wire inside your tonearm nor your phono stage, and phono stages capacitance isn't what's written on the tin more often than not.

This is what the response of a VM95ML looks like with different capacitance. EN should be similar and the overall trend will be the same.

View attachment 3262971

So I ended up grabbing these… is there any way I can find info on the capacitance of these cables specifically?

 

[JP]

If they don’t spec it then you’d need to measure it with an LCR meter.

 

[Klebby]

If they don’t spec it then you’d need to measure it with an LCR meter.

Ah, does this have the ability to measure as an LCR would?

 

[heyraz]

So I ended up grabbing these… is there any way I can find info on the capacitance of these cables specifically?

Are they shielded?

 

[Klebby]

If they don’t spec it then you’d need to measure it with an LCR. I see capacitance here. I wonder if it is possible with this multimeter..

 

[Klebby]

Are they shielded

Are they shielded?

They are, yeah.

 

[JP]

0.1nF is 100pF, so not enough resolution. Most DMM with a capacitance function can’t read low enough and aren’t capable of measuring cables reliability. I’ve seen more than a few with a footnote on the spec that says for capacitors only.