Star quad construction reduces the inductive reactance of mic cable.
Replacing a 22-gauge twisted pair with two pairs of 24-gauge conductors connected in parallel produces the same DC resistance, but about half the series inductance.
This provides better clarity without the need for EQ to boost the highs. There’s also an improvement in phase shift at high frequencies, especially in complex waveforms.
Though Canare coined the term star quad, Belden previously came out with the concept in the 1930s for long telephone lines.
There are several “name brands,” but most wire manufacturers and cable fabricators have house brands, which provide similar CMRR improvements, but with varying quality of construction or connectors.
There’s a star quad cable for every budget. Most quad cables employ 24-gauge, 40-strand conductors, are about a quarter-inch in diameter, and cost 50 cents per foot in bulk.
Pre-made cables cost about the same as a roll of gaffe tape or a box of batteries. Dark colors other than black can make identifying your cables a breeze during load-out.
As noted earlier, Radial Engineering sells its own brand of quad mic cable, as does Mogami Neglex, which is more of a studio cable. Mogami has a spiral wrap, or “served” shield, which improves suppleness, but deteriorates with live use.
Pro Co makes Ameriquad with a custom double outer jacket with Kevlar core for added strength, as well as Lifelines quad cable.
Whirlwind offers Canare L-4E6S star quad, while Belden 1192A serves as their “house” quad cable. Belden also makes two smaller sizes of quad cable better suited for patch bays and lavalier mics.
RapcoHorizon sells Mic4, formerly called Quadraplus, and their high-end Dominator SilverFlex quad uses silver-coated copper conductors. Clark Wire & Cable has MINK4 bulk wire with a drain wire that eliminates the extra step of using the shield as a ground wire when terminating.
Gepco has bulk quad star both with and without a drain wire, and Hosa provides their CMI quad-type cables in 10- and 25-foot lengths. Known for their mics, Blue Microphones also offers quad cables.
Mark Frink is Editorial Director of Live Sound International.