gibbothegreat Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Bought some non-Neutrik NL2s from CPC, was then dismayed to find that the pins had no identifying markings as to which was + and which -. Wrote to Tech support and got this reply: "These type of products are usually not marked up as positive and negative as this is usually determined by the installer depending on the other components it is being used with and how the connectors on those components are wired." Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 Intern working in the office with a degree in sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 If you're making up new cables from scratch, as long as you're consistent, it doesn't matter which way round you do it. :) But I do wonder why the manufacturer omitted the markings that are on the Neutrik version. It's not as if that's the thing that's going to trigger an infringement claim... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibbothegreat Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Indeed, new cables - no problem. But if, as I am, I'm changing one end of a complex signal chain that ends up in a flown speaker installed 22 years ago, which would require me to hire and erect and scaffold tower to reach, either to open up that connector, it's a bit less optimal. I can't imagine any circumstance in which a manufacturer of a cheap XLR wouldn't include pin indications: why on earth is it acceptable for a connector which is every bit as much a world-wide standard? At the very least, I've suggested that their catalogue entry includes a warning of this particular deficiency... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Worse, I bought some cheap 3 pin xlr's from CPC a couple of years back that DID have the pinout engraved on them, on both sides of the plastic section (pin side and solder side) which was astep further than I expected. Problem was, the two sides disagreed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Worse, I bought some cheap 3 pin xlr's from CPC a couple of years back that DID have the pinout engraved on them, on both sides of the plastic section (pin side and solder side) which was astep further than I expected. Problem was, the two sides disagreed! I have also had some XLR's from them with incorrect pin numbers (mirrored). And some with no numbers at all. They didn't seem overly bothered when I reported it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Nor were they bothered when a fellow sound engineer and I identified a batch of their headsets which had an alarmingly high failure rate. Out of a batch of 10 were dead on arrival and another 3 failed during the week of the show. They didn't seem to get that it was a bigger issue than just "send them back for a refund" or why I was so bothered having had such an embarrassing number of failures and an understandably grumpy client. I've had a number of delivery issues with them too recently. They're losing favour pretty quickly.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 I've had a number of delivery issues with them too recently. They're losing favour pretty quickly....Unfortunately there are not many good alternatives either.Also a concern is their sister outfit Farnell who have suddenly decided you have to order everything in multiples of 10 or 25, even quite expensive things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunray Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Worse, I bought some cheap 3 pin xlr's from CPC a couple of years back that DID have the pinout engraved on them, on both sides of the plastic section (pin side and solder side) which was astep further than I expected. Problem was, the two sides disagreed! and I was one poor buggers trying to commission a ridiculous number of tie circuits wired with similar double marked chassis males. Customers QC kicked in big time and we had to replace lot with Switchcraft, including having to re-drill the plates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesperrett Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Also a concern is their sister outfit Farnell who have suddenly decided you have to order everything in multiples of 10 or 25, even quite expensive things. Could this be a result of the Avnet takeover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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