The Lowdown
High quality, custom DJ cables, made to your exact specification, by a small boutique UK company, at really decent prices. Interested? Just get in quick, because once everyone hears about it, you might be kept waiting!
Video Review
In Use
The ordering experience
This is no ordinary way to get cabled! MDC Gear is a tiny internet operation, and you come up with the exact specification you want for your cables, they’ll quote you, and then get underway making them especially to order for you. You can choose the length, types of sockets (RCA, TRS, XLR), even the colour of the braiding.
And the pre-ownership experience doesn’t stop there: They’ll actually send you pictures of your new cables as they’re being made, so you can check everything is up to your standards! Payment is by PayPal, shipping costs globally are transparent (the operation is in the UK, by the way), and when your cables are ready, you pay by PayPal and they’re popped in the post to you.
We wanted some really nice new cables to appear in the Digital DJ Masterclass, our new video training course, so that was our reason for going for something a bit nicer than run-of-the-mill, mass production cables. So we were (is it sad to admit this?) actually pretty excited when they arrived. With all the photos and the running documentation of their birth, it felt like we knew our new RCAs already!
The cables
So, we’d ordered some short (half a metre) twin RCAs, and also two three-metre RCAs (individual cables this time) to go from the back of a DJ controller to two separate monitor speakers.
Firstly, all the cables are beautiful. Obviously, we took them apart to examine the soldering, which is all devilishly neat and plastic-shielded. The RCAs on the shorter cables are metal with “spring” joins at the back, and the two stereo sides are firmly joined together with black rubber sheath where they enter the single, sturdy nylon braiding.
The longer cables step up even more though, with the sturdiest, most expensive-looking RCA connectors we’ve ever seen, properly screwed together, and finished in matt hexagonal metal over gold-plated conductors. These in particular really do feel built to last, not that the stereo pairs don’t.
One thing DJs often get wrong with cables is buying “audiophile” cables that are great, but they’re made to be plugged in and left for five years – not continually plugged and unplugged. These are just right in that respect; the RCAs fit firmly into sockets, but not so firmly that you’re likely to damage something plugging them in and unplugging them all the time. and the longer cables we order had screw-to-tighten RCAS, which screamed quality.
Conclusion
First things first: These aren’t dirt cheap. They are, however, great value. There are sample prices on the website, but for example, a one-metre RCA connect is quotes at US$30/£20 – not excessive by any means.
Bottom line was, I got a whole set of cables custom-made for me. They are the highest spec imaginable and will last a lifetime (unless I lose them). They are the exact lengths I wanted, the exact colours I wanted (I know, but these things matter!), and while they obviously cost a lot more than the cheapest bell wire cables, they are much cheaper than some top-end cables aimed at DJs… and I repeat: I got exactly the lengths, colour and specs I wanted.
The company will build directly to your specifications, so if you’ve spent thousands on your dream DJ set-up and are prepared to spend the extra to replace those limp, old RCAs that are dangling in a mess behind your gear with something more fitting, I can definitely recommend asking MDC Gear for a custom quote. They’ll even consider sending in bulk if you and all your DJ mates decide you all want some!
