Velleman VTTEST15 Review: Every Studio Should Own a Cable Tester

This may be one of the least exciting pieces of equipment we have reviewed.

It is also one that every recording studio should have.

The Velleman VTTEST15 is an audio cable tester. There are several similar products available under different names, and there is nothing particularly exotic about this one. What makes it useful is simply the sheer number of connectors it accommodates.

Plug one end of a cable into one side, the other end into the corresponding connector on the other side, and rotate the selector through the conductors. The LEDs tell you which pins are connected.

Simple.

And enormously useful.

Ask us how we know

We recently had to re-terminate a batch of microphone cables.

Eight cables were finished, and rather than assuming we had done everything correctly, we checked every one with the Velleman.

Good thing.

On one cable, we had managed to wire the conductors incorrectly. Without the tester, that cable probably would have gone back into service and the mistake would not have been discovered until someone actually needed it.

Instead, the problem took seconds to identify.

That is really the argument for owning one of these.

More than dead or alive

A cable tester is not something you are going to appreciate every day. But when a microphone suddenly disappears, a speaker is not working, or you have just soldered a pile of cables and no longer completely trust your eyesight, it can save a ridiculous amount of troubleshooting time.

It is also useful for more than simply determining whether a cable is dead. Because you can step through the individual conductors, it becomes immediately apparent when a cable has been miswired, shorted or terminated to the wrong pin. The separate continuity function is useful when the connector you need is not represented on the box.

Power comes from an ordinary 9-volt battery. No proprietary power supply, USB cable or app is required.

Do you need this particular one?

Not necessarily.

That is actually an important point.

The Velleman is useful because of its broad assortment of connectors, but the fundamental concept is not unique. There are other cable testers at different prices with different connector complements and additional features.

So this is not really an argument that every studio needs a Velleman VTTEST15.

It is an argument that every studio needs a good cable tester.

If you can find the Velleman, ours has done exactly what we have needed it to do. If you cannot, find something with the connectors appropriate to your studio and buy that instead.

Then use it every time you make or repair a cable.

It will eventually catch a mistake.

We have proof.

Highly recommended.

Specifications

• Type: Multi-format audio cable tester
• Function: Conductor-by-conductor continuity and wiring verification
• Additional function: Separate continuity testing
• Power: 9-volt battery

Manufacturer: Velleman