Two questions arrive together in almost every stage-to-rack enquiry, and they are answered by different decisions. The first is “how many ways do I need?” — a count. The second is “what actually runs between the stage box and the console rack?” — a cable choice for each hop. Getting the count right and then ordering the wrong construction at one end of the run is a common way to buy a multicore twice.
This page covers the ordering logic for a multichannel audio run between a stage and a mix position: what one way is, how to count ways without running short, and which cable belongs at each hop of the chain.
Short answer
| What you are wiring | How it is counted | Cable that belongs there |
|---|---|---|
| Vocal and instrument inputs on stage, one console input each | One way per input | Multichannel audio cable — one balanced pair (two conductors plus shield) per way |
| Monitor sends or returns between the console and the stage | One way per send — counted, not taken from the spare ways | The same multichannel cable, sized with the returns included |
| Talkback, playback and intercom legs | One way each | The same cable; count them before rounding up to a published size |
| A digital stage box in place of an analogue multicore | Not a way count at all — channel count is set in the device | Network cable to the stage box, shielded where the path shares power and dimming |
| Lighting on the same truss or the same cable path | A separate bus, never a spare way in the audio multicore | DMX512 cable, 120 Ω shielded twisted pair |
What one “way” actually is
A way is one balanced audio channel: two conductors plus a shield, carried as one pair inside the multichannel jacket. On an analogue audio snake the three words describe the same count, so a 12 way multicore, a 12 channel snake and a 12 pair run are the same cable. The naming conventions are set out in 8-channel audio snake cable: specifying multichannel, and the difference between cores, pairs and conductors is in cores, pairs and conductors explained.
The confusion that produces wrong orders is between a way and a conductor count on speaker cable. Speaker cable is described by cores, and each core is one side of a single circuit, so a 4-core speaker cable is two channels. A 12 way multicore is twelve channels — twenty-four signal conductors plus a shield. The two numbers are not interchangeable, and a multicore cannot be used as a substitute for a speaker run.
The counting rule that avoids ordering the wrong size
Count four things, add them, then round up to a size that is actually manufactured:
- Inputs — every source that needs its own console input.
- Returns — every monitor send, IEM feed or other signal travelling back towards the stage.
- Service channels — talkback, playback, timecode or comms legs that use a channel of their own.
- Spares — the ways left for a failed channel or a late addition. Two is a working number for a rental inventory; an installed system can hold at one if the rack is documented.
A worked example: 16 inputs, 4 monitor returns, 1 talkback and 2 spares is 23 ways. Twenty-three is not a manufactured size, so the order is a 24 way multicore — not a 20 way with three channels doubled up, and not a 28 way “for headroom” that has to be paid for on every metre of the run.
One distinction saves a second order: if a source has to reach two consoles at once — a festival split, a broadcast feed, a monitor world and a FOH desk — the split is a device at the end of the run, not extra ways inside one cable. A passive splitter takes one input and feeds two destinations; the multicore still carries the source once. Size the multicore for the channels, and specify the split as the item it is.
Where the multicore sits in the chain
The chain has an order, and each hop has a cable that suits its connector. The table below is the sequence from a source on stage to a loudspeaker, with the alternative digital path noted separately.
| Hop | Port at each end | Cable |
|---|---|---|
| Source on stage: microphone or DI box to the first connector | XLR | Balanced microphone cable — two conductors plus shield |
| Stage box or fan-out to the multicore | Multipin connector, or an XLR fan-out | Short tails; the connector format is a property of the stage box |
| Stage to mix position: the run itself | Multipin or fan-out at both ends | Multichannel audio cable, one pair per way, shield overall |
| Console output to system processor or matrix | XLR or TRS, balanced | Balanced signal cable |
| Processor to amplifier | XLR, balanced | Balanced signal cable — not speaker cable |
| Amplifier to loudspeaker | Speaker connector | Speaker cable, chosen by core count and conductor size |
Two common misorders sit inside that table. The first is using a spare way of the audio multicore for a loudspeaker feed: a loudspeaker circuit is not a balanced line, and the conductor size in a signal multicore is specified for signal, not for the current a loudspeaker draws. The second is running the amplifier-to-speaker leg in signal cable because the connector at one end is an XLR-style plug on the amplifier; the cable still has to be speaker cable.
The digital alternative replaces hops one to three rather than the whole chain. Where a digital stage box is used, the console reaches the stage over network cable and the box converts to analogue at the stage end. Category cable is specified at a nominal 100 Ω ±15 Ω, which is what the network interface expects; the screening decision and the construction comparison are in Dante audio network cable: choosing shielded Cat6. Where the same cable path is used for DMX512 over Ethernet, see DMX over Cat6. The DMX512 bus itself is a 120 Ω shielded twisted pair with its own daisy-chain and termination rules, described in DMX termination: 120 Ω and daisy-chain rules — an audio multicore is never a substitute for it.
What the LBS multichannel data sheet publishes
Every figure below is published on the individual LBS multichannel product pages, and applies across the family:
| Property | Published value |
|---|---|
| Channel counts available | 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44 and 48 channels |
| Main conductor | 22 AWG / 0.35 |
| Inner jacket outside diameter (per channel) | 3.1 mm |
| Overall jacket | EPVC |
| Jacket colour | Black |
| Applicable temperature | −20 °C to 70 °C |
Two things the data sheet does not publish, and which should therefore not be copied into a project document from another product: a characteristic-impedance figure for the multichannel cable, and a maximum run length. If a specification requires either, state it in the enquiry so it is answered against the actual construction instead of being assumed.
The channel count is also visible in the product name, so the size can be ordered directly: 8 channel, 12 channel, 28 channel and 48 channel are four points on the same family; the full range is listed under multichannel and audio signal cable.
Termination and fan-out
Three details decide whether a correct multicore behaves correctly once it is terminated:
- Pin convention. On a 3-pole XLR the convention used across the industry is pin 1 to the shield and common, pin 2 to the hot (positive) signal and pin 3 to the cold (negative) signal. Mixed convention at the two ends of one run inverts the channel. The 3-, 4- and 5-pole question is covered in XLR pin counts: 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
- Connector choice. LBS XLR connectors are published as 3- to 7-pole options in a die-cast metal housing with chuck-type cable retention — the chuck grips the jacket rather than the conductors, which is what keeps a tail from pulling apart at the first load-out. See LBS XLR connector.
- Fan-out and marking. A fan-out can sit at one end or at both. Whichever it is, each tail needs a marking scheme that survives the first six months of use; a channel number written on heatshrink is more useful than a colour code nobody wrote down.
What to put on the enquiry
- Channel count, with the monitor returns and service channels included in the number.
- Connector type at each end, and whether the fan-out is at one end or both.
- Run length, and whether the cable is for fixed installation or for coiling on a truck.
- Marking scheme, and whether the spares should be terminated or left unwired.
- If a stage box is used, its connector format — that sets the tails, not the cable.
The same information is what an OEM or private-label order needs as well, because jacket print, length and packaging all follow from it. Send the run description and the cable specification comes back against it, rather than against a catalogue page number.
Frequently asked questions
How many ways do I need for a 32 input stage?
Count the inputs, the returns and the service channels, then round up to a published size. Thirty-two inputs plus four monitor returns and two spares is 38 ways, so the order is a 40 way multicore. If the 32 inputs include channels that are never used at the same time, size to the working count and note it, rather than sizing to the patch panel.
Is a 12 way multicore the same as a 12 pair cable?
Yes for an analogue audio multicore: twelve ways means twelve balanced channels, which is twelve pairs of two conductors plus an overall shield. The two names are used interchangeably in the trade, and both are different from a 12-core speaker cable, which would be six channels.
Can I use one way of the audio snake to feed a loudspeaker?
No. A loudspeaker circuit is not a balanced line, and the conductor size inside a signal multicore is specified for signal rather than for loudspeaker current. The amplifier-to-loudspeaker leg belongs on speaker cable, chosen by core count and conductor size.
Does the multicore replace DMX cable for the lighting on the same truss?
No. DMX512 is a 120 Ω shielded twisted pair with its own termination and daisy-chain rules. Audio multicore and DMX512 cable are separate items on the same purchase list, and mixing them is a recurring cause of flickering fixtures.
What cable is used instead of a multicore when the stage box is digital?
Network cable — Cat5e or Cat6, shielded where the cable path shares a tray or truss with dimming, LED power supplies or motor drives. The channel count is then a setting in the stage box and the console, not a property of the cable.
Standards and sources referenced
- Balanced audio interconnection practice — two signal conductors plus shield per channel; 3-pole XLR convention pin 1 shield/common, pin 2 hot, pin 3 cold.
- ANSI E1.11 / E1.27-1 — DMX512: 120 Ω shielded twisted pair, 5-pin XLR, daisy-chain topology.
- ANSI E1.31 (sACN) and Art-Net — carrying DMX universes as Ethernet traffic to a node that outputs DMX512.
- Category cable specifications — Cat5e / Cat6 nominal characteristic impedance 100 Ω ±15 Ω.
- LBS product data sheets — channel counts 4 to 48, main conductor 22 AWG / 0.35, inner jacket O.D. 3.1 mm, EPVC overall jacket, −20 °C to 70 °C, as published on each product page.