Cable hire — XLR, DMX, power and adaptors, by the length
Nobody ever has enough cable, and the missing length is always discovered at seven o’clock on show night. We hire cable the way it is actually needed: by the type and the length, from a 1m XLR to a 50m Cat5e reel, with the adaptors that make one standard talk to another. Every lead is tested and labelled before it goes out, and prices start at 25p a day, so ordering a few spares costs less than needing one.
The audio side runs on 3-pin XLR, in lengths from 1m to 20m, with stereo jack instrument leads for keyboards and players, and jack-to-XLR converters in every gender for the awkward connections. Lighting control runs on 5-pin DMX, again from 1m to 20m, plus combined PowerCON-and-DMX leads that feed a moving light with one tidy run.
Power is where shows usually run short. We hold 13A extensions in one, two, four and six-gang versions up to 15m, 15A theatre extensions up to 20m for dimmed circuits, 16A extensions up to 20m for distro runs, and 32A for the feed itself. The adaptor drawer covers the joins: 13A to 16A and back, 15A each way, T and Y splits, and the 5A oddities older venues still hide in their wings. IEC extensions and PowerCON links handle the last metre to the equipment.
For the long hauls there are two multicores — a 32/4 analogue reel at 50m and a 16/4 at 10m — and a 50m Tourcat Cat5e reel, which is the single cable that carries a digital stagebox back to the mixing desk. If you are hiring one of our desks or stageboxes, say so and we will put the right runs in the same case.
If working out a cable list feels like guesswork, it is our job, not yours. Tell us the rig, the room and where the power is, and we will build the list — including the spares you will be glad of — and crate it up so it arrives coiled, tested and ready to run out.
For video there are HDMI leads to 15m, VGA to 20m for the projectors older halls still own, and BNC to 20m for SDI and antenna feeds. HDMI is a short-range connection by design, so for the long throws — a projector on a balcony rail, a relay screen down a corridor — the picture goes over network cable instead: an HDMI-over-Cat extender pair for a single screen, an Extron DTP kit for the harder runs, and an AdderLink pair for older VGA equipment. There is a DMX splitter for when one lighting line has to feed several directions, and it lives in the DMX family above. Tell us the distance and we will send the run that works, not the one that nearly does.
What you get
Every lead tested and labelled before it leaves, and PAT records kept on our side
Adaptors supplied with sensible pairings — say what you are connecting and we will check the ends
Velcro wraps on audio and DMX runs, so what goes back in the crate is reusable, not spaghetti
Not included as standard: cable ramps and gaffer tape for walkways — ask and we will add them
A crated, show-ready cable package built from your kit list, if you would rather not count leads
Good for
Topping up a venue’s own stock for one big show a year
School halls where the sockets are never where the band is
Feeding a digital stagebox down one Cat5e run instead of a heavy multicore
Outdoor stages and marquees, where every run is longer than it looks
Replacing the one dead lead that stops a whole rig, with spares to hand
Hiring alongside our desks, PA and lighting so everything arrives connected
What you need to know
What it covers
Audio (XLR and jack), lighting control (DMX), mains power at 13A, 15A, 16A and 32A, speaker runs, multicores and the adaptors between them.
How it is priced
By the lead, per day, from 25p. A whole show’s cabling usually costs less than a single fixture.
Lengths
Most types run from 1m to 20m; the multicores and the Cat5e reel cover 50m hauls.
Condition
Tested, labelled and coiled before every hire. A faulty lead is swapped, not argued about.
Who plans it
You, or us: send the kit list and room layout and we will build the cable list with spares.
Hire rates
Item
Rate
3-Pin XLR audio
3-Pin XLR Cable - 1m
£0.25 / day
3-Pin XLR Cable - 2m
£0.25 / day
3-Pin XLR Cable - 3m
£0.25 / day
3-Pin XLR Cable - 5m
£0.25 / day
3-Pin XLR Cable - 10m
£0.50 / day
3-Pin XLR Cable - 20m
£1 / day
8-Way XLR Audio Loom - 2m
£1.50 / day
5-Pin DMX
5-Pin DMX Cable - 1m
£0.25 / day
5-Pin DMX Cable - 2m
£0.25 / day
5-Pin DMX Cable - 3m
£0.25 / day
5-Pin DMX Cable - 5m
£0.50 / day
5-Pin DMX Cable - 10m
£0.75 / day
5-Pin DMX Cable - 20m
£1 / day
Chauvet DataStream 4 DMX Splitter
£5 / day
13A power extensions
13A 1-Gang Extension - 15m
£1.25 / day
13A 2-Gang Extension - 1m
£0.50 / day
13A 2-Gang Extension - 2m
£0.75 / day
13A 2-Gang Extension - 3m
£0.75 / day
13A 2-Gang Extension - 5m
£0.75 / day
13A 2-Gang Extension - 10m
£1 / day
13A 2-Gang Extension - 15m
£1.50 / day
13A 4-Gang Extension - 1m
£0.75 / day
13A 4-Gang Extension - 2m
£0.75 / day
13A 4-Gang Extension - 3m
£1 / day
13A 4-Gang Extension - 5m
£1 / day
13A 4-Gang Extension - 10m
£1.25 / day
13A 4-Gang Extension - 15m
£1.50 / day
13A 6-Gang Extension - 1m
£0.75 / day
13A 6-Gang Extension - 2m
£0.75 / day
13A 6-Gang Extension - 3m
£1 / day
13A 6-Gang Extension - 5m
£1 / day
13A 6-Gang Extension - 10m
£1.25 / day
13A 6-Gang Extension - 15m
£1.50 / day
15A power extensions
15A Extension - 1m
£0.50 / day
15A Extension - 2m
£0.50 / day
15A Extension - 3m
£0.50 / day
15A Extension - 5m
£0.75 / day
15A Extension - 10m
£1 / day
15A Extension - 15m
£1.25 / day
15A Extension - 20m
£1.50 / day
16A power extensions
16A Extension - 1m
£0.75 / day
16A Extension - 2m
£0.75 / day
16A Extension - 3m
£0.75 / day
16A Extension - 5m
£1.25 / day
16A Extension - 10m
£1.25 / day
16A Extension - 15m
£1.25 / day
16A Extension - 20m
£1.50 / day
16A 4-Gang Extension - 1m
£0.75 / day
32A power
32A Extension - 10m
£3 / day
NL4 speaker
NL4 Speaker Cable - 2m
£0.50 / day
NL4 Speaker Cable - 5m
£1 / day
NL4 Speaker Cable - 10m
£1.50 / day
NL4 Speaker Cable - 20m
£2 / day
IEC extensions
IEC Extension - 1m
£0.25 / day
IEC Extension - 2m
£0.25 / day
IEC Extension - 3m
£0.25 / day
IEC Extension - 5m
£0.50 / day
IEC Extension - 10m
£0.50 / day
PowerCON
PowerCON Link Cable - 3m
£1 / day
PowerCON Link Cable - 5m
£1.50 / day
PowerCON & 5-Pin DMX Combi Cable - 3m
£2 / day
PowerCON & 5-Pin DMX Combi Cable - 5m
£2.50 / day
Instrument jack
Stereo Jack Instrument Cable - 3m
£1 / day
Stereo Jack Instrument Cable - 5m
£1.50 / day
Long runs
Tourcat - 50m Reel
£13.75 / day
32/4 Multicore Reel 50m
£8 / day
Multicore 16/4 10m
£5 / day
HDMI & video
HDMI Cable - 2m
£0.75 / day
HDMI Cable - 3m
£1 / day
HDMI Cable - 15m
£2 / day
VGA Cable - 2m
£0.50 / day
VGA Cable - 20m
£2 / day
BNC Cable - 1m
£2.50 / day
BNC Cable - 10m
£2.50 / day
BNC Cable - 20m
£3 / day
Video over network
HDMI Over Cat Extender Pair (TM-60)
£5 / day
Extron DTP HDMI Over Cat Kit
£10 / day
AdderLink AV201 Transmitter (VGA over Cat)
£10 / day
AdderLink AV201 Receiver (VGA over Cat)
£5 / day
Adapters & converters
Jack - XLR Converter - Mono Jack - Female 3 pin XLR
£0.50 / day
Jack - XLR Converter - Mono Jack - Male 3 pin XLR
£0.50 / day
Jack - XLR Converter - Stereo Jack - Female 3 pin XLR
£0.50 / day
Jack - XLR Converter - Stereo Jack - Male 3 pin XLR
£0.50 / day
XLR Gender Converter - Female to Female
£0.50 / day
XLR Gender Converter - Male to Male
£0.50 / day
13A to 16A
£0.50 / day
13A to 15A
£0.50 / day
15A to 13A 2-Gang
£0.50 / day
15A to 16A
£0.50 / day
16A to 13A
£0.50 / day
16A to 13A 2-Gang
£0.75 / day
16A T-Connector to 13A 4-Gang
£2.50 / day
16A Split - T
£1.25 / day
16A Split - Y
£2.25 / day
32A to 16A Split - Y
£5 / day
5A to 13A 2-Gang
£0.50 / day
5A to 16A
£0.50 / day
Ethercon Coupler
£2 / day
Mini Stereo Jack to 2 Mono Jacks - 1m
£1 / day
Interspace PCBB3 Hum Eliminator
£3.25 / day
15A Grelco (2-Way Splitter)
£0.50 / day
16A to 15A Adapter
£0.50 / day
3-Pin Male to 5-Pin Female DMX Adapter
£0.25 / day
5-Pin Male to 3-Pin Female DMX Adapter
£0.25 / day
Rates are per day and exclude VAT. Ask us about multi-day and show-week rates, delivery, and hiring with a technician.
Check availability
See whether this is free for your dates. This is an indication from our current bookings, not a reservation.
Full technical specification (8)
Audio
3-pin XLR balanced leads, 1m to 20m; stereo jack instrument leads, 3m and 5m
Lighting control
5-pin DMX leads, 1m to 20m; PowerCON and 5-pin DMX combi leads, 3m and 5m
Mains power
13A extensions in 1, 2, 4 and 6-gang to 15m; 15A to 20m; 16A to 20m; 32A at 10m
IEC extensions 1m to 10m; PowerCON link leads 3m and 5m
Adaptors
Jack to XLR in all genders, XLR gender changers, 13A/15A/16A conversions each way, 16A T and Y splits, 32A to 16A Y split, 5A adaptors for older venues
Video
HDMI to 15m; VGA to 20m; BNC to 20m; HDMI and VGA over network cable for long throws
Common questions
Measure nothing. Tell us the rig, the room and where the power and the mix position are, and we will write the cable list, including spares. If you are hiring the kit from us as well, the list writes itself and everything arrives in one delivery.
They look similar and are not the same. DMX is a data cable built for lighting control at the right impedance; audio XLR usually has three pins and carries sound. Our 5-pin DMX runs cannot be confused with 3-pin audio, which is one reason we hold both rather than pretending one does everything.
Every lead is tested and labelled before it goes out, mains leads carry current PAT records, and anything that fails on site is swapped without a discussion. That is most of the point of hiring cable rather than borrowing the school’s box of mystery leads.
Yes. Give us the kit list and we will build the whole cable package into crates, coiled and sorted by type, so the get-in starts with running cable rather than untangling it. Tell us at the point of enquiry and it arrives that way.
