NL2 - The NL2/Combo connector combines a Neutrik Speakon connector and a ¼" jack connector into one. The Neutrik® Speakon Combo mates with all 2 or 4-pole Neutrik Speakon cable connectors as well as ¼" jack plugs utilizing 2 contacts. The products Twin, Combo, Combo II, Combo +, Combo/Distro and Combo/Matrix all utilize this Neutrik® Speakon connector.

NL4 - The NL4 is a quick disconnect of 2 pairs (4 wires) of speaker wire outputs. An NL4 will mate to the NL2/Combo but only the 1st pair of wires will be connected. NL4 connectors work well when you want to run 2 pairs of wires to a bi-amp speaker cabinet; one pair for the lows and one pair for the highs. It also works well when you want to use the two pair of wires and split it using a Cable Cube® Combo or Distro style splitter/combiner.

NL8 - The NL8 is a quick disconnect of 4 pairs (8 wires) of speaker wire outputs. This helps consolidate your cable runs by minimizing the "spaghetti" and keeping things organized.

The Drawings and their configurations
The drawings provide you with their contact to contact connections to help you decide which Cable Cube® product to use.

Let’s start with the Matrix. The NL8 connector has 8 contacts or 4 speaker wire pairs. The Matrix sends the first two pairs (or first half) of the NL8 (pins 1+, 1- and 2+, 2-) to the first NL4 connector contacts (pins 1+, 1- and 2+, 2-). The second two pair of NL8 contacts, pins 3+, 3-, 4+, 4- (the second half of the NL8) connect to the second NL4 pins 1+, 1-, 2+, 2- respectively.

Now we can look at this Cable Cube® product from the point of combining the two NL4 connectors into the NL8 connector. This bundles two NL4 cables into a single NL8 cable run from an amp rack to a destination like the front or back of a stage. Plugging the destination end of the NL8 into a second MATRIX which will then break the wires of the NL8 back out to a pair of NL4 connectors. Then, from these connectors, you can plug into two different Bi-amp floor monitor speakers with a pair of NL4 cables.

Level II of Cable Cube® products give you paralleled NL4 connectors for double the outputs tapped off of the same NL8 connector. For example the MATRIX II, which is an NL8 break out to a pair of parallel connected NL4’s. Each half of the NL8 has a parallel connected pair of NL4’s

Level III which we have identified with a plus sign (+) signifies a paralleled NL8 that provides the convenience of daisy chain connecting further devices to continue taping channels off of the NL8 cable wire pairs. For example, run an NL8 cable, from the amp racks, to a MATRIX + to "break out" to a main and a sub. Then, plug a second NL8 calbe to the other side of the MATRIX + and run it to the 2nd Main and Sub on the other side of the stage connecting it to a MATRIX to "break out" into a Main and a Sub.

Level IV of Cable Cube® Products combines two products into one. It takes the basic MATRIX and parallel connects pins 1+ and 1- of an NL4 or an NL2/Combo connector to each of the 4 pairs of contacts on the NL8 connector. For example, the DISTRO / MATRIX or the COMBO / MATRIX. With this you can use the device as a MATRIX only with the second option of two separate DISTRO’s or COMBO’s in the same box.

Connecting four amplifier outputs with short jumpers to the four separate connectors that have Pins 1+ & 1- connected to each pair of the NL8 connector on a DISTRO / MATRIX or COMBO / MATRIX, bundles the wiring into a single NL8 cable. Connecting a second of these devices at the other end of the NL8 Cable will break out those same four amplifier outputs to separate connectors as though the back of the amp rack has been transported to the stage. This is a major convenience for efficient stage changes. It enables the technician to change the patch right on the stage for the musician, without having to trace the speaker wires back to the amp rack and change the patch in the back of the rack.

When integrating Cable Cube® products the technician must always remember to not plug too many speakers into the same amplifier channel, to maintain proper amplifier output impedance.

Click here to see a Cable Cube®Quick Reference Chart