Every now and again you come across a trade show stand with an eyecatching display you just have to go check out, and newcomers Cabrox Stage Technologies had just such a stand. They were showing a stage box from which they pulled out several XLR cables, then by pressing a button they shot back inside the box - just like pressing the button on some vacuum cleaners pulls in the power cord automatically - in fact it uses a similar mechanism. Clever idea.
The version they had on display holds 8 cables with a single multi-way connector on the back. It's modular, so you can swap out cable retractors individually if needed. It's in a prototype stage right now, and goes into manufacture soon. The price I was quoted seemed pretty steep though - I'm guessing it should come down when volume production kicks in; check out their website for further updates...
More info at Cabrox
Revisions that turned synths into brand new machines