Curious you should say that - the new cables I will be supplying in the new year are the same overall length, but the board connector - 1st connector distance is increased by 5mm to give just enough play for full disk movement without obstruction.

I have also just experimented with crimping a fourth connector 3mm upstream from the 1st connector, which looks odd but again, places another 5mm between the board connector and the (new) 1st connector. The distance from the old one is just sufficient for it to be out of the way under the disk connector without interfering with the disk mounting, sled plate, or causing obstruction behind the display board.

The real problem though, is not the cable length or connector spacing: the positioning of the drive mounting holes on the drive sled plate is simply too far forward, bringing the connectors close to the back of the display board and the display cable. This leaves a huge gap at the back of the drive sled at the back of the case.

There's also (on the 2A display boards) two great big solder lugs from the rotary controller sticking through the back of the board, directly in line with the disk cable connector, reducing clearance by another 2mm. I routinely crop these flat when doing display board repairs using sidecutters (if you do this, do it with the display DISMOUNTED from the player to ensure that no metal clippings drop into the player - I have just had the mother of all burn-out damage - caused by a short circuit - turn up for repair here).

By lengthening the drive mounting holes carefully towards the rear of the plate with a small circular file or 2mm reamer you can re-position the drive up to 2mm backwards in the case (the "four connector" version of the cable has sufficient space between the two connectors to allow them to go either side of the plate when you do this). This gives extra clearance behind the display and does not encroach on the space at the rear of the case where add-on boards tend to be mounted. It also means there is 2mm more effective cable length for disk travel under shock towards the display. However, if you have a "tall" hard disk casing, then the vertical clearance at the rear is reduced by about 1mm, which will reduce up-and-down movement. For "slim" cases this is not a problem. Bear this in mind if you attempt this modification.