What Brand/Model Cables Do You Use?
- Thread starter DavidNJ
- Start date
Steve House
Veteran
Best bets ...
cable: Canare, Mogami, Belden
connectors: Neutrik, Switchcraft
length: long enough to reach but not so long as to get in the way
I use Mogami mainly, but I would be careful before plunking down good coin for "high-quality" cables. Unless you're using extremely long cables, where a good XLR or balanced 1/4" TRS would be handy, most cables should do just fine. Of course, if you're wiring through lots of electrical components and such, you may want to take extra precautions.
I'm not on my home computer, so I can't reference any of my audio production bookmarks, but I'll see if I can dig up some form of useful data later today.
I'm not on my home computer, so I can't reference any of my audio production bookmarks, but I'll see if I can dig up some form of useful data later today.
Hxd Ped
Active member
I just received some Canare bulk cable yesterday. I was happy to find it has braided shielding. (First time using it.)
Gold connectors are better because they don't corrode. Foil shielding is best but too fragile outside of permanent installations. Braided is second best overall but best for field use. Other then that, don't waste your money on Monster cable.
Neutrik and Switchcraft are the two best connectors IMO. I recommend, buy both and decide what you like better. Neutrik are cheaper, so I've switched to them for XLRs. Now, I only use Switchcraft when I have to, like when I made a longer cable for my Rode blimp (Switchcraft AAA3MZ for male and AAA3FZ for female) or if I need one NOW and Neutrik aren't available. I prefer Switchcraft TRS connectors for their solder points. There's nothing wrong with Neutrik's, I just prefer Switchcraft.
IMO, other then the facts of shielding type and connector type, cable is cable. Many people, especially the companies selling it, will spout a lot of hoodoo about a cable's "sound". For every test that proves these claims there is another that disproves it. People can argue durability to some extent, but for every person who's had a company's cable fail, another person has had trouble free use for years. I say just buy some cable and find what you like best.
Gold connectors are better because they don't corrode. Foil shielding is best but too fragile outside of permanent installations. Braided is second best overall but best for field use. Other then that, don't waste your money on Monster cable.
Neutrik and Switchcraft are the two best connectors IMO. I recommend, buy both and decide what you like better. Neutrik are cheaper, so I've switched to them for XLRs. Now, I only use Switchcraft when I have to, like when I made a longer cable for my Rode blimp (Switchcraft AAA3MZ for male and AAA3FZ for female) or if I need one NOW and Neutrik aren't available. I prefer Switchcraft TRS connectors for their solder points. There's nothing wrong with Neutrik's, I just prefer Switchcraft.
IMO, other then the facts of shielding type and connector type, cable is cable. Many people, especially the companies selling it, will spout a lot of hoodoo about a cable's "sound". For every test that proves these claims there is another that disproves it. People can argue durability to some extent, but for every person who's had a company's cable fail, another person has had trouble free use for years. I say just buy some cable and find what you like best.
DavidNJ
Carbonite Member
On the recording sites their is also a big discussion of the impact of sound quality. This site has some subjective evaluations: http://www.lavacable.com/buying.html
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
People get worked up over the smallest details and then 1/2 the time blow off the big ones. Really crap cables are a bad thing, anything decent and up is going to sound pretty much the same. The biggest plus with really well made cables are better construction and better connectors. In a lab under a microscope there are differences among the top but for most/ all practical purposes your not going to hear the difference, especially on film sound. Now Matt's cables are fantastic, I didn't notice and big sonic improvement, there might have been a slight one???, from my old "good" not great cables. What makes these new cables "great" is that they are extremely flexible, have great connectors, very non-kink and are color coded. They are a joy to work with and that is worth something. But (IMHO) as long as your not buying junk you should be looking at features because it is VERY unlikely you will hear any difference. Monster, for one, has made a fortune out of convincing people that their fancy zip cord is actually a big improvement over Home Depot's zip cord. About a year ago a guy payed me $75 an hour to help him replace is old Monsteresque speaker cables with new bigger and better ones. What made it even more insane was the fact that the speakers were sitting on the floor in a VERY cluttered room with a island between them (he liked to sit on the floor and listen to CD's). So it was a totally compromised situation but there he was spending around $500 for parts and labour because some salesman told him he was missing the boat because he only had "cheap" Monster cables and not these new hi-Tech oxygen free super cables. He also had me balance all the speaker cables on top of Styrofoam cups because someone had told him that proximity to the floor would ruin the stereo image. In his case $10 of 12 gauge zip cord would have probably been every bit as "transparent" as the $300 super cables. But after sitting on the floor and working at it he was convinced he had made a wise decision.
I guess my point is I wouldn't go spending money on the sexy cable alamode till you have finished upgrading your mics, mixer, recorder, headphones, etc.
I guess my point is I wouldn't go spending money on the sexy cable alamode till you have finished upgrading your mics, mixer, recorder, headphones, etc.