How much do cables matter?

[skillz335]

Mogami is like Monster. expensive and does the same thing as more inexpensive cabling. retailers will try to sucker you in to spending more money is all. I heard this story befor and just recently experienced it. I was at best buy like 2 weeks ago looking for an optical cable and the sales rep that directed me to the cabling saw me pick up an optical cable and said I should spend the extra money for a gold tipped cable and it would be worth it to achieve a better sound. shocked and disappointed, I handed him the cable and walked out as I told him ill just use my RCA cables.

[chris carter]

Do cables matter? Yes and No.

For mic cables, they make very little difference. It's mostly about how strong the construction is. If you will be plugging and unplugging all the time, get something sturdy.

For line level balanced cables, again very little difference. It's mostly about how strong the construction is.

For unbalanced line level cables, here depending upon other factors it can make a difference, but with rare exception it's going to be closer to negligible than noticeable.

For high impedance instruments (ie. guitars) yes it will make a LOT of difference what cable you use.

Are you seeing a general trend here? Good, you should. The lower the impedance, the less it matters. The higher the impedance, the more it matters. Unbalanced means it matters less, balanced means it matters more.

Do you need a Mogami mic cable for your Sennheister MK4? Well, if it makes you FEEL better, then yes. It's a few bucks more for piece of mind. In the real world? Probably doesn't make a damn bit of difference PROVIDED the mic cable has construction quality above the kindergarten level. If you noticed a difference, it was because the mic cable you were using was either defective or it was 10 times worse than the worst cable you can buy from Walmart or Radioshack.

[Gee]

Im not sure your going to notice much difference Sonically, the Mogami cable will probably last longer because it uses quality components but other then that I dont think its going to greatly improve your setup. you would probably be wise to invest in some good cables if you were running 100 + feet.

just my $0,02

[chris carter]

Originally Posted by skillz335

Mogami is like Monster. expensive and does the same thing as more inexpensive cabling. retailers will try to sucker you in to spending more money is all. I heard this story befor and just recently experienced it. I was at best buy like 2 weeks ago looking for an optical cable and the sales rep that directed me to the cabling saw me pick up an optical cable and said I should spend the extra money for a gold tipped cable and it would be worth it to achieve a better sound. shocked and disappointed, I handed him the cable and walked out as I told him ill just use my RCA cables.

Actually, there is something with gold. It doesn't oxidize. It won't sound better, but you'll have to do the jiggle-the-cable thing less often. There is also an impedance issue with digital cables. SPDIF electrical I think is 75ohms? I can't remember (someone correct me if I'm wrong). It's the same as coaxial cable like for your TV (which you can use by putting RCA connectors on it). Regular RCA cables, particularly for shorter runs, will generally work well enough. But I wouldn't rely on them in critical situations. And for longer runs, playin wit fiya!

EDIT: oops, just saw you were talking about optical spdif. The main difference between optical cables (aside from structural integrity and pliability) is how tight of a turn they can make while maintaining good signal. The really cheap ones that often used to come with stuff could only make a 6" loop or worse without degrading the signal significantly. There's a spec name for how tight of a turn they can make, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

I agree though on ignoring anything a salesperson at Best Buy says about audio....

[nosebleedaudio]

Don't think Mogami makes a Optical cable...

[skillz335]

Originally Posted by chris carter

oops, just saw you were talking about optical spdif. The main difference between optical cables (aside from structural integrity and pliability) is how tight of a turn they can make while maintaining good signal. The really cheap ones that often used to come with stuff could only make a 6" loop or worse without degrading the signal significantly. There's a spec name for how tight of a turn they can make, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

I agree though on ignoring anything a salesperson at Best Buy says about audio....

Isnt it Attenuation? also there are newer types of optical cables that are made out of plastic instead of glass now. In turn these are more durable and for some reason can operate with much more bandwith and carry signal for much longer distances. I believe they are called APF or all plastic fiber.

sorry thought you were looking for the name of the degradation and not the amount of bending the cable can handle befor the attenuation. I have no idea what that spec is but Im going to look into it. so thanks.

[Lenzo]

I was just thinking about this as I was trying to straighten out a bunch of cables in storage this morning. I've been doing this quite awhile and I stay away from cheap chinese connectors and some budget wire is really funky, especially the ground wire...but you can buy switchcraft connectors and good belden cable at a reasonable price and make excellent cables way cheaper than buying Mogami. Good cable also tends to wind up easier and stays straight. Some of the MF cheapo cables get real weird after a few uses. Making cables is easy and if you need a lot of them, is a good skill to acquire.
L.

[william_cross]

Mike Shipley talked about using high end mic cables on the AKUS Paper Airplane recording sessions, and indicated that the difference was "night and day". He can probably hear the difference and he is in the money is (almost) no object category.

For us mere humans, I would think we want cables that are rugged enough to last awhile.

I started making up my own cables recently. When one of my cheapie-charlie HOSA cables gives me more than just a little trouble, I replace it with a roll-yer-own.

However, I guess it is just like any other piece of kit....you always want better, and when you get a chance to obtain a better piece, you really want it to sound better....

[skillz335]

I imagine that hearing the difference in cables or the type of metals they use for that matter is years of mixing and isolating whats wrong with the mix. I know each of my mixes Im never truely 100% happy with as I am always trying to isolate things I find wrong with them and in most instances cannot single out the exact cause of the thing/s Im hearing. to do that I think is where the exp lies.

[3rd Degree]

I have never heard an audible difference between cables. However, that doesn't mean I cheap out. I use Mogami or equivalent on anything that matters when someone else is in the studio. Mic cables, monitors, pre's, main outs, etc. On anything that only I use, I will go with Hosa or similar. That's for things like samplers and outputs I usually would not use while others are in my studio. I also try to not buy molded plastic cables as they have a higher failure rate. Nothing is worse than having a critical cable fail during a session and having to reach back behind somewhere hard to reach or not having a replacement on hand. So, even though I cannot hear a difference, that doesn't mean I won't spend a bit more where I find it to be critical.

I have used some really crappy cables and I will admitt that if you are using something really bad, it can be noticeable. I am talking about using a $2 set of RCA's from a TV for audio. Once you are out of that really bottom end, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Chris Lago]

Cables are everything, you can't make billboard hits if you don't have the best cables in the world. You might as well quit.

[isawsasquatch]

Originally Posted by Chris Lago

Cables are everything, you can't make billboard hits if you don't have the best cables in the world. You might as well quit.

Agreed. 100%.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by isawsasquatch

Agreed. 100%.

Exactly, I mean that's where all the ideas and creativity comes from, cables.

[imixrecords]

cables matter in that if you don't have them, you can't hear anything.

[Chris Lago]

Originally Posted by imixrecords

cables matter in that if you don't have them, you can't hear anything.

I can hear myself quite well when I sing with my acoustic guitar.

[Dayl]

How long are the cables?

There are various benefits to having high quality cables. The two main reasons are signal preservation as you can tend to lose some high frequency signal over long lengths... this varies considerable between Hi/low impedance and balanced/unbalanced cables. Generally, if you are working in your bedroom studio and need to use a 3mtr cable.. no drama.

Secondly, if you are going to constantly be pluging and swapping the cables over, you may want to go with higher quality connectors ...

This is just a basic overview, but the bottom line here is that unle4ss you are not running a huge long cable that is constantly going to be plugged in and out all the time you will be fine.

In any case... the salesman was being a salesman... do you want fries with that? it's just an upsell.

[beyondat]

Im a Canare dude. I did notice a huge different when i upgraded my bass cable to a Monster from the sam ash brand.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

[Phizal]

I want to reiterate what other people have said. Quality of cables does matter IF there is distance involved. It's not the quality of sound but the constancy of frequency. I have had several cables that I just could hear that something wasn't right. If I had to describe it, it was like an audio signal going through an old circuit board that couldn't maintain it's response. Very minimal. But once I bought a more expensive cable I heard more consistency and a flatter response. Otherwise if your running short cables I don't think I would worry about it.

I mean we can get into a debate that analog waivers by nature and that what's makes analog so great, but this wasn't a mojo thing. It improved my problem significantly.

[PRPS]

i thought cables were always some sort of gimmick

[spice house]

The difference between cables is pretty damn obvious to anyone if you have a sensitive system. You think all of these people are just making this stuff up?

Do a test, if you can't hear the difference, don't worry about it. You have bigger problems than cables!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Dayl]

Originally Posted by spice house

The difference between cables is pretty damn obvious to anyone if you have a sensitive system.

I have a very sensitive system and no, the difference is/was not pretty damn obvious. I tried... I drank of the cool-aid but didn't go back.....

[Dayl]

Originally Posted by spice house

Then, no, you don't have a sensitive system.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

What is you definition of a sensitive system? because yes..in fact I do.. BUT there are plenty of much better setups than mine out there.
.... easily.

I have invested thousands into my signal path, monitoring room and own a variety of cables from cheap to foolishly expensive. Within 2m, even 3m there is nothing to write home about, especially to the degree you mention and certainly not in the scenario where the salesman needs to upsell a few 'Mogami' cables. (next week it will be another hi tech company).

In the context on this thread, going from a samson mic to a cheapie senhieser... the calble will not be an issue for the application/desired outcome.

[raffael77]

You can get a lot of interference problems if you don't use shielded cables even when it's within 2 or 3m. People are not used to that they have to pay for good cables but there are also never been aware of that it also works because it is never made clear to them.

[Dayl]

Well, this is a very old argument that rears it's ugly magic dust sprinkled head from time to time and cables have many roles in todays studio.

But for the OP.. lets keep it simple.

Mic cables... you probably want these to be durable.. so sure maybe spend a bit extra on something with good reinforced cable and good connectors. Does Mogami fall into that category? yes.. yes it does.. but they are at the higher end. Do you need to buy Mogami? no.. no you dont. You can get what you need for half the price. Long distance isn't going to bother you as much with a balanced mic cable as it would unbalanced instrument cable but.. still, its worth thinking about.

[Tha Govna]

Originally Posted by chris carter

Do cables matter? Yes and No.

For mic cables, they make very little difference. It's mostly about how strong the construction is. If you will be plugging and unplugging all the time, get something sturdy.

For line level balanced cables, again very little difference. It's mostly about how strong the construction is.

For unbalanced line level cables, here depending upon other factors it can make a difference, but with rare exception it's going to be closer to negligible than noticeable.

For high impedance instruments (ie. guitars) yes it will make a LOT of difference what cable you use.

Are you seeing a general trend here? Good, you should. The lower the impedance, the less it matters. The higher the impedance, the more it matters. Unbalanced means it matters less, balanced means it matters more.

Do you need a Mogami mic cable for your Sennheister MK4? Well, if it makes you FEEL better, then yes. It's a few bucks more for piece of mind. In the real world? Probably doesn't make a damn bit of difference PROVIDED the mic cable has construction quality above the kindergarten level. If you noticed a difference, it was because the mic cable you were using was either defective or it was 10 times worse than the worst cable you can buy from Walmart or Radioshack.

This is the right answer to the question.

[suchenderxxx]

so are sampler and synthesizer high impedance instruments? if so what are the specs to look for if i want to build my own cables?

[jfed]

Yea in my experience I haven't heard much difference in quality between cables. With the higher-end cables I feel you're paying more for the longevity rather than any quality boost. Reliability I suppose

[Ragan]

Originally Posted by spice house

The difference between cables is pretty damn obvious to anyone if you have a sensitive system. You think all of these people are just making this stuff up?

Do a test, if you can't hear the difference, don't worry about it. You have bigger problems than cables!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I bought some Mogami Gold and ran some null tests with my mediocre, generic cables. Total null.

I guess my system wasn't sensitive enough. Damn.

[Oscar1]

Yes, cables are everything in the music business. Most of the music is in fact done by cables. And for cables.
But no seriously, the sales will push cables because they have insane profits from them. They can sell you mic and special cable and earn most of the money from the cables, not from the mic. It really doesn't cost any more to make Mogami or Monster cables than the classic good from monoprice and similar wholesaler. They are probably done in the same asian factory anyway.