do cables matter?

[kincept]

I bought monitors , then bought the monster TS vs the LIVE wire cheap ones. I got home and plugged in two guitar cables to compare and they sounded exactly the same?

[Corran]

Short answer: no.

Long answer: maybe, but probably not.

[Sounds Great]

Yes! Without them your speakers aren't going to work very well.

[DSD_Mastering]

Yeah... plug/unplug them in hundreds of times and see if they stay in one piece!

In the mean time... roll a dolly over them to see if the wires break!

Regards,
Bruce

[Spookym15]

Your sound will only be as good as your weakest link. If you cheap out on your cables you could be bring in more noise into everything.

[mdjice]

Yes! low noise maybe not be something you can detect by comparing the two right away but if you record with a noisy cable then start stacking etc.. your noise will multiply by the amount of track you recorded with the cheapo cable and you WILL hear a difference.

[Stevil]

not to most of us.

if you've invested in an otherwise pristine signal path, you probably thumb yer nose @ cheap cables.
also if youve got to rely on them for income you are probably more critical of the build quality.

[allencollins]

cables matter, connectors matter the length of the cables etc....

[Corran]

He said to his monitors, so that's not in his recording path anyway.

[kincept]

Originally Posted by Corran

He said to his monitors, so that's not in his recording path anyway.

YES monitors not signal path, Im using mogami in the signal path.

The problem arose when I have an unbalanced out from the DUET and the unbalanced in from the mackies is only in RCA form, I noticed a major loss in sound quality with the RCA.

When I plugged in TS to TS in the balanced input of the mackies there was better sound, and the cables were just regular TS to TS guitar cables.

VS the RCA TS monster cables! thats were I said does it really even matter?

[tINY]

Originally Posted by Spookym15

Your sound will only be as good as your weakest link. If you cheap out on your cables you could be bring in more noise into everything.

How much does good air to fill the control room with cost?




-tINY

[BlueSprocket]

Which monitors are you using? It's possible that the RCA input has an inferior line amp to the one being used to "unbalance" the balanced input on your monitors. If you are noticing an audible difference I would say that is exactly whats going on.

In the case of an unbalanced signal, thats one of the places where having good cable with good shielding structure becomes most important. If you are using a cheap cable with bad shielding, you run the risk of having a noisy or distorted signal arrive at the receiving device. I know someone already hit on it, but your rig is only as good as the weakest cable.

If in your case, if the RCA input sounds bad by comparison, I would suspect a design problem with the speaker. Try a few different sources and see if you notice the same thing with them.

FWIW, I really like the Gotham Audio wire for cables.

[allencollins]

Originally Posted by Corran

He said to his monitors, so that's not in his recording path anyway.

since when are monitor cables exempt from interference?
they can hum like the rest of them. Do you actually run a studio?

all cables matter.

[BlueSprocket]

Originally Posted by tINY

How much does good air to fill the control room with cost?




-tINY

The price of an Ionic Breeze. I hope they figure out how to make one of those for audio soon.

[Keire]

yes, however, there is a point of diminishing returns...but in short, they completely mater.

[Corran]

Originally Posted by allencollins

since when are monitor cables exempt from interference?
they can hum like the rest of them. Do you actually run a studio?

all cables matter.

There were several mentionings of cables for the signal path, and I was just pointing out that monitors aren't actually in that path.

I use run-of-the-mill cables for my monitors and have not had a single bit of problems, other than cell phone interference sometimes.

No need to be a jerk!

[mdjice]

I didn't see the "monitors" part sorry, well still yes it matters but not as much...as it will not impact your sound directly, it might impact the way you hear so MIX but I'm not sure it such a big deal, however if you have decent monitors, ad/da converters etc.. It might be worth getting good cables so you don't "break" the chain of goodies by using something low Q. they are not that expensive.

[joelpatterson]

Originally Posted by Corran

No need to be a jerk!

But there sure are alot of applicants.

[DeepSpace]

Originally Posted by tINY

How much does good air to fill the control room with cost?

This is actually quite a sensible question, though no doubt offered ironically.

Quite apart from the air quality issues (as per the BlueSprocket response) and all that unpacks from that, there are also serious questions about the way sound waves travel in differently composed (heavier, lighter etc) gasses and in higher- or lower-pressure gaseous mediums. There's actually quite a body of (seemingly credible) research into it. thumbsup

[tINY]

I'm glad someone understands the irony (and the physics).

I think at some point, you don't spend $1000 on "better" cables that 95% of musicians and producers can't reliably identify against the cheapies.

Better to spend a bunch of money where it will make a big difference - like room treatment, speakers, and mics....



-tINY

[Stevil]

Originally Posted by tINY

How much does good air to fill the control room with cost?

the good stuff is gonna cost you.

[DeepSpace]

Originally Posted by tINY

Better to spend a bunch of money where it will make a big difference - like room treatment, speakers, and mics...

Yes.

Plus, if we manage to create mixes that will only sound good when heard through air at 101.3 kilopascals (atmospheric pressure at sea level) with exactly 21.3% oxygen in it... ...or, for that matter, when heard exclusively via $1k+ cables...

...all we end up with is mixes that don't translate.

So, when it comes to mixing thru cables of the 1k ilk, it comes dangerously close to shooting yourself in the foot and the hip pocket simultaneously.

[BlueSprocket]

Originally Posted by tINY

I'm glad someone understands the irony (and the physics).

I think at some point, you don't spend $1000 on "better" cables that 95% of musicians and producers can't reliably identify against the cheapies.

Better to spend a bunch of money where it will make a big difference - like room treatment, speakers, and mics....



-tINY

My apologies. I, apparently failed, at trying to make a joke. I understand the physics behind it, physics is kind of what I spend most of my life outside a studio doing (working toward my physics degree). I love watching elementary kids go wide-eyed at someone speaking after inhaling Sulfur Hexafloride.

My point in my posts was to say, at the end of the day, if anything you have in your studio can in any way affect the sound of what you're doing (from the walls to the wires in them) the answer is YES it matters.

I completely agree that good wires in a room with bad acoustics doesn't make a lot of sense at first, but (and this leaves the physical realm), the human brain can learn to mix in a bad listening environment. So purchasing substandard cables and buying room treatment doesn't really solve the issue either. I feel a balanced approach is best. Improve the Acoustics as you can, while making sure that when you add a cable to your setup, make it a good quality cable. It doesn't have to be all at once (unless you're a pro facility), just make sure that with each step, you aren't skimping so you can have more of this or that.

Again, my apologies if my comment regarding an Ionic Breeze was taken the wrong way. Though I must say, it is a GREAT addition to any studio.thumbsup

[BlueSprocket]

One last thing, and then I'm done with the Horse (which I believe may have been dead yesterday).

My obsession with quality cabling came when I was living in Nashville. I had the privilege of knowing Vance Powell at Blackbird Studio. He and I were chatting one day about cabling I was making up for a Soundcraft 1600 console I had. To make the long story short, his comment to one of my shortcut ideas was:

"Its only your audio man, and that's only your career."

I've taken that mentality to heart, not only for my cabling, but to everything I do in my studio. To the best of my human ability, I try to do it right, or I just don't do it.

Vance had some great advice. He's a great engineer. And I'm done. <Dismount Soapbox>

[fuzzface777]

unbalanced cables, yes differences exist. Balanced cables, no.

[Vogon]

Originally Posted by tINY

..."better" cables that 95% of musicians and producers can't reliably identify against the cheapies.-tINY

The salient point.

[Spookym15]

Alright, tell me this why go out and spend 3,000 on a mic and and 20 bucks on a cable? I am confused about not hearing a difference. I mean if people want cheap cables thats cool. I just had Blue Sprocket build me a bunch of cables that were incredible, I was about ready to buy cheap cables because a Mogami snake was $250 for a 6ft 8 channel snake and the live wire was $40. I find that it is worth the money for the cables, especially being near radio stations.

[BlueSprocket]

Originally Posted by moracspace

AIR,F that.
We have a 500 cfm vacuum pump to suck all the air out of the control room,to get the best mixes.Its pretty tough mixing in a space suit though.

What type of Earbuds are you using in the suit for monitoring? I hope you're using good cabling to get into them. HAHA.

[DeepSpace]

Originally Posted by Spookym15

Alright, tell me this why go out and spend 3,000 on a mic and and 20 bucks on a cable?

I'm not sure that anyone on this thread is advocating cheap poorly made junk cables, Spookym15. Somewhere a short way upwards of $20 you can get a professional quality cable made from Mogami, Canare, Belden or similar, with Neutrik, Switchcraft or other solid and dependable connectors. Doing so is a worthwhile investment.

Beyond that, there are diminishing returns, and the bulk of the conversation here, as I understand it, is about "high end" cables of the $1k (and upwards) variety.

[BlueSprocket]

Originally Posted by DarkSky

I'm not sure that anyone on this thread is advocating cheap poorly made junk cables, Spookym15. Somewhere a short way upwards of $20 you can get a professional quality cable made from Mogami, Canare, Belden or similar, with Neutrik, Switchcraft or other solid and dependable connectors. Doing so is a worthwhile investment.

Beyond that, there are diminishing returns, and the bulk of the conversation here, as I understand it, is about "high end" cables of the $1k (and upwards) variety.

Again, I apologize. I may be fueling the mis-understanding here. I am a big advocate of getting the best cables you CAN. I feel that MOST of the people on this forum CAN'T afford to outfit their studios with Zaolla or even more esoteric cabling. Thus BEST you CAN becomes the Mogami, Canare, Gotham (my preference), etc. I agree that there is indeed a point of diminishing returns, but for the people who can outfit their rooms with $1k cables...AWESOME! That just isn't me.

The OP mentioned Live Wires, which is HOSA's made for GC brand. Hosa isn't awful stuff, but its not as nice as the other brands mentioned here. It works great in a pinch, but I would always spend a little more and get something with better shielding topology and better connectors. Thats where my "crusade" began.

That being said, I'm with Spooky, I can't tell you how many times I've watched a GC employee sell someone a U87 (or the like) and a "Live Wires" mic cable, and have heard myself "Dude, theres really no difference between this cable and the Mogami." I mean come on! Its another $20 to get something good!

Let the debate continue!