mic cables

[illies17]

how important are mic cables, like what is the difference between a 10 dollar cable and a 40 dollar cable and is it worth spending so much more money on them. Im only using them for a home studio and not running them very far...thanks for any input!

[thajeremy]

I purchased the 10 pack of cables from musicians friend twice....they were 2.49 each....both times I regreted it. The second time I bought them, 2 were duds right out of the box and at less than 3 bucks each...its hardly worth sending them back over. good cables are worth spending the money on. I actually prefer to make mine now...much cheaper.

[reshp1]

Originally Posted by illies17

how important are mic cables, like what is the difference between a 10 dollar cable and a 40 dollar cable and is it worth spending so much more money on them. Im only using them for a home studio and not running them very far...thanks for any input!

For short distances, I doubt you'll notice much audibly, but reliability is a big issue for cheap cables. If you're careful with them and handy with a soldering iron, you can get a lot of miles outta cheap cables.

[Robert D]

I don't buy $100 mic cables, but you couldn't pay me to use a $10 one. However, if you know which end of a solder iron to hold, and can use a wire stripper and a small screwdriver, then for not much more than $10 ea you can make your own quality cables.

-RD

[Dogbreath]

I'd also read that even with short distances and alot of tracks, cheap cables aren't all that good to have due to the accumulation of not so good signals on each track.
True? or Horsefeathers?

[corso]

In this case, trying to save money ends up wasting money. But as Robert D pointed out, buying pricey pre-made cables is a waste, too, when you can buy the best cable, Canare Starquad or Mogami or whatever, and the best connectors, and make a 20ft cable for the same money as the junk from musicians friend. So there's really no reason to put up with the noise, the crackles, the unreliability, and IMO the high-end loss of cheep cables. You can have good ones for the same money.

It is really a basic recording skill, making cables. It's the first audio related thing they let you do when you intern at a studio. After making coffee and vacuuming for a while, it's actually sorta exciting. For about the first couple of hours.

[lpdeluxe]

There is no immediate problem using cheap cables: they transmit the exact same signal that any other mic cable does. The difficulty comes when they get to be less than new, and the poor shielding starts to unravel, and the soldering on the ends comes apart, and you are left with a useless piece of wire.

The advantage of better cables is NOT the sound: it's the robustness of the construction. I have 30+ year-old mic cables that are still going strong.

And if you haven't learned how to solder, this is a great way to save some money.

[BigRay]

I wont pay over 100 bucks for a cable, but the money i spent on my silver XLRs was one of the best investments I ever made. I am almost certain if you auditioned a pair of these cables (made by an engineer friend, who based his design on AM Xtremes) beside mogami or canare or monster..youd see an immediate difference. Even just doing an A-B by speaking into the mic through the cables you can see the difference. I will gladly let someone try a pair out if they want.

[corso]

Originally Posted by lpdeluxe

The advantage of better cables is NOT the sound: it's the robustness of the construction. I have 30+ year-old mic cables that are still going strong.

And if you haven't learned how to solder, this is a great way to save some money.

It may be my imagination, but there does seem to be an audible difference, particularly so with good guitar cable vs cheapies.

But you are right, if you pay $45 for a Monster cable, the main benefit is durability, but $$30 of the cost is for labor. You can build a durable cable from the best materials for $15.00

Hell, Marketek will make a 20 ft Canare/Neutrik for $20.

[c7sus]

BLUE Kiwi cables online for $29. Print the page and take it to GC and they'll match the price.

[RezN8]

Yes, definitely make your own cables if you can.

I definitely notice a difference between "bargain cheapies" and a "decent" cables and tend to agree that there's no real need for the $100 cable for most of us.

Then again, I'm also the one to point out differences between a cheap (ringy, rattling) mic stand and a good sturdy mic stand with a shockmount.

It's up to you if it's worth it. Borrow a good cable from a friend and do your own A/B comparisons.

[reshp1]

Originally Posted by corso

It may be my imagination, but there does seem to be an audible difference, particularly so with good guitar cable vs cheapies.

It's a classic case of diminishing returns, a REALLY cheap radio shack cable that's absolute rock bottom in terms of thickness, construction and material will probably will be pretty noticable on a decent monitoring system. A decent no-name cable, of proper thickness and construction and shielding extra will be that much harder to decern from a "quality" cable. I'm sure some people can definitely tell, but the average home recordist with the average monitoring home signal and monitoring chain probably can't. Think about this, they make 1000 dollar POWER cables for audiophile stereos, and not only do people claim they hear the difference, but that the difference is worth every penny. Does it make a really make a difference? probably, but you have to decide if the difference is worth the extra cash.

[smuffjules]

Does this really make a difference to the guy who's listening to it on his car stereo?

[RezN8]

Originally Posted by smuffjules

Does this really make a difference to the guy who's listening to it on his car stereo?

Actually in some small way I think it does make a difference. I believe if you pour your energies into making something better, ultimately that will carry through to the final product.

In my experiece, just the fact that illies17 took the time to wonder, then seek advice, then act on that advice makes a difference. He already has a better chance of getting on the radio in the first place.

Will the guy in the car "hear" the difference? Nah. Could he "tell" the difference? Nah. Does it make a difference? Maybe, in some subconcious way it just might. If something was displeasing him sonically he might just stop listening. Big difference.