another newbie question

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Gaviao

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I'm sure this question has been asked several times so I apologize for that...


How much difference does a mic cable make in sound quality?

Is there a big tonal difference between cheap cables, say $10 for a 20 ft, and the cables that run for $150 for a 20 ft?

Thanks
 
There shouldn't be a tonal difference, assuming the cable is decent. DECENT. Much of what you're paying for in "better" cables are better connectors (not some cheapo, molded-on-the-end POS that will break off the first time someone tugs on it) and just a generally higher-quality cable. There should not be an audible difference between a 'cheap' cable (again, assuming it meets the 'minimum requirements' of a decent cable) and a more pricey cable.

That all said - In the long run, if you buy cables that are manufactured from better parts (Belden, Canare, ProCo cabling, Switchcraft or Neutrik connectors, etc.), you'll buy less cable - as you won't have to replace them every few months.
 
Some will argue that better cable makes an audible difference. I don't buy it. There are too many other quality influencing factors in the recording path that overwhelm the alleged benefits of superior cable.
 
Related question/suggestion:
I would think that cable quality is gonna come into audible play in proportion to cable length.
That is, the quality of the components used in the cable increases in importance the longer the signal stays in the cable.
Is that just completely wrong?
 
The Cancers said:
Related question/suggestion:
I would think that cable quality is gonna come into audible play in proportion to cable length.
That is, the quality of the components used in the cable increases in importance the longer the signal stays in the cable.
Is that just completely wrong?
Click to expand...

generally not with balanced cables. thats why you see people using 50ft, 100ft, 200ft, mic cables.

instrument(i.e. guitar) cables on the other hand do have some degradation with longer cable runs.
 
Right, I wasn't talking about that kind of degredation so much as the conductive quality of the physical cable itself. Like, more expensive cable = more expensive components, one of which is some slightly more expensive alloy in that long cable run that is a slightly better conductor of electrical current than the cheap guys' alloys. Might have nothing whatsoever to do with it, especially in the sense of whether the difference is audible or not.
 
there can be a small amount of freq response problem with long cables based on it's capacitence... but that's one of the things john alluded to in his response... so low cap= no diff...
 
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