Blue cables

  • Thread starter Thread starter mgiles7
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mgiles7

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I'm looking for a good bang for your buck mic cable, and I have had some people suggest the Blue Kiwi cable, but just now I was looking at the BLUE BB Blueberry Cable, and the Blue CB Cranberry cable. Is there any difference in these cables?? And also, are they designed specifically for the Blue Mics? And if so, would they not work with other mics? And what color shirt am I wearing right now? This should keep ya busy for awhile =)

Matt
 
I ordered a couple of kiwi cables that should be here in a day or so, I'll post as to how they compare.
 
Philboyd,

Did you test out those Blue cables yet? Just curiuos, I am still deciding on what cable to get, so any imput would be great.

Matt
 
Sorry I forgot about it.

Yes they came and seem to work well. I used them monday to record a lyric soprano's recital, but till I get back to recording and mixing myself in the home studio I won't know how much better they might be. At least it's a noticeable improvement over one of the cables I normally used which is an old (25 years or so) Shure cable.

The kiwi cables are well made and the gold connectors are nice and give a tight fit. Definitely worth $30.
 
You could make your own. Get some Canare or Mogami cable and pick up some Neutrick or Switchcraft connectors. Best stuff money can buy.
 
KingNothing
Yeah you're right but I've been soldering stuff for over 40 years and have absolutely no faith in my work, it's easier to buy.
 
If you have the money to buy, why not? Im just broke all the time.
 
You guys really notice a difference with expensive cables? They usually last longer but in 10 yrs of audio work I cant say I've ever heard them make anything sound better.

I buy cheap cables and throw them away or fix them if they go bad. You can buy a lot of cheap cables or one expensive one.
 
The Blue cables can be broken down this way:

KIWI - Quad cable using four 22 gauge wires; gold plated XLR's

CRANBERRY - Two conductor cable using 20 gauge wire; silver plated XLR's

BLUEBERRY - Two conductor cable using 22 gauge wire; silver platd XLR's
 
Thanks Atticus. I guess it is safe to say that the Kiwi is the best cable then.(out of those three anyway)

Matt
 
The consensus of people on this board, is that yes, quality cables make a large difference.
 
Philboyd,

Where are you getting Kiwis for $30? I'm paying $50 plus shipping from Music123.com and haven't found any other on-line dealers.

Thanks,

Mark H.
 
You guys are saying that the cable actually changes the sound?

Apart from a bad cable causing buzzes and shorting how could a good cable improve the sound? You are either getting the whole signal or you are not. Sometimes cheap cables with poor shielding can be a problem but it's easy to hear when that is the case.

I've never seen a Pro studio for audio or video with Monster or other high cost cables. Many studios make their own cables.

Sorry to jump on your thread but I'm just trying to be a voice of reason. I'm not poor but I'm sure there are better areas of the studio to put that money into.
 
Thanks for your concern Tex. Actually I am very interested in hereing some reply's to this. I definantly don't want to spend the extra money if the cable is not going to make a difference in sound. I am too new at this to know, I have just received a lot of advice to make sure and get a good cable.

Matt
 
There are quite a few people on this messageboard whose opinions I value and find to be very accurate. If you do some research, you will find the majority of people recommend you use quality cable if you want a good outcome. You may or may not be able to hear large differences in audio quality if recording single tracks or are using limited equipment, but as your system becomes larger, your audio quality will become noticeably worse if you continue to use low grade cable.

I did a quick search. Recording Engineer had a good quote on the matter: "You'd be AMAZED how more "professional" you're end-product is when using professional cable with good solid connections throughout your ENTIRE system! And when you upgrade from Hosa to professional cable, I PROMISE you'll be "enlightened"'

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=38365

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=33775

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=40222
 
Unless I see some graphs of tests or hear a difference myself I am a hard sell on expensive cables.

The biggest difference is usually just the quality of the connectors and the shielding. Shielding isnt that big of an issue if you run your cables carefully and dont intertwine them with speaker and power cables. If you handle them carefully and dont stomp on them or pull them out of equipment roughly a cheap cable can last for years.

I'm not a noobie when it comes to general audio practices. I worked in live concert production and video post production for over a decade. I have used 20pin video camera cables that cost $100 a foot and have learned how to take care of them properly and that is what it all boils down to.

Expensive cables are worth the investment if you play live and need them to handle a lot of abuse. If your just going to set up a studio and leave them alone then I believe you would just be wasting your money.

If anybody feels better about about paying more I will gladly make some blue cables and stick some "gold plated" connectors on them and sell them. I will charge more for Red because red sounds better:p
 
Mark H.

The $30 kiwi's are available at musican's friend, they aren't in the cataloge, do a search at their site. They may not have them marked up right so get 'em at that price while you can.
 
Philboyd,

I'll check them out as soon as their site is back up (down for maintenance tonight).

Many thanks!

Mark H.
 
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