Cables for Monitors?

[AumStudioBrian]

What cables do you all suggest I use to hook up my 2 Event 20/20bas studio monitors??? I know they need them to be balaced. But I'm looking for suggestions on which to use for optimal perfomance. Though I can't afford to spend a great deal. What do you all use? I'm looking at some Monster Cables, but I don't see any balaced? Maybe i'm not looking in the right place. But I'm making an order from Sweetwater music tomarrow and need to know which cables to get. Any help would be appreaciated greatly. Thanx--

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo AUM:

Go for Mogami cables. Good quality and not high priced.

I'm sure your rep at Sweetwater will have them.

Before you buy, check with Full Compass for price difference.

Green Hornet

 

[JFogarty]

just go to the store and tell them exactly what you want...

then write it down, and come back and tell us what they said, and we'll either agree or disagree

People in stores are often big freaking idiots...

 

[AumStudioBrian]

yes, esspecially in my town... the only music store we have is a Guitar Center and its small with idiot staff. So that wouldn't do much good, but our buddy at Sweetwater is a genious, so he'll surely know the right cable for us, i was just hoping to see what other people use to get a price idea and just to see what all there is out there.

 

[AumStudioBrian]

maybe i should re-phrase my question... is there a certian type of balanced cable or does it matter? For instance does it need to be a speaker cable, instrument cable, TRS-XLR cable? I'm just not sure whats a good way to go.

Maybe i'm making too big a deal about this, but it just seems like the cable to the most important sound sorce in your studio should be a very important thing? And I'm lost on the matter.

 

[DeadPoet]

AumStudioBrian :

Ask yoursel: what signal should the cable be carrying ?? Do you have powered monitor speakers or do you have an amplifier between soundcard/mixing desk and the speakers ?

If it's the first: the signal will be line-level, so get yourself a balanced microphone-type cable with the appropriate connectors. (length doens't matter)

If it's the latter, the signal will be an amplified, hot signal. In this case get yourself some speaker cables, again with the appropriate connectors. but now, try to have them as short as possible, a hot signal doesn't like long runs, so try to put your amp as close to the speakers as possible (but not on top or underneath). The length of the cable coming from the sound source into your amp is again of no importance as long as it's balanced.

Addendum: in general there's two types of cable: microphone-type and speaker-cable. the first comes in different flavors (unbalanced, balanced, quad, multicore,...), but you use it everywhere but for high-voltage connections like eg. the amplifier->speaker route.

Hope this helps,
Herwig

 

[camn]

If you need Balanced Cables... that means Either XLR or TRS... for the most part

XLR and TRS run on the same kind of cable... just the ends are different.


xoox