Help With XLR Speaker Cables

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mrcountry

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Can someone help point me in the right direction with the purchase of some good XLR Cables for use with my Mackie TH-15A Powered Speakers. I see so many different cables with various pricing. I want good cables that will help reduce noise but that are reasonably priced. Can someone please help point me in the right direction of what cables will work for me. The system is the Yamaha MG166CX with the Mackie TH-15A Powered Speakers. Thanks so much in advance.
 
To be honest, any reasonable priced XLR mic cables (which is what you need) will sound fine.

Alan.
 
I can't really help with a specific suggestion because I'm guessing that you live in the USA (I'm in Australia) so available brands and suppliers are different here.

However, as a general bit of advice, don't worry about noise. You're feeding a balanced out on your mixer to a balanced in on your speaker which means that the noise reduction is handled by the balancing, and not really affected at all by the cable quality (unless you find a real bottom feeder selling 5 cables for $10 or something).

Because of the type of speaker you're buying, I'm assuming this is more for gigging that a permanent set up in a studio. If so, ruggedness and reliability are much more important to you. Buy cables that specify they've used Neutrik or Switchcraft XLRs. If you're buying at a local sound shop, feel the cable and see if it's flexible enough to coil (and uncoil) easily without kinking. If you're buying online, look for something being sold as a mic cable--probably with a soft matte looking surface to the insulation. (This last bit doesn't always hold true but an be a good guide.

Going with good connectors and a cable that avoids kinking should give you years of service.
 
The gear is actually set up in my home studio as rehearsel area. The speakers sound great with the exception of some noise that I hear while the music stops. I am just looking to cut the noise if possible. Is there a way that I can actually tell if the so called xlr speaker cables or in fact speaker cables and not microphone cables. I bought these as Noise Reduction XLR Speaker cables but the guy at the music store is telling me that the noise is probably that the cables are actually not speaker but microphone cables. I appreciate the help, just want to get this figured out. Once again, thanks and greatly appreciated.
 
mrcountry said:
The gear is actually set up in my home studio as rehearsel area. The speakers sound great with the exception of some noise that I hear while the music stops. I am just looking to cut the noise if possible. Is there a way that I can actually tell if the so called xlr speaker cables or in fact speaker cables and not microphone cables. I bought these as Noise Reduction XLR Speaker cables but the guy at the music store is telling me that the noise is probably that the cables are actually not speaker but microphone cables. I appreciate the help, just want to get this figured out. Once again, thanks and greatly appreciated.
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you don't need speaker cables and, in fact, should NOT use speaker cables.
Those are powered speakers and the XLRs in this case are signal cables exactly like a mic cable would be.
If they're cheap XLRs the noise might be from the cables but unless they're super cheap the cables are probably not the source of the noise.
In either case you don't want to use speaker cables for what you're doing ......... the guy at the music store is wrong.
 
And today's award for bad advice from a guy at a music store goes to....the guy above!

You don't want speaker cables--you want mic/line level balanced audio cable. The output of your mixer is standard line level. The amplifiers are actually built into the speakers. Using unbalanced speaker cable would add (probably badly) to the noise.

What sort of noise is it? If it's just a general electronic hiss, I'd be experimenting with your gain staging. Depending where things are, try turning down the mixer a bit and turning up the speakers--or, if the speakers are all the way up, turn them down and add a bit more gain at the mixer.

However, if the noise involves some 60 cycle hum, try using an extension cord so you can run the speakers and mixer off the same socket--and do a search on this forum for "earth loop hum".

Anyhow, the one thing that will NOT fix this is changing to speaker cable.

Edited to Add: Your Mackie speakers actually have a facility to let you plug a dynamic mic straight into them. The gain setting (+36dB) is achieved when the gain control is turned fully clockwise. The maximum you should be using for the line out from your mixer is the 12 o'clock position which equates to +4dBu. This is a kinda silly way of doing things and could certainly result in you hearing noise if your speaker controls are turned up beyond half way.
 
If the noise you are talking about is a crackling, then it might be the cable. If it is a hiss, ssshhh sounding noise, it is just the self noise of the system, and there is nothing you can do about it. If its a hum, it might be a ground problem. But that isn't a cable problem either.
 
It is a hiss, ssshhh sounding noise. I have tried expermenting with the gain and other controls on both the speakers and mixer. The Yamaha MG166CX mixer is actually running through my Furman PL Plus C and the Mackie TH-15A Powered Speakers are powered through a Monstor Surge Protector. It could be just common system noise as I am reading here. I greatly appreciate all the help. I just want to make sure that I have the correct cables installed to reduce any noise that I can.
 
Plug a mic directly into one of the Mackies - do you hear the noise? If so, then its being generated by the speaker's amp. If not, then it must be coming from the mixer. If the noise is still there, but less, then the noise is a combination of mixer and speaker amp! :o
 
A little Shhhhh is almost always present with PA systems. But just a little.
 
1) Disconnect the cables from the speakers and turn their gain all the way up. Noise? Yes, then self noise from internal amplifier. No, go to step 2.
2) Turn gain down on speakers, plug in cable but leave other end disconnected. Turn gain all the way up. Noise? Yes: cable is suspect. No: noise being generated by mixer. Check gain structure.
 
mrcountry said:
but the guy at the music store is telling me that the noise is probably that the cables are actually not speaker but microphone cables.
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That's frikkin hilarious!!! :laughings:

Why don't I run into these idiots at the music store??
 
mdainsd said:
1) Turn gain down on speakers, plug in cable but leave other end disconnected. Turn gain all the way up. Noise? Yes: cable is suspect. No: noise being generated by mixer. Check gain structure.
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Well not really, as there is an open connection at the end of the cable, the XLR plug, that can induce noise depending on the surrounding RF, like a disconnected guitar cable that is still plugged into an amp.

I think some of the confusion is that the cables keep getting called XLR speaker cables, which they are not, they are XLR shielded cables (mic/line) as speakers with their own power amp does not use any form of speaker cable. A speaker cable goes between a power amp and an unpowered speaker and is standard flex not shielded.

alan.
 
The test is to set the system up for normal sound levels and then unplug the XLR* from the speakers. If any noise, hiss is evident at the normal listening distance from BOTH speakers that is inherent "self noise". Deplorable but rather common in powered speakers and monitors I find. Very few manufacturers specify self noise and Mackie are no exception. They give a S/N ratio for the amps (and not a very good one at that!) but that means Jack without the speaker sensitivity.

If only one speaker is hissing you have a faulty amplifier and it needs attention.

My bet is you have the gain staging wrong.

*No competently designed amplifier. line or mic should produce excessive noise when the input is open circuited (Behringer can do it on my 802 mixer!). Depending upon the exact design, noise might increase a bit but a few dB above what should be buggerall should be barely noticeable. Even the O/C end of an XLR should not cause a problem since, unlike a jack, the pins are still inside a metal screen.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Deplorable but rather common in powered speakers and monitors I find.
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Curiously, I have pairs of EV, DB Technologies and Yamaha powered speakers, and for all three, self-noise is negligible, to the extent that I can't tell they are on unless I stick my ear right into the horn.
 
gecko zzed said:
Curiously, I have pairs of EV, DB Technologies and Yamaha powered speakers, and for all three, self-noise is negligible, to the extent that I can't tell they are on unless I stick my ear right into the horn.
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Ditto. Even with really big PA stacks using powered speakers, I can usually only just detect a slight hiss by getting right up against the horn/HF Driver. However, I can change this by messing up the gain staging earlier on of course....
 
gecko zzed said:
Curiously, I have pairs of EV, DB Technologies and Yamaha powered speakers, and for all three, self-noise is negligible, to the extent that I can't tell they are on unless I stick my ear right into the horn.
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As things should be Gecks! I sit within 1/2 mtr of my Tannoy 5as and not a peep! (not that *I* could tell but Son soon would!) There is absolutely no reason today for any amplifer/speaker combination to have audible noise at its working distance. Even guitar amplifiers can be made "operationally" noise free (of course when very high gain overdrive effects are engaged, noise WILL intrude but that's just physics!).

I hasten to add that I do not have vast experience of PA and monitor systems! No, my data comes from many years of reading about this problem in forums like this. 50% of cases prove to be hum/data loops and some gain staging errors but many are just noisy fekkin' speakers!

Dave.
 
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