Mic Cable Quality?

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pdaniels

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So I'm recording using a 25 foot mic cable I bought at Radio Shack. XLRs on both ends. As far as I know it's ballanced. It was around $30 CDN (so maybe $22 USD). I have noticed that there are some very expensive mic cables, like Monster Cable
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MONSP1000M20
or less expensive but impressive sounding are the Blue mic cables (cranberry, kiwi, or blueberry).

Is it worth upgrading? Is there really a difference in sound?

Does anybody have experience with both inexpensive cables and expensive ones and can tell me the difference in sound quality?

Thanks all!
:cool:
 
Make your own microphone cables.

Mogami Neglex Balanced Mic Cable... $0.68 per foot.
Designed For High End Recording Applications. Lower Capacitance than Quad Style Cable. AWG #22. Capacitance @1khz 23pf/ft. .236" OD., Highly Flexible. Color: Black.

Switchcraft
A3FBAU Female XLR, Black with Gold Contacts... $4.99 each.
A3MBAU Male XLR, Black with Gold Contacts... $4.49 each.
Sturdy, die-cast zinc construction with satin nickel or Black Velvet finish to withstand hard use - even abuse. High impact, molded thermoplastic insert insulation delivers high dielectric strength and superior insulation resistance. Latchlock on female plugs & chassis mounts prevent accidental disconnect
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Build six (15 foot) microphone cables for under $20 each.

90 feet of cable… $61.20
6 X $4.99 = $29.94
6 x $4.49 = $26.94
Total = $118.08 plus solder and time
Cost each = $19.68

For parts call Markertek 1-800-522-2025 or http://www.markertek.com
 
Yes, the difference between a very cheap mic cable, like something from Radio Shack (which may not be balanced you know!) and a higher quality cable is really quite dramatic. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tested the claim for myself.

You don't have to go buying monster cable though. In fact, if your current signal chain or recording device is of low quality, then cables are the wrong place to start.

DJL was recommending that you build your own cables because it's one of the few DIY projects that can really pay off, plus you gain very important soldering skills! You can build a 20' Canare or Mogami cable with switchcraft or neutrik connectors for the price of a single 10' cheapo cable a lot of the time! Another benefit is that you can make custom lengths.

Anyhow, yeah the blue cables are great. Even just the belkin cables with neutrik connectors that you'll likely find at your local music store will be fine. Now Canare, Mogami, Monster, Blue, etc will all be BETTER, but in my *amature* opinion, your recordings won't really suffer from junk cable until you get down into the radioshack/generic garbage.

The absolute cheapest high quality route is Canare Star Quad with Switchcraft connectors, built yourself. We're talking like $0.30 per foot plus $4 in connectors for a single cable. Beat that! Also, Markertek makes their cables using Canare and Switchcraft, so if you're not into building, that's another source.

Slackmaster 2000
 
why does the Canare Star Quad have 4 conductors? isnt there usually only 2, and a shield wrapped around it?

T
 
That's the "quad" part of the deal. I'm not sure what the deal is with it, but somehow it may be beneficial to the sound over short runs, but over long runs you run into impedence issues.

That I don't know much about. What I do know is that you just pair up the wires and use one pair for hot and the other for cold.

Slackmaster 2000
 
p.s. mogami neglex quad and any other "quad" is the same deal...
 
According to Canare, the quad feature (4 conductors) minimizes the "loop area" between twists of the conductors which reduces the susceptibility to electromagnetically induced noice. I use it with either Switchcarft or Neutrik connectors to make high quality, inexpensive cables.
 
Twist blue leads together. Twist white leads together. Connect blue twisted lead to XLR pin 3. Connect white twisted lead to XLR pin 2. Unbraid (comb out) braided shield with pointed tool then twist together and connect to XLR pin 1.
 
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