Wiring: which brand should I trust among these?

I

Ivas

New member
Hi guys and welcome back!

After solving the problems on which cables to buy to connect the Stage Piano and other instruments to the sound card first, these days I searched various reviews, watched videos etc. and at least for my tastes (as far as I understood obviously online..., it's certainly not a direct experience...) I narrowed the choice down to 2 brands:
- Reference (here in Italy they have an excellent reputation)
- Mogami

Based on your experience and expertise, which brand should I invest in? I don't know, maybe they are equivalent... In the end the differences are minimal and you might not even notice them... But I don't know, I'm here on the forum to discuss with you!
Thanks as always for all your availability!
 
If you work for the BBC, you'll be using different cables to if you are a hifi enthusiast. Big brand cables are frequently no better than cheaper alternatives. The reality is quite simple. If you are going to run flight cases over them, or need them to be stiffer, or more flexible, then that is one feature. Rejection of noise is another - if the cables run through RF noisy environments, then screening is important. Maybe the diameter is vital, or the ease with which they can be coiled. I recently mentioned I bought some better screened cable for a project but it was a nightmare to solder plugs onto. Some have braided screens, some have wrapped ones and some have conductive screens. This makes the choice. If you want to buy ready terminated ones, you have to factor this cost in too.

I really struggle to justify the cost of some big name brands. None of these cables sound any different of course (with a few technical exceptions) but when I tripped over a multicore, I managed to rip out two of the moulded on jacks from the rather thin cable. Too delicate for my level of clumsiness - but up to the point it broke, it was great.
 
I'm with Papa on this one. I seriously doubt that you will hear any difference in the cables. The things that can make a difference is shielding if you are in an area with a LOT of RF interference (this is rare, but does happen) , or if you are subjecting the cable to lots of physical wear and tear, like on a stage where people are walking on the cable, or rolling road cases over them.

If you are simply hooking up your keyboard to the interface, any standard cable will be fine. Belden or Mogami are both well respected cable makers. I don't know anything about the "Reference" cable. I have a bag full of Guitar Center cables that I bought for about $10 a pop and they have worked fine for several years.

Going with "high end audio" cables with 99.9999 OFC, directional monocrystal copper and all the other marketing wizardry is pointless. A decent balanced cable with Neutrik connectors will run you €25 to 30.
 
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