I need a pair of 15 ft XLR cables to go between my PS Audio preamp and Mark Levinson amp.
I am looking at around $100/pair cables from BJC. BJC uses either Belden 1800F or Canare L-4E6S. Others recommend Mogami cables in a similar price range. BJC is a local company for me, so I like to buy theirs unless there is a compelling reason to go elsewhere. At 15 ft, is either the BJC Belden or Canare going to make any real difference? I live in a smallish town, most RF interference would likely be from a cell tower. Don’t know of any within 1/2 mile. Also, is 15 ft considered a "short run"?
I don't think there's a compelling reason not to use the Canare or Belden cable that BJC provides.
I wouldn't consider 15 ft a long run for a balanced, shielded cable at line level.
The natural alternative would be cables assembled to order from Mogami W2549 by someplace like ProAudioLA, who have given me great service in the past. (They do take returns, but with a small restocking charge.)
While you might hear very slight differences among those three options, difference are not likely to be musically significant.
Others will give you reasons to spend as much as a car on wires. Those reasons are mostly specious.
You state you own very high quality (and expensive) amp and pre and somehow expect that a cheap ass XLR cable will allow you to hear what they are musically capable of?
Brad, don’t let Mike’s OPINION sway you. Clearly, it is NOT based on experience However, a quality 15ft pair of XLRs can easily top $1000, and likely $2000. Best move is to bring them within 1 meter of each other
I tried a pair of $2200 interconnects, and (based on a blind listening panel, many of whom are audio or music professionals) concluded that they did something funny in the treble, and that the $100 Mogami cables were notably less colored.
With cables, it’s ALL opinion. The only FACTS are that the R,L,C of the cables varies only slightly. The other fact is that many in the recording industry use Mogami cable extensively. It’s something of a standard. Not too many use the boutique stuff, though some do.
Using your example: " many in the recording industry use Mogami cable extensively" is laughable for so many reasons
The fact that millions of people eat McDonalds every day, does that mean I should too?
AND, when you tried the $2200 pair (price isn’t necessarily an indication of high sound quality) were the 2 components BOTH Differentially Balanced? And was the rest of the system capable of revealing the differences?
From personal experience over decades of reading various hi-end magazine reviews of Dif Balanced (DB) components, all too often the Editor sends a DB component to be reviewed by one of their writers whose system is NOT DB! They had to use XLR/RCA jumpers. And to a fault the typical report included I really couldn’t hear a difference.
Well DUH!
I would write or email the Editors, but it fell on their deaf ears
Correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe that Ralph (Atma-Sphere) has stated that the quality of cable is not as important when using xlr balanced cables.
I have used Canare RCA’s and find them to work just fine. I also have Canare and Belden speaker cables and in my system, the Canare sound better, the Beldens having a somewhat darker veiled character.
If someone has compared Canare and Mogami interconnects please provide your evaluation results.
@tweak1
Using your example: " many in the recording industry use Mogami cable extensively" is laughable for so many reasons
I find it rather a telling fact, they are the professionals in my eyes.
Canare is pretty dang good and for what a 15ft pair will run for a boutique brand I’d definitely try the Canare first which I have and it is very good. $44 seems like a risk I’d take. I’ve never used Amphenol XLR’s so cant speak for those but with Neutrik or Switchcraft connectors it’s a fine cable.
adg101, can't beat that amazon price for 2 15ft cables for $44 total cost. I just looked up Blue Jeans and has cables terminated with Neutrik xlrs are $47 per cable plus shipping.
I've tried a few long balanced cables over the past year between my preamp and amp. These were all DIY using high quality connectors (Cardas and DH Labs - plated high-purity copper conductors). My cable runs are about 16ft.
Belden 1800F - this is one of the cables that Blue Jeans Cable uses. Fairly neutral balance but lacking a bit in bass authority, image depth and clarity. < $2/ft. Stranded copper with foam polyethylene. Tinned copper braided shield, PVC jacket.
DH Labs Pro Studio - this is my favorite in my system. Slightly more forward sounding than the Belden, but better in every way - stronger, more defined bass, much better imaging, more detail. $8 to $11/ft. Silver coated stranded OFC copper, foam PTFE insulation, braided silver coated shield.
Connex The Natural - This cable sounds warmer and more laid back. Good bass, but not as detailed as the Pro Studio. If you're looking for a smoother sound, this might be worth a try. $6 to $8/ft. Tin-plated copper conductors with natural cotton insulation. Conductors are stranded, but relatively few heavier gauge. Tinned copper shield with woven rayon/nylon jacket.
As far as I know, the DH Labs and Connex cable are only available as bulk cable. The Belden you can get from BJC very cost effectively.
djones, not all $2200 XLRs sound good, and cheap ones are for those who cannot hear any difference, or who are just cheap by nature. Unfortunately, many recording engineers.
tweak1, you are being pretty insistent regarding your stand on the cable, have you tried a Canare L-4E6S Star Quad XLR or RCA cable? I’m betting you would be very pleasantly surprised.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
