Balanced connection XLR microphone cables ?

Much DIY lore here. Many reputable folk will sell you bulk cable and Neutrik connectors can be found at everything from Boutique outlets to Madisound.

If you are handy with a soldering gun. You can buy shielded microphone cable and Neutrik XLR male & female connectors and make your own. It is tedious and fidgety, but you can get the exact length you need (no piles of unsightly cable lying around) and you can save a ton of money.

I use Mogami, also a Guitar Center purchase, between my CA840c and my integrated.
No problems. No complaints. I'll match them with any like cable at up to 5x the price.

Vurry nice indeed.

This afternoon,I plugged in the cables and played a few cds. I know there is an increase in pre-amp gain just by switching to balanced cabling but I did notice an improvement in the mid-range and treble clarity. The bass seemed to have more definition also. The best "double sawbuck" I ever spent on my stereo! I don't think I'll miss the deoxygenated, cryogenically frozen, neutrino treated, liquid metal, pure missle grade copper cables I almost bought. Disclaimer....... all in good fun... a good sense of humour keeps me sane. Mark

If you believe what AtmaSphere says (and we all do) the balanced configuration of wiring renders the exotic characteristics of the wire unimportant, so there is no excuse for high priced balanced interconnects. My experience supports this view.

One warning though...There are microphone cables that are actually wired as single ended although the termination is XLR. Such cables can't be used with a mic that uses a phantom power supply (via the cable).

No matter what, you can't damage your electronics with a cable.

I'll add a couple of things to my previous post. B&H Photo Video is an excellent place from which to purchase pro-oriented xlr cables, online. I use a pair of Mogami Gold Studio's between my Bryston cdp and my Classe preamp, and I've been pleased with them (although I haven't made any direct comparisons with high-end audiophile-oriented cables).

There was a thread here a few months ago about using inexpensive pro-oriented cables instead of much more expensive audiophile-oriented ones. As might be expected, opinions differed widely.

Regards,
-- Al

Here is a not-so-true story.

I purchased some inexpensive XLR cables from a music store also. Plugged then in, and noticed a horrendous improvement in soundstage, imaging, focus, lower and upper frequency extension...and the tingling in my nose disappeared. I immediately sold all of my equipment. Then I purchased horrendously less expensive equipment. To conclude this tale, I then purchased horrendously expensive interconnects to improve my sound. Now I feel like I accomplished something.

Disclaimer...I'm being silly if you haven't guessed yet.

I bought a pair of inexpensive balanced mike cables from Guitar Center to tide me over while I ordered some "proper" audiophile interconnects. To my surprise they sounded terrific and only cost me about $60.

Thanks Al for your response. They are new(3 ft.long,$10.00 ea.).I won't have have any wear issues. buying my cables from the musicians supply shop seems like a reasonably priced option for the future when I relocate the amp and need longer cables.

They'll work fine, assuming they are not defective or damaged. However, cables used at live events tend to get stepped on, inadvertently yanked, etc. You'll probably be ok, but if you want to play it completely safe use a multimeter to check for continuity and shorts. Or perhaps the music shop can do that for you.

Regards,
-- Al