Best XLRs under $500 a pair

Cerious Graphene GE,  $350 a few years ago...I use a few pairs

Outstanding technology that utilizes OCC cabling; hard to beat at its price point and you would have to spend over $1K to get even close.

Arcadia OCC Interconnect Cable - ZavfinoUSA

The Fusion - Solid Pure Silver & OCC Copper - ZavfinoUSA

Wig

@bobbyloans - take a look at Zavfino

Arcadia OCC Interconnect Cable - ZavfinoUSA - or

The Fusion - Solid Pure Silver & OCC Copper - ZavfinoUSA

The picttures show RCA, but they come in XLR also - see he drop down list

• excellent dynamics
• great image
• very detailed

Regardsw - Steve

I know it’s not boutique but the belden 1800f with the best neutrik should not be overlooked.

This cable brings a higher level of clarity and control than a canare 4es6 between my pre and amp. Given this difference, I cannot imagine something that could elevate the performance of my system even more.

I've read good things about Audio Envy's O'nestian XLRs.

I only use Cardas Clear XLR. 

If your equipment supports the AES standard, then XLR cables should not contribute to sound quality.

B

Audio Envy, Triode Wire Labs, Zavfino. All good choices.

If short runs check out Mogami Gold. If up to 25ft Mogami Gold AES/EBU.

What sound characteristics are you looking for?

Look no further then the WireWorld Eclipse,

just look at their patented geometries, all totally isolated conductors of various Diameters, 6-9-s pure Copper ,their dielectric insulation lowest in the industry 

and very important  connectors ,That are solid Copper, silver . most others especially under $500 use brass, at $450 a true bargain ,I have been using these and their excellent AWG 9 Eclipse Loudspeaker cables , Perrotta consultants give very good deals especially if buying more then one.

Thank you all for the input thus far,

I'm looking for Natural true sound leaning more toward mids and highs as I am blending my sub in though the system if needed.  Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan type of music. Smooth Jazz, Some Classical. My genre is all over the chart..

Audioquest Waters? any input. I see used for around $500

Another vote for Mogami Gold here

if you want to get interconnects get OCC single Crystal copper that is the best wire for audio and it's been proven for over 50 years to be so, much better than anything ofc.

I have had my Audio Envy cables for a year now and am very impressed. Liked them enough that I bought them to use for my subs even. Lowered my systems noise floor to almost zero.

except for the cable - there are other components of the system ... the cable must make them friends, not lose data, not introduce distortion ... SYNERGY IN A SPECIFIC CASE IS IMPORTANT ...
... take a box of wires from the store (on bail) and test it on your system ... there is no other way.

Belden BAV are also hard to beat and available with a 30 day return policy.

DH Labs

Cardas Clear Cygnus. Just slightly over 500.00.

As mentioned by nonoise, I use Audio Envy O'nestian XLR and can confirm they are a huge upgrade over single RCA, specially between the source and the dac.

+1 Wire World if you are looking for an uncolored interconnect.

Recently I loaned a friend a pair of Eclipse 8 balanced. He had something decent but I can't recall the brand. He was shocked by the improvement. Up to this point, he didn't consider cable quality and design to be important. He has a nice system driving Legacy Signature SE speakers.

It's important that you audition before you buy. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot.

@bobbyloans 

I just bought a pair of Audioquest Colorado XLR’s for $450 a pair, new. They listed for $900, but they are last year’s model. 
 

All the best.

JD

I am about to commit heresy; Benchmark. 
 

+1 on Wireworld Eclipse 8 XLR. -1 on Canare/Benchmark. I replaced a Canare XLR with a Cardas Parsec XLR between a Benchmark HPA4 and AHB2. Definite improvement. (Maybe from disconnecting a cable and reconnecting another, but I doubt it.) I then moved the Cardas elsewhere, replacing it with a Wireworld Eclipse 8. The replacement occurred not too long after the Canare was replaced, so it's unlikely there was any crud that needed to be dislodged, etc. I greatly preferred the sound of the Wireworld: More detail, no increase in any sort of unpleasantness, etc. Of course, in both cases, it could have been confirmation bias or whatever.

+1 On WW, Cardas is good and good resale but warmer.

Check that your equipment is really balanced sometimes it's not and you'll get better sound from RCAs.

If you want to experience a significant improvement in all aspects of your listening experience, try the Transparent Gen6 Musiclink balanced for $400/pair!  They will blow you away with their dynamics, low level detail and soundstaging ability.  They also convey more accurate tone…just mind blowing for the money 💰 

Avoid anything with PVC. 

My approach was buying used XLRs from Kimber Kable via KimberKabledirect on eBay.

I tried the Kimber silver streak versus some Mogami and better cable silver serpent and the Kimber's were noticeably better and also about 4 times the price.  

So I searched Audiogon for used cables and looked at eBay and found Kimber very active in selling trade-ins and demos via eBay at about 1/2 list price.  

I purchased KCTG 1 meter and .5 meter XLRs and I view them as my forever interconnects.

A little over your price point, but great cable. Shadow 2 is a pure silver cable at the middle of Dynamique Audio line. I own both the Shadow 2 and Zenith 2 and I'd say the Shadow performs above 80% of the top of the line.

Look into Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference II and Audience AU24 used close to your price range. You got other good suggestions here as well. 
Throw a dart for the choice between the Benchmark, Mogami Gold(similar star quad design) and Belden 1800f all with neutrik connectors. 

Kimber Kable Hero.

Mogami Gold it's probably the best for the price it's not very expensive. XLR cables don't get much better the more you spend. Recording studios use mogami. 

@bobbyloans +1 on Audio Envy excellent value and price performance.  I recently replaced they Audio Envy in my main system with Morrow Audio and extremely pleased with the detail and punch.  Morrow has a line of cables that cost more as you go up the chain.  They also offer a reasonable exchange and investment protection should you replace a lower model cable with a higher model

For what is worth, Steely Dan is some of my favorite go to reference material.  I get a monthly report from Tidal that shows how much Tidal paid to each artist based on my streaming usage

Steely Dan is nearly always in the top 5 

Happy listening🙃

Hi 

I am using WRT Cables from 

Chen Audio Labs.Inc
The best I heard in my system.

Beautifully balanced from top to bottom.

Fi.

Ralph Karstan (Atmasphere) posted on another blog (my recollection could be the opposite)  that IF your components have a certain circuit then you won't appreciate any said improvement beyond basic XLR cables