mogami interconnects

Do a search on these forums for 'mogami'

I don't know how many times I've heard these DIY tips recommending star quad pro audio cables (Canare or Mogami) with high quality terminations as being world beaters.

My verdict: they're OK for the money but they're no world-beaters, not even as instrument cords for guitars and basses. I got a very nice electric bass and high rez bass amp. Decided to get a Mogami Gold instrument cable to go with it. It was an improvement over the garden variety instrument cable, but a week later my local guit. shop offered me a Zaolla Silverline cable (pure silver center conductor) for about the same price ($60). The Zaolla is normally around $150.

Result? You can borrow my Mogami anytime you want. You can have the Zaolla when you pry it from my cold, dead hand. The Zaolla is far more resolving with a sweeter sound and fuller, deeper fundamentals. I suspect the Mogami Platinum series at $150/15' cable would offer a similar improvement over the Gold series.

I had a similar experience with Canare star quad cable with high quality RCAs as interconnects between preamp and high current power amp. They sounded better than white box interconnects, but they couldn't compete even with Straightwire Conductor (from 20 years ago), Kimber PBJ, Tara Labs, JPS, or any number of other interconnects I swapped in and out. They were smooth, but somewhat muddy and certainly lost a lot of detail in those three feet.

I like them. The construction method you described is a good one where the shield is floated at one end.

Word has it, many prominent Studios, are outfitted, with
no other than...Mogami "you'll see why virtually every major recording facility in the world is wired with Mogami cable. Mogami is famous for unmatched accuracy, extremely low noise, and remarkable flexibility. Top engineers rave about Mogami mic cable's amazing clarity and silent background."

The Mogami 2549...
"W2549 has been designed using our famous Neglex OFC to provide the highest quality audio reproduction in any recording application. It features #22AWG conductors and extremely low capacitance."

Maybe not at home, but in the Studio, they must be okay.

After all, these are specifically for "Recording" in the
Studio, not playback.Just a thought.

Personally, I did compare the Mogami Neglex Quad cable vs.
PS Audio's Balanced cable, the PS Audio, brought more bass,
air, tightness,very obvious audible difference, can be
heard.
The Mogami sounded "thin" overall, compared to the PS Audio
rich,full,detailed, sound.

My 2 cents worth.

I Love Music!

The Mogami sounded "thin" overall

This has been my experience as well

I'm interested, too, about the sound of the Mogami 2549 in unbalanced configuration. Has anyone compared this to anything else?

Simon--the Mogami 2549 you asked about is an entirely different cable than the "Canare star quad cable" that Johnnyb53 referred to, and "the Mogami Neglex Quad" that Bjpd57a1 referred to.

I use the unbalanced Mogami between my phono stage and preamp, but I have tried it elsewhere in my system as well. I have compared it to Intuitive Design Mosaic Chimera cables and 47 Labs OTA cables. I find them to be very neutral, but can see why some refer to them as "thin". I sense they are fairly true to the source which is why I seem to like them most between phono stage and preamp.

If you are running balanced cables, and

Your balanced system (preamp) supports the 600 ohm standard

then

you will find no audible difference between the Mogami and any other balanced cable, price no object.

Why?

The low impedance balanced line system was specifically devised to eliminate cable artifact, and it works.

Single ended: all bets are off.

Balanced, but does not support the standard: all bets are off.

BTW, to support the 600 ohm aspect of the standard your preamp will have an much lower impedance which will be unchanging from 20Hz to 20KHz.

Had a long conversation with the Mogami distributor in California. I was quite surprised, because I only wanted 100 ft. of cable. Anyway, he liked telling stories.

According to him, "most" studios use Mogami, but not the 2534. He says some years ago there was a big switch-over to Mogami 3173. It's a balanced 110 ohm cable that Mogami recommends for both analogue and "long distance AES/EBU digital."

I use Mogami 3173 as well as DH Labs Pro Studio and Neotech NEI-3004. Doubt I could tell the difference, whether for balanced or single-ended.

[FWIW, I use big solid-state amps of 100-400 wpc (Ampzilla 2000, B.A.T., MC2, McCormack), and high sensitivity professional studio monitors (TAD TL-1801/TL-1603/TD-4003, Tannoy "System" series) with Mogami 3104 speaker cable (4 x 11.5 AWG) in a 28 X 27 x 18 ft. space.]

I use the Mogami w2549 for unbalanced interconnects and I think it sounds fantastic. Great detail and extension at both frequency extremes and smooth, 3-dimensional sound. Very transparent sounding without getting thin sounding.

I use one conductor for the signal, the other for a ground and I also attach the shield at both ends. For some reason, I tend not to like interconnects that use multiple large conductors for the signal. I probably wouldn't like any of the quad cables and I wouldn't count anybody's experience with them as being relevant to how the w2549 cable sounds when wired as described.

I had Stealth Indra and Stealth Sakra, bought some Mogami Gold........and not long later the Stealth was for sale! I have also compared it to Analysis Plus Golden Oval, which is also now for sale! The only cable I have tried so far that I like better it TEO Standard.

The Mogami is amazing at any price, the fact that you can get a pair balanced 6' cables for $100 is insane! I sold my Stealth and put $10K in my pocket........actually, I bought an MBL6010D with the money which gave me better bang for the buck than the Stealth.

I have been in high end audio for over 25 years now, and owned many components, ic's, power cables, tweaks, etc. The Mogami is amazing, period.

I've used Mogami for mic cable for years...so I figured a pair of 'em from Guitar Center would work from my Kavent pre balanced to to my beloved Forte' 55. Balanced gold Neutrik...and man...unlistenable, and I'm not a cable snob but apparently they needed to break in and I wouldn't play along. It was THAT bad...harsh treble for days. Got my money back the next day. Bought a pair of Ebayed AQ Diamondbacks and they sound fine (even better after a couple of weeks).

Well, one should really be patient with cables. Normal break-in time is at least 100 hours often more. Purist Audio says 150 hours for their cables.

I agree up to a point...but if the cables (or any component) are SO bad I can't stand 'em (this was a first actually) I say NO NO NO...the AQs, although sounding better after a couple of weeks, sounded pretty damn good right out of the box. I assume it was some undefineable mismatch or something as I've never, or rarely, stuck something in the audio chain without serious "review trolling", and I haven't seen much bad press about Mogamis. 150 hours seems extreme, but we're more likely talking about some thin degree of change I think...and the Mogamis didn't earn their place so I had to punish them by taking 'em back. While authorizing my return of the Moganmis, the Guitar Center sales manager said "OFC copper cables don't need to break in because they're OFC"...thus disregarding the possibility of my having any clue about such things and consumating his rude idiocy (I buy plenty of stuff at GC because they're nearby and sometimes inexpensive).

While we are discussing value for money cables, I found the Crimson Musiclink to be an out and out performer beating every cable I have tried till date. I have tried Mogami as well though I dont know the model number because it was a loaner from a friend. The Crimson for $360 has become the last cable in my system for a good number of years to come. Give them a try guys you will be surprised how easy is it make an extremely good cable. No shielding, no mumbo jumbo.