XLR cables for a reasonable price?

@hifinut51 I have the A-S MP3 and S30 in one of my systems.  Class D being delivered tomorrow 😁 I use  Cardas Clear or Clear Beyond cables everywhere except preamp to amp.  There I use Mogami XLR made by 10 Audio.  I’ve tried Cardas between the pre and amp but think the Mogami sound just as good. Quite frankly there is no difference between the two.  Will also try with the Class D but based on what Atma-Sphere and my dealer say, I’m expecting the same results.  Try it for yourself. The cables are very inexpensive and it’s the only way you’ll be a believer. It was for me.  It’s a very nice savings to put to better use somewhere else in your system.

I’ve tried the DH Labs XLR cables with my Atma-Sphere gear.  They sound fine but no better or worse than Mogami.  The only way you’ll know for sure is to try for yourself.  I as well as many others have.  Just trying to save you some time and money :-)

Just received my Atma-Sphere Class D amps.  They’re fantastic right out of the box but I won’t dwell on that since there are enough Class D battles (threads) going on.  Already tried my $2,000 Cardas Clear XLR cables and my $100 Mogami XLR cables between the Class D amps and MP3 preamp.  SQ is the same with either cable.  As I said above, put your money to better use somewhere else in your system.

Amps just came in today so much too soon to evaluate them other than like I already said they sound real good right out of the box.  I actually bought them as summer amps to replace my Atma-Sphere OTL amp when it gets too hot at my beach house. So I have plenty of time to break them in before next summer 😎. Your right, as I already mentioned in another thread, I sold all my analog gear and now using strictly digital as my source.  But it’s pretty good stuff ( Aurender N200 and Denafrips Terminator Plus DAC) so quite frankly I’m not missing playing records one bit.  Regarding the cables I think the answer to your question is neither.  With the fully balanced preamp and amplifier combination, the XLR interconnects just do not make a difference.  It’s not a question of one sounding better or worse than the other or the price of the cables, they just sound the same, at least to me, and from what I understand many other people as well.  I’m basically a Cardas guy.  Just love their cables after trying many other brands.  They continue to give me the flavor I like and while not cheap, imo are worth it.  I use their Clear or Clear Beyond for power cords, speaker cables, usb and interconnects. Everywhere but the connection between A-S preamp and amp.  I even use Clear RCA’s when I put in my single ended Conrad Johnson amp where there is a definite improvement over the Mogami RCA interconnects.  So the only thing I can conclude, and as Ralph Karsten continues to preach, when using balanced interconnects between a fully balanced preamp and amp the interconnects do not make a difference.  Go figure.  

It appears that many here maybe missing the premiss of how/why this thread was started.  The premiss being that if your preamp and amp meet the balanced standard you should not hear a difference between properly constructed XLR interconnects when the XLR interconnects are used between a preamp and amp that meet the balanced standard.  It has nothing to do with RCA cables or other types of cables or many other things as many continue to talk about. If you do hear a difference between XLR interconnects when they are used to connect a preamp to an amp then chances are the preamp and/or amp do not meet the balanced standard.  It does not necessarily mean that the preamp and amp are not quality components. Quite the contrary, there are quality audio components that do not meet the balanced standard. What is does mean is that to improve SQ you may have to spend more money on interconnects and/or continue to chase you tail if your preamp and amp do not meet the standard.  Again, I thought that is what was asked in the original OP and how this discussion at least got started.  Can we all at least agree on that :-).