2. cables
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Yes, cables do make a difference -- regardless of price...

I thought you may find this interesting…or not.  I know, another "cable post".  Disclaimer up front — I am a believer that cables can make a difference in the sound that you hear from your system.  With my speakers, like most high(er) efficiency speakers, I can hear large and small changes made to the system components — and cables are part of that system.

What I want to share is an exercise that I went through with my better half in setting up her recording equipment that she will be using to record audio books.  The hardware part of the system is simple:  Audio Technica Cardioid Condenser Microphone AT2035 connected with a XLR cable to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 preamp.

We started with the XLR cable that came with the microphone and recorded the short introduction of the book she has been contracted to record.  Then she recorded the same section using each of the our XLR cables I have on hand:  Vovox Excelsus, Mogami 2549, Gotham GAC-3, and Grimm TPR. Each of the cables have the same Neutrik connector and are very good studio cables that I have used in my system at one time.

Listening through headphones via the Scarlett 2i2, it was super easy to hear distinct differences in these cables.  The differences were not small and very apparent.  In the end, the Mogami cable was the winner — it seemed more open and warmer than the other cables and suited the tone of her voice the best. I have heard similar differences from these cables in my stereo system but not to the significant degree borne out by this exercise. 

To keep going, today I replaced the $10 USB C to C cable that I bought as an “upgrade” from the Scarlett 2i2 to a MacBook Air with a $70 Audioquest Forest cable. We were more than surprised that with the AQ cable in the system the drop of the noise floor was very significant and the blackness of background made the sound even more crystal clear.

The purpose of this post is not to promote or compares cables, just a public service posting for those of you who do not believe cables make a difference.  They really do affect how your system sounds (positive or negative) and if you cannot hear a difference then maybe looking at the transparency of your system is a place you should examine.

Imagine peace everyone.

crozbo

Showing 1 response by 8th-note

8th-note
347 posts
 

Good post from @benanders but I really appreciate that the OP recorded voice tracks using different cables so that they could go back and compare the tracks repeatedly. If you are comparing different recorded tracks back to back it removes a lot of the opportunity for bias. My issue with cable enthusiasts is where they disconnect one set of cables, plug in a new much more expensive pair, listen for weeks and claim that once the new cables "broke in" they sounded much better than the original cables.

I had a home recording studio in the 90's and I used this recording technique to compare preamps and microphones (I used a close-miced acoustic guitar which is very revealing). I even used this process to compare the sound of different tubes in a couple of my mic preamps as well as an opamp upgrade on one of my solid state preams. I posted many of these files on a recording forum and invited folks to listen and submit their reactions. Most listeners were surprised that the differences were so obvious. I used Mogami cables exclusively and it never occurred to me to compare XLR cables this way.

FWIW, I've never been able to hear the difference in interconnects. I realize it woulc be a hassle but it would be interesting if @crozbo could post these files so us skeptics could hear for ourselves.

The OP touched on something I have wondered about for years. If cables really make a difference then we should be able to hear the difference between two kinds of cable on  the same recorded track. My skeptical nature tells me that if there really were differences in cables audiophiles would have done this and posted the files to prove their point. Sure, cables are "system dependent" but, I'm sorry, that sounds like a cop out to me.

Does anyone know of a well controlled A/B/X test where cable differences were demonstrated? I've never heard of one. I know of dozens of tests where listeners failed to hear a difference but no test in which they were successful.

Lastly, my position is that if audiophiles hear a difference in cables then, for them, the difference exists. Cables seem to give a many of our creed a lot of pleasure and if that's where they want to spend their money then more power to them. I don't know if I'm lucky or cursed that I can't seem to hear the difference.

 

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