Do Costly XLR Cables Make A Difference?


Serious question here. I currently own a rather good XLR cable that goes between the amp and DAC. I’m considering a better XLR cable to improve things, basically all the good aspects of sound reproduction such as deeper and more defined bass, better separation and detail across the frequency spectrum and an airier and more 3-dimensional sound in the midrange and treble. Will a different XLR cable supposedly one that’s costlier bring me to that direction?

My current XLR cable costs about $2k actual price paid.

I’m looking at an alternative pair up to about $2k perhaps $3k tops if it is proven that the cable is able to bring a noticeable or worthwhile if not significant difference. I am actually looking at the Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8 and Gold Eclipse 8 XLR.

Any experience would be appreciated. 

 

ryder

Good expensive cables if  match properly the cheaper even if match , the expensive one win.

have said this in many cable threads

for dedicated audiophiles who sometimes change their equipment, it is good to treat a selection of cables as tools in a tool kit for final tuning, as they can and do subtly alter the sonic presentation, in terms of frequency response, perceived speed, openness, imaging qualities -- this is due to physics, different cables of different materials, construction, connectors, represent different electrical properties (r-l-c) and isolation from the surrounding elements

cost of cables is another matter, there is much marketing b-s, especially regarding hyper expensive cables... so long as the cables are well made, with quality materials and terminations, it is smart to know what cables do what sonically, one can use cables to get the synergistic effect desired at any given time

in my case, i have been at this for many years, swap equipment quite a bit

so for interconnects i have beldens cardas zu discovery cerious to smooth/warm the sound, kimbers nordosts nbs to liven things up up top, vampire and other shielded silver cables to get more vast open imaging with a subtle sheen, straightwire wireworld mogami and midgrade audioquest to start things pretty neutral when a new component is inserted, go from there, and so on...

there are those who say cables shouldn’t used a tone controls, in theory yes, but as a practical matter, experienced hobbyists do this regularly

Try Vogue Audio pure Silver Cable's, they're inexpensive and very good quality cable's.  They are my go to online store for XLR Interconnects, Power, and Speaker Cables, oh yea, RCA Interconnects. 

“…for dedicated audiophiles who sometimes change their equipment, it is good to treat a selection of cables as tools in a tool kit for final tuning.”

@jjss49 

I agree, and with the rest of your post too.  
The cables need not be expensive but it helps if they are different and bring their own unique strengths.  For example, I keep SCs by Harmonic Tech (lots of OCC copper, fine gauge solid core, and individually insulated), Furutech (super fine strands of OCC copper in foamed PE), and NOS WE (annealed, tinned, stranded copper), and a few others that all result in a subtly different sound.  Same type of deal with PCs and ICs.

I recently switched from Audience Front Row XLR cables (between my Audio Research CD9 DAC and my Hegel H390 integrated amp) to Snake River Audio XLR cables. The SR's are cheaper than the Front Rows, but there was a nice gain in sonics - more dimensionality, better clarity of images, better audibility of air both in front of and behind the images