What cables do you use?

[mchimes]

If you have a good mic and a good mic pre, you would obviously want to connect them w/ something that would allow them to perform at their best.

So . . .

1. What cable/s have you chosen and why?

2. Has anyone found a cable that they believe to be a great value (i.e. price point vs. performance)?

Look forward to your opinions.

Thanks- Mike

[Nika]

Mike,

I use Monster SP1000 cable for all 48V phantom power microphones (of which I have very few). For all other wacky microphones I have I made my own cable out of Mogami wire and Neutrik connectors. For all interconnect I use custom made Mogami that I soldered myself, cut to length. It wasn't more expensive to do it this way, but it did take several Friday evenings worth of work.


Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thanx!
Nika.

[Kingsley]

I don't know if I buy into (no pun intended, since I've already spent the money) all the hype surrounding the ultra-expensive mic cables, but I figure why take a chance? I have a Neumann M47 and I bought Monster 500 series cables to connect it to my patchbay. I also use the 500 series cables to connect my other pieces of equipment to the patchbay and to one another.
It cost me a few hundred dollars, but my equipment cost thousands.
Overall, it makes me feel as though I stand a better chance of getting a nicer sounding end product.
P.S. Reading back through this post, I realize I said I have a Neumann M47. I have neither that mic nor the kind of money to buy it. Actually, I have the much less expensive M147 mic from Neumann.

[mchimes]

Nika,

I thought you might make your own cables.

I would consider making my own, but I have never done it before. I have a number of friends who could show me how, but I am trying to decide whether it would be worth it for me to get set up to do that or just buy the cables (I'm looking at Blue, Monster, Transparent, and was hoping to get some opinions on some "sleeping" values- the RNCs of the cable world). It is a skill I would like to have and I could practice on someone elses cables at first (at work!) before destroying my own : ) But it seems like a lot of work.

Right now, I only have one mic (AKG C414-TL11), but I plan on getting a mic pre (waiting for True Systems P2 or RNMP) and another mic (KM 184 and/or NTK) w/in the next few months which would up my cable needs. I also need some good cables to run from my 828 to my monitors . . . any thoughts?

Thanks- Mike

[PJ_]

Canare Star-Quad cable, Neutrik connectors, solder, and a soldering iron create all my newer cables, although I have a few giveaways that were included with some of my mics.

[Ted]

I've got a bunch of Mogami Neglex cables, as well as a Blue Kiwi cable and a Monster 1000-series cable. I keep meaning to try some sort of A/B test with them to see what kind of difference I can hear. I know when I replaced the cheap cables going from my mixer to my powered monitors with Monster 500-series cables I heard a difference immediately, so I'm convinced that the quality of cable one uses makes a difference. I just haven't gotten around to doing anything even semi-scientific yet.

-Ted

[Adam Kennedy]

You seem to be very interested in getting the best sound for the buck, but personally, I don't know if the RNC ideology is going to make you very happy here, and I say this as one who likes the RNC. I believe, that if you're going to spend a lot of money on gear, don't skimp on the cable. I started out wiring my whole studio with Hosa because I blew my wad on all the gear to begin with. I'd made my list and I was married to it. I couldn't cut corners for the sake of very un-sexy sounding cables. One day, someone gave me a Monster guitar cable (I was using a generic one at the time) and the difference was very there. It wasn't magical. Not mythical, and it didn't knock me on my...you know. It was just better. Very measurably better. I started slowly replacing all my wires with Monster. I'm still not done, but all my mics and speakers were done first (well, actually, my guitar was done first). I haven't the time to spend burning my fingers (for I promise you, that's what'd happen) soldering wires with more expensive cable. I don't know if it'd be better, but my experiences tell me that it just might be, but making them myself (and the medical bills that would follow) wouldn't be worth it. For you, if you want something good for not quite that much, the ProCo Merlins are really good. One of the Studios down the street from me got some and like 'em a lot. If that's still too pricey (and they probably are if you're still thinking 'RNC of cables'), then just some generic ProCo cable is about as low as you should go if you're using high end gear. Just my 2 cents (about all 2 cents will get you these days is my opinion. Anyone feel overcharged?)

[austinmusicmatt]

Hey,
I'm interested in making a few of my own cables to get a better quality for the money. I've researched it enough to know how to solder the cable and all, but where do I get the materials from? Will buying high quality cable and conecters seperatly cost more than just buying a complete cable in the first place? I'm just looking to make a few of everything, ie. 5ft & 15ft instrument cables, and 15ft. Mic cables. Probably also a few wierd ones to fit my needs like a 1/4 inch to an XLR and so on. I'm really all ears to what anyone suggests. Thanks Yall. Matt Jeske

[emilano]

Nika,

Could you elaborate on why you use those cables? For example, are you just "being Safe" or have done or heard any actual tests with those cables? And which exact type of mogami wire do you use for interconnects and microphones?

[emilano]

No thoughts Nika?

[Nika]

Eric,

Sorry, didn't notice the post. Which specific "those" cables are you referring to? There are a lot of reasons that I choose different cables. I wasn't sure which specific one's you're interested in.


Thanx!
Nika.

[emilano]

Originally posted by Nika
Mike,

I use Monster SP1000 cable for all 48V phantom power microphones (of which I have very few). For all other wacky microphones I have I made my own cable out of Mogami wire and Neutrik connectors. For all interconnect I use custom made Mogami that I soldered myself, cut to length. It wasn't more expensive to do it this way, but it did take several Friday evenings worth of work.


Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thanx!
Nika.

I was talking about the cables you mention in this post. But really I was also asking about any cabling comparision tests you've done at all. Have you specifically heard the difference between a standard quliaty cable (like a ProCo or something) and a "high end" monster or a Mogami? Or are you just "being safe".

[Nika]

Eric,

There are several issues that play in. I have heard cable comparisons between some cables, although not necessarily specifically all the ones that I use. I never heard, for instance, Gotham cable before I used it, but got it because it was necessary for a specific application I was involved in.

The following factors have played into my cabling decisions: sound quality, size, ease of working with (Mogami shines in this department), and cost. I have also needed to buy cable for specific applications such as high-rf rejection, internally wiring a piece of rack gear, using a cable in non-traditional applications such as DPA 130V microphones, and more. These situations require sometimes specific application cables such that the above issues may not be as important.

Most of what I use is Mogami, and there are many model numbers of the Mogami that I end up using. I also use Monster for mic runs for many reasons including it's sound and it's longevity (people generally don't walk on cables that look/feel so expensive, so they last me 2-3 times as long. The only cables in my studio that are not pre-made are the 4 Monster SP1000 cables that I use on my M149's and the Apogee AES and Monster wordclock cables.

Does this answer your question adequately?


Thanx!
Nika.

[jamie garner]

i've been very happy with the BLUE 'cranberry' cable, tho i'll be investing in the 'champagne' model soon.

much, much better than the HOSA/'house brand' stuff.

[Ted]

Jamie-

Are you using a tube microphone? The Champagne cable is not a "standard" microphone cable; it's cable specifically for connecting tube microphones to their power supplies. If you're looking for their best microphone cable to plug a microphone into a preamp or mixer, you'd want to look at the Kiwi.

-Ted

[jamie garner]

ted-

i didn't realize the champagne was so specialised- thanks a bunch!

yep, kiwi for me!

[Nika]

I'm still happiest with my SP1000 Monster Cable.


Nika.

[NukleoN]

I must heartily concur with the BLUE recommendation for mics. I was using some no-name brand before I switched to a BLUE Cranberry cable. It made a big difference...everything just sounded much better. After that I went and upgraded most of my studio cables to balanced (where possible) Monster instrument and studio cables.

[schadowrider]

I'd like to tag a new question to this thread: what are the longest *lengths* folks are using between the mic and pre (especially with higher end mics -- U87, etc.)?

I'm reconfiguring my tracking situation, and I'm pulled between short cable runs and having my pre's in the control room where I can get at them quickly... Plus with trying different mic/pre combos for different vocalists and instruments, and the CR patchbay makes it much easier to do that (which means mic cable runs into the control room). Pres in the tracking room with an assistant to handle the PB and pre adjustments would be nice, but if you have no assistant...

Many of the BLUEs, Monster, etc. I've seen are only around 20/25 feet; figure after needing 10 feet just to run up and across the boom, you can't put the pres too far away...

For most of our micing situations, 30-40 feet of cable, including boom run, should be sufficient, but I'm wondering if that's still too long? Or is it okay with something like Prolink?

Kind regards to all,
Glenn @ Schadowrider

[Ted]

Cable quality does become more an more important with longer lenghts; negative effects of things like resistance and capacitance become more and more noticeable with longer cable lengths.

Having said that, with a good preamp and good-quality cable, you should be able to run quite a long distance, especially from a transformer-balanced microphone like the U87. I used to record in a hall with a pair of Neumann KM83's (small-diaphragm omni microphone, predecessor to the KM183 but with transformers) through about a thousand feet of Mogami cable. Everything sounded great.

-Ted

[schadowrider]

Thanks -- that's good to hear; even the new studio/CR we'll be building next spring/summer is only on a 20 X 40 footprint, so the pre-pre runs will rarely be over 50 feet or so (and the vocal/drum iso booth will be right next the CR on one side -- 25 feet or less will do it there just fine)... We haven't been scimping on the mics and pres, so we're not going to cheap out on the cable that ties it all together. Mostly we'll be self constructing the cable runs (not for the better mics...), but that's as much for convenience as anything else (being able to to configure custom-fit lengths and connectors to run between the gear and the punch-down PB block, all while being able to pick and choose good cable and connectors...).

Anyway, thanks again -- good to hear what others are doing length-wise.

On the cable itself, someone mentioned handling-ease, and I couldn't agree more: the Mogami coils and uncoils so nicely, it's worth it for that alone!

Regards,
Glenn @ Schadowrider

[dougo]

I can make a suggestion for an excellent value in mic cables, and if the people at my local sound company are to be believed, it is a good quality solution. Perhaps others here will have a second opinion..

I explained to these people that I wanted to make some high-quality cables, and asked if I should use monster cable. They said they had stopped carrying monster cable when several customers had complained of its tendency to make noise (when being moved, I think was the complaint). They finally recommended that I use the Horizon permanent installation cable (type C L3), which they said they had sold thousands of feet of, for installation in studios all over the county.

Of course, by nature this cable is delicate, and you certainly don't want to be walking on it, but, that being said, it's something like 20 cents a foot, with 22 gauge wire and 100 percent foil insulation, and was highly recommended by at least these sound professionals.

I'd be interested to hear your opinions on the sound quality of such wire, compared to the solutions that have been mentioned. Of course durability is no contest, but since I know how to solder, this was not a concern for me.

Doug

[dougo]

Oh dear- was that such a dumb question that no one wanted to flame me with a reply? :eek:

Or am I merely a victim of message board burial syndrome (MBBS)?

But seriously, my question is: does "industry standard" permanent installation cable, such as proco, stand up favorably to these hi end cables, strictly in terms of sonic performance? Or was my local sound system provider misinformed?

Signed,
Nika's long distance auto mecahnic :cool:

[DAS]

Somehow I missed it the first time you asked. The permanent install stuff generally has a foil shield. This can be good or bad. It is the only true 100% shield, but sometimes the resistance to ground is higher than braided copper shields. Of course once you bend it a few times the foil starts to come apart and you lose a lot of the shielding benefit.

That's the tangible stuff. You asked about sound quality, which is pretty darned subjective. It could more generally be asked whether the high end cables really do improve the sound. Obviously there are two camps on that issue and I'll not opine (since most would question my objectivity anyway). I've found that beyond the shielding/noise differences the permanent install stuff works (sounds) about like other "standard" cables.

[Ted]

I haven't by any means done any sort of scientific listening test, but when I replaced the "industry-standard" cables I had running to my powered monitors with Monster 500-series interconnect cables I heard an immediate difference...better sense of image as well as tighter low end. I wasn't expecting that, but since it was a recording and environment I was very familiar with I don't doubt what I heard.

-Ted

[guitarjoe]

eveready batteries sound better than duracell - Eric Johnson

[Bowisc]

I'm using BLUE Kiwi for all microphone lines.
Insert cables are Monster 500.

The rest, I use a combo of the Monster 500, and home-made Canare Quad/Neutrik (gold pins).

I have a few Monster 1000's for digital signals. Good stuff.

Bowisc

[Brandon Hook]

whats the difference between the monster 1000 and 500 series. Has anybody heard a difference that wasn't tainted by the price?

[Ted]

The difference is three separate wire networks versus two...the way Monster puts it the 500 Series gives you 80% of the performance at 50% of the price. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison...my microphone cables are 1000 series, and my interconnects are 500, so I don't really have a way to do a direct comparison.

-Ted

[dan le]

There is a cable for mike from Hosa, yes Hosa, called Zaolla. I finally bought it after reading the reviews and it is really some cable. I have been using Monster up to this point but this Zaolla cable really made a big difference. And everyone that has listened to it agreed with me that this is a very good cable for mike.
What it does is to give that 'up to the face' effect, and in the meantime provide that 'air' quality that we are all looking for.
It is expensive, alas, but if you can afford it, you should try it.
Dan Le