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View Full Version : Do cables really matter?



TomM
12-23-2003, 11:01 AM
I've been wondering if the difference between cables really makes any difference. I've read so many opinions and they all vary a great deal but none actually explain any a/b testing that was done. I decided to do my own tests and see for myself. I didn't test mogami vs. monster yet, but I tested the three levels of moster against each other. The lowest, the middle one (500), and the studio pro 1000. I'm a drummer, so my tests were done on the drums. I compared the final mix downs on cd in several different playback machines varying from studio monitors to several pairs of headphones to cheap cd/tape players. First of all, THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE. HOWEVER, I had difficulty in picking a favorite. It was quite strange actually. I found that the noise issue wasn't noticeable to me. What stood out the most, was the punchyness of each cable- the pro 1000 being the most. As the punchiness went up, the tonal quality went down. I couldn't get the absolute best of both worlds and the best cable choice (at least for the drums) was the studio500. So my personal conclusion was that the extra money for the pro1000 isn't worth it. (by the way, these tests were done on 20 foot cables, except for the studio pro 1000 which was done on a 30 foot cable). I doubt the significance of that difference though since the studio pro1000 claims to be able to cover greater distances with ultra quality. I do plan on doing this test again when I get Zaolla cables to see if that difference is noticeable!

Has anyone else done any tests like this...if so, what were your results? I'd love to hear from some Zaolla owners!

AVDork3000
12-23-2003, 03:03 PM
Well, I tested a whirlwind 20' standard mic cable vs a cheap mic cable from Musician's Friend and the diffrence is HUGE. That taught me to never buy store brand mic cables. Always go with big companies in my opinion :)

cmchamp
12-23-2003, 03:19 PM
Jim Brown, of Audio Systems Group in Chicago, did extensive testing of different cables and published his results in a SynAudCon edition, and I think Live Sound International. Having trouble finding the article at this time, but I do remember sharing emails with him on the subject.
C.

AVDork3000
12-23-2003, 04:28 PM
Awesome. Do you know where I could find that article?

Nijs
12-24-2003, 07:28 AM
i just mailed him to ask for the article.
I'll let you know something as soon i get a response..
greetz

AVDork3000
12-24-2003, 08:20 AM
Alright cool. Im lookin forward to reading that

peace

Nijs
12-24-2003, 10:43 AM
this is the answer i got.
I'm not really sure if the article we're talking about is amongst the list.
But never the less, all the articles seem really helpful resolving the commun problem we're talking about.

http://www.aes.org/publications/preprints/preprints_search.cfm

you'll get a general overview of all of his articles, search with his name ofcourse.

greetz