High end studio cables. What do you suggest?

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:19 pm

I want to upgrade the cables linking my hardware in my studio. Mainly, I need MtoF XLR cables connecting my pre amps to my Firepod. I want to keep my sound clean and pure. What cables do you suggest? Any links?

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:21 pm

mrbwnstn wrote:

I want to upgrade the cables linking my hardware in my studio. Mainly, I need MtoF XLR cables connecting my pre amps to my Firepod. I want to keep my sound clean and pure. What cables do you suggest? Any links?

ALSO!!! The cables only need to be about 1 ft long. If that makes any difference.

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:29 pm

I've always had a hard time believing there is much difference between cables.

If it was me, I'd just make sure the connectors were of good quality(Some brand name, maybe? Switchcraft/Amphenol, whatever.) and that the cable itself and the workmanship "seemed" good(Pretty obvious.).

Hossa makes short cables, available at many music stores... ProCo, maybe? Good stuff - not expensive, but I find that no object...

TG

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 1:23 pm

I think it makes sense to take a middle-of-the-road approach with cables. Don't get the cheapest stuff like Hosa off the rack at your local Guitar Center, and don't get sucked into the $100+ per foot audiophile "voodoo science" cables either. Wire is just wire, but the shielding matters, and connector hardware quality matters. I don't want to worry about cable being the weak link between two or three very expensive pieces of hardware, especially at the very front end of the signal chain ahead of the A/D converters.

Anyway, I have my current home studio wired with Monster cables. It's a little overpriced for what it is, but at least the connectors are decent quality and it's easy to find everywhere. If I was doing it over again, or had to wire a new studio from scratch, I'd probably roll my own with bulk Mogami cable and Neutrik connectors, so I could get custom (shortest possible) lengths on everything.

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 2:04 pm

if your going into a firepod, the cable is not going to make a difference holmes... sorry

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 4:28 pm

Rolling your own is a really great way to go. Even if you can't afford Mogami, Gepco works pretty well for most people and is fairly inexpensive. Switchcraft or Neutrik connectors seem to be standard fare.

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 6:07 pm

Buy some neutrik pluggs and some klotz cable.
Then make the cables you need. low price, high quality.

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:48 pm

IMO, if you run balanced internconnects (XLR indicates that you are) and they are very short, the impact of different cables will be less than they would be unbalanced and/or longer.

I'd go for something well-shielded and use great connectors and roll your own.

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 10:21 pm

I recently compared my hosas with a monster with a ribbon mic and the difference was huge - not so much in frequency response but noise performance.

Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 4:42 am

IMO there are basically 3 types of cables...
1st the cheap cables= cheap sound
2nd the basic run of the mill cable= decent sound
3rd the best cable= best sound possible
So maybe you could look at it that way, and maybe that can help you decide how much money you want to spend on cables.
Do you care if it's cheap sound? If the answer is NO
Then go with the cheap stuff. (I say steer clear of cheap cables)
Or if you just want a decent sound, then go with the 2nd choice.
But if you want the cables to last a long time and you want to get the best sound possible. I suggest getting the Monster cables or even better the Magomi cables.
My 2 cents

Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:43 pm

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm going for as high quality sound as I can get. I'll look into your suggestions.

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:17 am

"monster cables"..
Monster is just bullshit Razz

Over priced regular stuff with a cool name.

IMHO.

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:45 am

HansAm wrote:

Monster is bullshit. Over priced cables with a cool name.

I have to agree Monster is overpriced. They got me for many and many hundreds of $$$$$.
But their cables are NOT bullshit. They are good quality cables.
The Mogami cables have a more in depth scientific view on the research and devolopment of their product. There are less eddie currents on the Mogami cables, and they use oxygen reduced copper, and they don't need to advertise, "with a cool name" like HansAm said.
Because they are the industry standard worldwide. Mogami is used in virtually 95% of your big time studios, names like Universal Arts, Electra Records, Sony Records, you name it.
Mogami is owned by Marshall ...ever heard of those guys? Very Happy

If you make your own cables MrBrownStone. You can use Mogami 2549 and Gold tipped Neutrik connectors (the best connectors out there) and still save a furtune. I did. And I got all my stuff from RedCo dot com

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:55 am

Hey all, I've had great success with Neutrik connectors / Canare Cable. Sounds nice and priced reasonably. I would suggest to check the soldering connections before buying (if you're buying a premade that is)... and don't assume it's right (solid soldering) without checking.
Making your own cables is another way, and is more fun than fleshing out for premades Smile

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:37 pm

Hey all I have to say. Outline what you want and give Redco a call. They will make up some custom Mogami Cables at a wonderful price. I just recabled my entire studio at half price from pre-fab Sweetwater prices and got the lengths that I wanted.

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