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Gear / Technical Help => Cables => Topic started by: stevetoney on March 11, 2007, 01:23:36 PM

Title: Are There Any Downloads Avail. to Hear Difference A Cable Makes?
Post by: stevetoney on March 11, 2007, 01:23:36 PM
Geez, my head is just spinning in regards to cables.  Is there someplace where I can download some samples to give a listen for myself to the difference a high quality cable makes?  The best would be an A vs. B sound sample where the setup is exactly the same except for the cables.

I read one post and that person swears that cables make a large difference.  I read another and someone says... well cables matter, but they're like snake oil...bad ones are bad for your sound, but paying top dollar isn't really getting you better sound than those that aren't 'bad'.  Then there's the third kinda party-line which is that the cable quality is heard on the back end...that if you have a high end stereo this is where the difference is heard. 

If there were isolated instances of different opinions, I'd take isolated comments with a grain of salt, but it seems like, in doing the research, just as many people feel that good cables are good enough than those that say going the extra expense is well worth it.  So, yes...I'm very willing to spend the money on higher quality cables than the Canares that I recently bought, but after reading many posts, I'm left wishing there was more of a concensus on this issue.

(Yes I realize that a cable bake off was posted today to allow us to listen to the difference between Hydra's and Van Den Hulls, but I'm wondering about lower end cables such as Canares vs. the higher end such as the Dogstar or Van Den Hulls or Hydras.)

Thanks as usual.
Title: Re: Are There Any Downloads Avail. to Hear Difference A Cable Makes?
Post by: Lil Kim Jong-Il on March 11, 2007, 07:48:53 PM

Try the search feature, there have been some others. 

edit to add: Cables have an audible difference in my playback system.  I use the neuman actives, I have not tried different mic cables in the field.  If you buy decently manufactured cables with belden, mogami, or the mil-spec wire, you'll have plenty of quality.  But a lot of people swear by the more expensive cables.
Title: Re: Are There Any Downloads Avail. to Hear Difference A Cable Makes?
Post by: Nick Graham on March 11, 2007, 08:21:40 PM
I tend to go the 2nd route you described. The difference between el cheapo Guitar Center cables and say Audio Magic cables is audible, and well worth the price. The difference between Audio Magic cables and the ultra expensive $2000 cables isn't nearly as big a leap in quality as the price would suggest.

Similar to the huge advantage of running 24 bit, with increased sample rates not adding nearly as much.
Title: Re: Are There Any Downloads Avail. to Hear Difference A Cable Makes?
Post by: Jamos on March 13, 2007, 01:47:51 PM
This looks like a pretty straightforward, semi-controlled experiment comparison:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,80743.0.html

I've yet to give them a good listen.
Title: Re: Are There Any Downloads Avail. to Hear Difference A Cable Makes?
Post by: Krispy D on March 13, 2007, 01:56:47 PM
This looks like a pretty straightforward, semi-controlled experiment comparison:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,80743.0.html

I've yet to give them a good listen.


I just went searching for this one.  best cable comp I've heard.
Title: Re: Are There Any Downloads Avail. to Hear Difference A Cable Makes?
Post by: Lil Kim Jong-Il on March 13, 2007, 10:44:02 PM
In the preamp comp I posted I alluded to another test that I made but I never posted it.  I need to dig out the files.  I made some tests using the same source setup as the preamp test but KM140 (no actives) > wire > SD722.  I won't say what the wire samples are until I get feed back.

If someone will offer to host the files, I'll dig them out, and post the comparison in a thread with a results poll.