Disservice: XLR interconnects

I prefer XLRs and use them whenever I can (my 2 DACs are XLR out to my Freya preamp with 2 balanced ins...rare for most preamps), and without cables my system would just sit there as a meaningless heap...silent...collecting dust...so yeah, cables are VERY important.

OP,

Yes, USB cables make a difference… and it can be very large. Erase the 0 and 1 theory. It will point you in the wrong direction in audio every time. Everything matters and sometimes it seems the more counterintuitive the bigger the difference.

and if you want an even bigger improvement try interconnects that are made with OCC single crystal wire far superior to anything ofc on the market.

@yyzsantabarbara - What does the spec "AES48 compliant" refer to?

In my limited research the only thing I could find is that it calls for the cable shield to be connected to pin 1 of the XLR at both ends, rather than the shell tab.

If this is not the case, could you please explain? Thanks.

Audiogon Discussion Forum

The posts by @atmasphere on this subject are the most informative, maybe also the most controversial since he does not see the need to spend a lot of money on XLRs for AES48 compliant gear.

I agree with that assessment based on my own listening tests. There are some differences in the cables but nothing that is making a big sound difference. On my gear that is not AES48 compliant I use my more expensive XLR's (Audience).