Yes, cables do make a difference -- regardless of price...
I thought you may find this interesting…or not. I know, another "cable post". Disclaimer up front — I am a believer that cables can make a difference in the sound that you hear from your system. With my speakers, like most high(er) efficiency speakers, I can hear large and small changes made to the system components — and cables are part of that system.
What I want to share is an exercise that I went through with my better half in setting up her recording equipment that she will be using to record audio books. The hardware part of the system is simple: Audio Technica Cardioid Condenser Microphone AT2035 connected with a XLR cable to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 preamp.
We started with the XLR cable that came with the microphone and recorded the short introduction of the book she has been contracted to record. Then she recorded the same section using each of the our XLR cables I have on hand: Vovox Excelsus, Mogami 2549, Gotham GAC-3, and Grimm TPR. Each of the cables have the same Neutrik connector and are very good studio cables that I have used in my system at one time.
Listening through headphones via the Scarlett 2i2, it was super easy to hear distinct differences in these cables. The differences were not small and very apparent. In the end, the Mogami cable was the winner — it seemed more open and warmer than the other cables and suited the tone of her voice the best. I have heard similar differences from these cables in my stereo system but not to the significant degree borne out by this exercise.
To keep going, today I replaced the $10 USB C to C cable that I bought as an “upgrade” from the Scarlett 2i2 to a MacBook Air with a $70 Audioquest Forest cable. We were more than surprised that with the AQ cable in the system the drop of the noise floor was very significant and the blackness of background made the sound even more crystal clear.
The purpose of this post is not to promote or compares cables, just a public service posting for those of you who do not believe cables make a difference. They really do affect how your system sounds (positive or negative) and if you cannot hear a difference then maybe looking at the transparency of your system is a place you should examine.
Imagine peace everyone.
On that note, those who already know the difference have no need to debate it further, and usually don’t respond. Some NaySayers enjoy debate, and often times have no record of actually testing some of the better cables themselves. Just talk.Talk is Cheap. |
Another cable thread... I cannot fathom why so much people can deny that some cable may make a change for best or worst... I cannot fathom why so much people are obsessed by the importance of cable which is secondary and minor most of the times compared to anything that matter: mechanical, electrical and acoustical working controls... It is like the gear focus on branded name , the costlier the better, instead of acoustics basic and on synergy instead of price tags...
Anyway.... Enjoy the thread... 😊 |
@crozbo based on your last comment: Was your wife reading the track live for each cable, or were you re-recording the same pre-recorded reading by her for each cable? I know the latter sounds incessantly redundant, but, if you recorded a different live reading for each cable, you were comparing your wife’s live takes, not cables. In that scenario, using different cables was a confounding factor to assessing the quality of your wife’s reading, not the other way around, again - if it was multiple (different) live takes. |
@mahgister +++1. Perfectly stated. People really should accept the fact that other people have different priorities for their music listening experiences. There’s not an absolute “right” or “wrong”. IMO, of course 😉 |
