$20 XLR cables that sound good


I'll surely be ridiculed for this, but I'm achieving excellent results with lowly pro audio microphone cables called Planet Waves Custom Series. They easily bested my old single-ended cables and provide clear sound with no noise that I can discern. Their mechanical construction is first-rate, too. All for about $20 each.

If your system is on a budget, or if you simply want to try a low-buck XLR cable on a lark, give these a try.
nathanso
there should be no ridicule. others here should know of solid value xlr's on the cheap like mogami.
As Atmasphere has cited, the balanced configuration is insensitive to the kinds of wire characteristics which lead some audiophiles to pay mega-bucks for interconnects. It should be no surprise that your wires work well.
If cables have high capacitance and cause the high freq. roll-off, I am not sure the balanced configuration can help at all. But I do agree that cables don't have to be expensive.

I am moving away from a fully balanced system to a single ended one. But this probably belongs to another thread....
Yep, I've been using Mogami and Canare Star Quad balanced cables with Neutrik XLRs that I get from Markertek (a video supply house). Can't tell any difference with moderate priced consumer audiophile cables (but haven't compared to the really high-end/high-cost/esoteric cables and never will).
An excellent place to purchase the Canare, Mogami, and many other brands of pro audio cables is B&H Photo Video:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/4174/Audio_Single_Cables_XLR_to_XLR_Cables.html

I've made many purchases from them over the years, of pro audio and video stuff, and they've consistently excelled in price, selection, accuracy of in-stock status shown on their website, and prompt shipping.

I have no connection with them other than being a satisfied customer.

Regards,
-- Al