Are Monoprice cables really 16 AWG?

[aikofan]

I’m about to buy a pair of XLR cables for my new Genelec 8030c monitors on order. I’ve been satisfied with Monoprice cables in the past, and I also saw this glowing recommendation from Archimago, and, most importantly, the price is right, so they were my first choice. However, I’ve seen several comments from users (Amazon reviews, etc.) saying that these cables aren’t really 16AWG, they just have thicker sleeves to make you think the copper underneath is thicker.

Of course, I know that regardless of whether it’s 16 or 22 or 24 AWG, it won’t make any difference in my use case. However, if Monoprice is lying about the physical specs of their product, then that’s reason enough for me buy something else, like a World’s Best Cable Mogami/Neutrik build for about $20 more, because I don’t want to encourage this kind of dishonesty, regardless of the attractive price.

So has anyone ever removed the shell and stripped off part of the sleeves on their Monoprice Stage Right or Premier XLR to check whether the actual copper is 16 AWG?

 

[pjug]

They sure don't look like they could be 16AWG. Surprides that Monoprice would spec it wrong though.

I recently thought I got a good deal on 12AWG cables. But I wasn't paying attention to the "12 Gauge" instead of 12 AWG.

Edit: snipped so as not to offend those from country of product origin.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I've had a look at the Premier XLR cables. I didn't put a wire gauge on it, but they are rather thicker than 22 or 24 gauge. In the application for microphone or line level interconnects there is no advantage to being thicker. And they are more cumbersome than other cables being stiff and heavy in 100 ft lengths vs others.

 

[aikofan]

I've had a look at the Premier XLR cables. I didn't put a wire gauge on it, but they are rather thicker than 22 or 24 gauge. In the application for microphone or line level interconnects there is no advantage to being thicker. And they are more cumbersome than other cables being stiff and heavy in 100 ft lengths vs others.

Good point about thickness being cumbersome, which is something I experience with some Monoprice RCA and optical cables that I’m otherwise happy with. And I‘m glad to see some evidence that their specs are accurate, since I want to keep buying from them.

 

[Speedskater]

What purpose are these XLR cables going to be used for?
When used for interconnects or mic most cables, the only reasons for them being larger than 28AWG are mechanical. Smaller wires might break.

 

[aikofan]

What purpose are these XLR cables going to be used for?
When used for interconnects or mic cables, the only reasons for them being larger than 28AWG are mechanical. Smaller wires might break.

DAC/preamp -> monitors. My issue is mainly about whether a vendor is publishing honest specs.

 

[Deleted member 46664]

I had a look at those cables... I don't think it matters if they really are 16AWG, like it says on the jacket... the problem is that you are getting into cables that are heavy enough and stiff enough to break connectors and damage equipment.

XLR cables usually carry only a few microwatts of energy, there's no reason they have to be big enough to embarrass the local stallions.

I'd say to buy something else. Maybe like this ...

https://www.amazon.ca/AmazonBasics-Male-Female-Microphone-Cable/dp/B01JNLUA5G

 

[aikofan]

When I used to play electric guitar, I went through lots of cables because the constant plugging and unplugging and movement eventually resulted in signals cutting out, sometimes even right out of the box. I kept replacing one cheap cable with another, but finally I decided to get Mogami. None of my Mogami cables ever failed, and those were the last cables I owned for my guitar rig, until I sold off all my gear many years later, including those cables. That’s why I’m leaning towards this Mogami/Neutrik assembly from World’s Best Cable for only like $20 more than the very cheapest alternatives.

 

[Deleted member 46664]

When I used to play electric guitar, I went through lots of cables because the constant plugging and unplugging and movement eventually resulted in signals cutting out, sometimes even right out of the box. I kept replacing one cheap cable with another, but finally I decided to get Mogami. None of my Mogami cables ever failed, and those were the last cables I owned for my guitar rig, until I sold off all my gear many years later, including those cables. That’s why I’m leaning towards this Mogami/Neutrik assembly from World’s Best Cable for only like $20 more than the very cheapest alternatives.

I agree that for stage or performance use the heavier cables make sense.
It's movement that kills guitar and other on-body cables.
For cables that are plugged in and left, the lifetime can be in centuries.

 

[aikofan]

I agree that for stage or performance use the heavier cables make sense.
It's movement that kills guitar and other on-body cables.
For cables that are plugged in and left, the lifetime can be in centuries.I don’t think Mogami cables are necessarily thicker than much cheaper alternatives

I don’t think Mogami cables are necessarily thicker than cheaper alternatives, but my experience was that they were more reliable and had higher quality control. And even though I started this thread on the topic of cable thickness, I wasn’t really interested in selecting cables based on thickness. I was just wondering if customer reviews questioning Monoprice’s honesty had any validity. Although I guess even if Monoprice was exaggerating their specs, that would be par for the course in this or almost any other industry.

 

[sam_adams]

That’s why I’m leaning towards this Mogami/Neutrik assembly from World’s Best Cable for only like $20 more than the very cheapest alternatives.

The wire and connector choice on those are good. What makes or breaks the overall quality and reliability is the the quality of the workmanship. The only way to know how good those are is to buy one and dissect it to analyze the QOW.

 

[Deleted member 46664]

Although I guess even if Monoprice was exaggerating their specs, that would be par for the course in this or almost any other industry.

These audiophile-centric companies are not known for honesty.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

That’s where I buy my cables.

Bought this one recently. All you need at ok prices and at the length you desire as it gets boring for me to solder those Neutriks as I have done in the past.

Van Damme STARQUAD Balanced Male XLR to Female XLR Mic Lead

The next level in balanced cabling. Balanced leads minimise noise interference by using two twisted cores (1 x + & 1 x -). The signals are sent perfectly out of phase with one another and then re-inverted at the destination. The interference collected along the cable length is also then...

www.designacable.com

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm happy with Mogami or Canare. I slightly prefer Canare because it is more supple and flexible. I also like Amphenol connectors about as good as Neutrik. World's Best has them in all those configurations. I get some with Neutrik and some with Amphenol simply because when I have several strung out you are less likely to get lost with which cable is going where. Of course if one were smart you can get color coding. Sometimes I'm not so smart.

Don't see a reason those Van Damme wouldn't be good either using the same quality components. As long as they don't muck up the soldering.

 

[RandomEar]

That question also recently came up in another thread. Long story short: I think they're summing up all conductors (typically around 22 AWG, even in pro cables) plus shielding (maybe 21 to 20 AWG). That would make it "16 AWG" in total - not technically wrong, but certainly misleading marketing.

 

[aikofan]

That question also recently came up in another thread. Long story short: I think they're summing up all conductors (typically around 22 AWG, even in pro cables) plus shielding (maybe 21 to 20 AWG). That would make it "16 AWG" in total - not technically wrong, but certainly misleading marketing.

Thanks, that’s helpful.

 

[192kbps]

"Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color” the sound."

When 12 Gauge Wire is Not 12 Gauge

Introduction Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color”...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[aikofan]

"Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color” the sound."

When 12 Gauge Wire is Not 12 Gauge

Introduction Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color”...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Interesting. Monoprice fell short on the specs for their speaker cable too, although there were more famous names that did far worse. Too bad, because I use the 14 AWG version of this cable. Thankfully I use only about 3 m of it.

 

[aikofan]

I ended up buying World’s Best Cable Mogami 2549 with Neutrik terminations. I’m glad I did. Neutrik has updated their XLR connectors since the last time I bought some years ago. These new ones are really smooth and impressively made, and demonstrate that you can still make minor improvements and refinements to mechanical designs that are over half a century old. Well worth the $43 plus tax I paid for them, especially considering I just ordered a pair of Genelec table stands for 6x that price.

 

[clearnfc]

"Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color” the sound."

When 12 Gauge Wire is Not 12 Gauge

Introduction Why test 12 gauge (AWG) wire? 12 AWG speaker wire is a “safe bet” from performance point of view because anything thinner may interact with the low impedance of your speakers and cause the frequency response to vary beyond threshold of hearing (-0.5 dB). That change can “color”...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Oh this. I do kind of disagree.. In the sense that I feel 14AWG will do fine as well. Why I said that is because many mainstream speakers that I open up uses rather thin cables (I guess 16AWG) for their drivers.

An example would be the Dynaudio audience/Emit speakers. Their use those blue and blue/white cables thats thinner than my QED original cables. Since the QED cables are 14AWG, I assume the dynaudio ones have to be 15/16AWG.