3ft vs 1ft XLR cables?

[olds1959special]

Any sound difference here? I can hear a difference with unbalanced cables but I wonder if that’s true for balanced too?

 

[Beave]

Does shaving cream really work?

 

[ryanosaur]

Does shaving cream really work?

Only with a 3’ razor.

 

[dasherzx]

Yes if one of the cables was cut

 

[DVDdoug]

I can hear a difference with unbalanced cables

No you can't. Not in a Controlled Audio Blind Listening Tests. Of course that's assuming the cables aren't defective.

Here's another video: Are Dirt Cheap RCA Cables Any Good? Or Do Fancy Audio Cables Make A Difference?

If you have noise problems with the RCA cables, balanced connections often help (depending on the cause of the noise). And the balanced signal is often "hotter" (louder).

​

 

[jmdesignz2]

Shorter cables are cheaper and less likely to cross over or parallel other cables if routed properly but it’s extremely unlikely to tell a difference in sound from a pair within a few ft of length all other factors being equal and of competent construction. IE mogami, belden, Canare, amphenol, neutrik

 

[Keith_W]

If we conducted a blind test and asked participants to identify a track which was 0.5dB louder, all of us would fail the test unless the switching was immediate. Even then it's very difficult to tell. And this is with a measurable difference in SPL.

And people think they can hear a 0.001dB difference between cables with about 5 min switching. It is pure fantasy.

There are benefits to shorter cables (cheaper, neater) but audible difference isn't one of them.

 

[olds1959special]

Shorter cables are cheaper and less likely to cross over or parallel other cables if routed properly but it’s extremely unlikely to tell a difference in sound from a pair within a few ft of length all other factors being equal and of competent construction. IE mogami, belden, Canare, amphenol, neutrik

This may be true but when comparing 3 foot Mogami 2534 with Neutrik connectors to 0.6 foot cheap Togconn cables, the Mogami clearly sounded better. So cable construction must matter a lot for sound, even with balanced cables.

 

[solderdude]

This may be true but when comparing 3 foot Mogami 2534 with Neutrik connectors to 0.6 foot cheap Togconn cables, the Mogami clearly sounded better. So cable construction must matter a lot for sound, even with balanced cables.

For you it will very likely affect 'the sound'. Alas you will have to try for yourself.

For people that test blind, measure and folks that know interlink cables have no sound they won't be different.

 

[Chester]

Any sound difference here? I can hear a difference with unbalanced cables but I wonder if that’s true for balanced too?

Virtually every post you write is something that has been answered multiple times here. Please, just do some reading and the occasional search before posting. It would be so much easier, for you and us.

 

[Ifrit]

Of course. 3ft sounds 3 times better. Can’t you hear it?

 

[antcollinet]

the Mogami clearly sounded better.

seems unlikely - unless the difference you heard was obvious noise.


If you haven't tested properly controlled and blind then you can't trust your senses.


But you know this - yet still continue to post your uncontrolled personal experiences as though they are Gods own truth.

 

[jmdesignz2]

seems unlikely - unless the difference you heard was obvious noise.


If you haven't tested properly controlled and blind then you can't trust your senses.


But you know this - yet still continue to post your uncontrolled personal experiences as though they are Gods own truth.

No idea what togconn are but it’s a good rule to not use incredibly cheap connectors/cabling. It’s not out of the question to hear a difference between a competent cable and a bottom tier or incorrectly designed cable.

 

[solderdude]

I assume you mean hum or audible common mode noises that should not be there ?
There will be no 'sound' difference in any interlink (unless possibly when used in the phono-cartridge path) or when really long interlinks are used on the output of a (high resistance value) passive volume control.

 

[Digital_Thor]

I once thought I could hear the difference between unbalanced and balanced in my DAC. It wasn't the connection, balanced principle or the cable. It turned out that the DAC (cheap DAC magic ) uses an extra chip to convert the original signal - which was actually balanced - into unbalanced. And it's quite silly to have this, since a simple adapter could just use the unbalanced signal part from the balanced XLR sockets.
The extra chip was actually badly implemented, so even in a simple blindtest, the XLR was preferred by most, so I just used some dirt cheap XLR->RCA adapters and ignored the RCA sockets.
Again, it is much more important with proper PCB design/layout, than any fancy cable.
I run unbalanced now too ... Just keep the XLR plugs/sockets, because of the nice 'click', easier soldering and easy unplugging when fiddling with different gear and setup.
I also find XLR quite cheap and solid and less flimsy than RCA
Just like I love my speak-on's for my speakers, since banana plugs and twisted screw-in wires quite often is getting loose and annoying to fiddle with when testing stuff.
And loose connections are most definitely a bad thing, an actual source of problems.

 

[JeremyFife]

This may be true but when comparing 3 foot Mogami 2534 with Neutrik connectors to 0.6 foot cheap Togconn cables, the Mogami clearly sounded better. So cable construction must matter a lot for sound, even with balanced cables.

Hi,
You say this sort of thing regularly, and every time the response is to re-try your test but with proper listening controls and that what you hear is unlikely. Guess what sort of response you are going to get this time?

Seriously though, that difference is highly unlikely unless one of the cables is defective.

 

[jmdesignz2]

Hi,
You say this sort of thing regularly, and every time the response is to re-try your test but with proper listening controls and that what you hear is unlikely. Guess what sort of response you are going to get this time?

Seriously though, that difference is highly unlikely unless one of the cables is defective.

LOL I am not going to bother buying incredibly cheap connectors and running blind tests. What I said is true enough times - you do whatever you want to do

I am going to buy moderately priced, known good construction cables

 

[olds1959special]

No idea what togconn are but it’s a good rule to not use incredibly cheap connectors/cabling. It’s not out of the question to hear a difference between a competent cable and a bottom tier or incorrectly designed cable.

They are cheap $5 cables you can get an Amazon. They are supposed to be balanced and they are very short, 0.6 ft, with one right angle connector. I think I have a pretty revealing system, and the Togconn cables worked but clearly sounded worse than the 3 ft WBC Mogami 2534 with Neutrik connectors. The Mogami cables sounded a lot more extended in the high frequencies and had more depth to the sound, they were the clear winner here. Since I don't need 3 ft cables I ordered WBC 1 foot star quad cables which WBC makes in house to compete with Mogami, etc. They claim it's superior (lower capacitance? although this has been questioned by reviewers on Amazon.) I wonder if I'll be able to hear a change with the 1 ft WBC cables?

 

[antcollinet]

They are cheap $5 cables you can get an Amazon. They are supposed to be balanced and they are very short, 0.6 ft, with one right angle connector. I think I have a pretty revealing system, and the Togconn cables worked but clearly sounded worse than the 3 ft WBC Mogami 2534 with Neutrik connectors. The Mogami cables sounded a lot more extended in the high frequencies and had more depth to the sound, they were the clear winner here. Since I don't need 3 ft cables I ordered WBC 1 foot star quad cables which WBC makes in house to compete with Mogami, etc. They claim it's superior (lower capacitance? although this has been questioned by reviewers on Amazon.) I wonder if I'll be able to hear a change with the 1 ft WBC cables?

seems unlikely - unless the difference you heard was obvious noise.


If you haven't tested properly controlled and blind then you can't trust your senses.


But you know this - yet still continue to post your uncontrolled personal experiences as though they are Gods own truth.

 

[jmdesignz2]

There are many ways for XLR cables to sound different and obviously bad. To say otherwise is foolhardy. To suggest someone ABX their decision to discard a cheap cable is bordering on trollish behaviour. If the person suggesting it are so inclined, they should do it themselves as they seem to believe it is worth the time.

Poor construction can DEFINITELY cause a very obvious difference in sound between cables. Also, use case/design parameters + environmental factors can definitively cause an audible difference in sound. Here is evidence: