Battle of RCA Cables: Mogami, Amazon, Monoprice

[Lambda]

Coax is primarily for electrostatic fields not magnetic fields. Magnetic field cancellation is more twisted pair

 

[Xii-Nyth]

ethernet is a good example for twisted pairs

 

[oneils]

I do wish amazon basics would make shorter cables for stacking amps/DACs as their smallest size is 1.2 meters which is just too big

Same here. I buy the mono price ones sometimes because you can get them in 0.5 meters. Here in Canada, I'm having a hard time finding 6 inch rca cables. The only ones I can find cost around 40 to 50 bucks on Amazon. I could buy the Schiit ones, but with shipping, and taxes, and exchange to CAD, they run around 40 bucks maybe.

 

[camelreef]

I have an Amazonbasics cable tear-down to propose.
They are not badly at all. It's even surprising to see solder joints inside the moulding at this price range!
It was a bit of an exercise to cut though it. It's solid!

 

[Lambda]

@camelreef​

Wow. thanks!
Looks like a relay properly made cable!

the screen could be denser but this is all

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

I have 3 monoprice rca cables carrying a signal from $500 in tubes out of a Schiit Freya+.

 

[coonmanx]

I have two short Monoprice RCA cables in the bedroom system. The 1.5 foot cables. They work great. I agree that you have to be careful inserting and removing them because the connection can be a bit tight. But if you twist them while you do that and/or use a small amount of Vaseline that is a non issue... The other cables in the bedroom system are Steren RCAs.

 

[coonmanx]

Oh yeah, also a Phoenix Gold cable for the CD player. I really have no brand loyalty at all. As long as it is a well made cable at a good price.

 

[Cisco150]

I agree, I have used the World's Best XLR cables in several lengths and been very happy with the quality. Canare Japanese wire, Amphenol or Neutrik XLR connectors - your choice.
View attachment 163705

https://www.amazon.com/Units-Balanced-Microphone-Amphenol-Connectors/dp/B074XSDCG6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=worlds+best+cables+xlr&pd_rd_r=bd9cfcdb-6b43-4ae4-bde4-1595ec8a1751&pd_rd_w=hzb2k&pd_rd_wg=yMOtG&pf_rd_p=4fa0e97a-13a4-491b-a127-133a554b4da3&pf_rd_r=P2MXBFSQJEZ3YK8GEZ9P&qid=1636239097&qsid=145-0889389-1627510&sr=8-3&sres=B00WU1ECJC,B074XSDCG6,B00P0HKW7E,B00P0HNZIM,B00VFH1XTY,B08JLLJLFL,B07MQDCFDB,B08YQX7KCJ,B074XSS4NZ,B08WLS7FN6,B00VFGUCHY,B00WU1I5VI,B07JV7WTZ2,B00WU1BP10,B00VFGVNDQ,B074XS8B1T&srpt=ELECTRONIC_CABLE

What size, length XLR should i be getting for a stack but the Dac is bigger than the Amp. Looking at the SMSL DO200 or the SU-9 Dac And i have a SMSL SP200 Amp going on my desk.

 

[KEFCarver]

I have an Amazonbasics cable tear-down to propose.
They are not badly at all. It's even surprising to see solder joints inside the moulding at this price range!
It was a bit of an exercise to cut though it. It's solid!

View attachment 167633 View attachment 167634 View attachment 167635 View attachment 167637 View attachment 167638 View attachment 167642 View attachment 167643 View attachment 167639 View attachment 167640

Thanks for the great teardown photos. I bought four of them for my test set up and have been happy so far.

 

[MaxBuck]

I use the Mogami, and then length is then easy to make it what one wants.
With the Neutrik Profi ends, or others, can make for a relatively attractive cable.

A soldering iron and some strippers.

Just re-reading this thread and encountered this advice.

If the strippers aren't available, will cocktail waitresses be a satisfactory workaround?

 

[milosz]

Just re-reading this thread and encountered this advice.

If the strippers aren't available, will cocktail waitresses be a satisfactory workaround?

Not really the same thing. Kind of like the difference between using an atomic welder and a 20 watt soldering pencil.

 

[milosz]

...and, yes, atomic welder is a real thing.

 

[Sal1950]

I

Just re-reading this thread and encountered this advice.

If the strippers aren't available, will cocktail waitresses be a satisfactory workaround?

Depends on how compliant they are.

 

[Holmz]

Just re-reading this thread and encountered this advice.

If the strippers aren't available, will cocktail waitresses be a satisfactory workaround?

Yeah Matey, providing they have handled a few cables, then absolutely yes.

Depends on how compliant they are.

Yep mate. Exactly roight.

 

[MaxBuck]

Not really the same thing. Kind of like the difference between using an atomic welder and a 20 watt soldering pencil.

 

[My adventures in stereo]

Interesting test
The monoprice RCA cables, were well made but connected very loosely and could be easily displaced
So switched to WBC cables, tighter fit and mogami wires, a bit pricier but worth it for me

 

[Slayer]

Same here. I buy the mono price ones sometimes because you can get them in 0.5 meters. Here in Canada, I'm having a hard time finding 6 inch rca cables. The only ones I can find cost around 40 to 50 bucks on Amazon. I could buy the Schiit ones, but with shipping, and taxes, and exchange to CAD, they run around 40 bucks maybe.

If your ever in need again, these are great and inexpensive. $9.49

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082VJQBZ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Sorry for the large image.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

Never a bad idea to give some of the money saved on expensive cable purchases and supporting the testing setup that is all out of pocket by the man, @amirm !

 

[Cougar]

Thanks for this!

Unfortunately the people who need to be convinced, will never be convinced.

Years back in early 2000 I was going through system changes and not knowing better got pulled into this cable drama. Good thing one of my buddies owned a "High End" audio shop. One day he showed me a power cable and some interconnects that were really expensive. The Power cable was a new one that had just come out from PS Audio, that thing was really big and I got a chance to see the raw cable that was used in that power cable which the model # escapes me at the moment. The Raw cable had extra layers of shielding 2-3 if I'm correct. The interconnects were MIT's and were expensive too.

My buddy would let me try out anything in the shop for home audition. That's when I started to question certain gear and cost of gear. I never liked the MIT or Transparent Audio interconnects. Just didn't sound right in my system and kind of dull. I then tried out some NEW at the time Harmonic Technoloy cables that were not too expensive and sound way better. But when I would turn up the system they would sound like they were holding back the system. What I mean is for example, like a car that is going up a hill and you are putting your pedal down to increase the speed but is being held back for some reason. That is the only way I can explain it.

I then tried more cables at different price point but were all expensive in the $300 on up range for a meter. I couldn't justify the cost and what was being said at that time by some sources that you needed to spend 20% of what your entire system cost on cables. That was the last straw and I went on a DIY interconnect Power cable info search. I finally for a website that had some info on a cable design from the Navy and I tried the design out and to my surprise worked really well in my system but the drawback was as you increased in length of the interconnect so did the capacitance of the cable which could cause issues with certain preamps if they used designs in them that couldn't drive higher capacitance loads. Another draw back was if there was any strong EMI or RFI the cables would pick up the noise.

So I came across a post in one of the audio forums about a cable that is used in the Recording Studios and Pro Audio, the cable was Mogami. So I took the chance and bought one pair of RCA's and Balanced interconnects. I was surprised at how good these cables were built and sound for so little cost. I have been using them ever since and now I have discovered the "Worlds Best Cable" company and have tried their Cables with Mogami 2534 cable and Eminence connectors. These were really nicely built for very little cost and are now my go to connector. I will be trying out there Instrument cables for my basses and amps.

I'm glad my buddy let me barrow all kinds of cables and gear to save me from the wasted time and money going through the "High End" Merry Go Round. I have even convinced some of my audio buddies to try these Mogami cables and all have been very happy with the results.