What cables do you use in your systems?

[SIY]

i am not an expert but an unshielded cable can act as an antenna picking up noise

With low impedance source and termination (speakers, power cable), that becomes quite unusual.

 

[GXAlan]

Lack of shielded cables can cause problems like this:

In terms of cables, I have switched to World’s Best Cables from Amazon using Canare star quad cable. The connectors are premium and the cable may have just enough theoretical benefit to make it worthwhile. More importantly, the cables lay down nicely and are easy to make it look tidy.

 

[MarcT]

Lack of shielded cables can cause problems like this:

In terms of cables, I have switched to World’s Best Cables from Amazon using Canare star quad cable. The connectors are premium and the cable may have just enough theoretical benefit to make it worthwhile. More importantly, the cables lay down nicely and are easy to make it look tidy.

The resurgence of this thread is interesting to me, as I just started looking for a good quality, reasonably priced rca interconnect cable, around 6 feet long, for my center speaker. Thanks for the recommendation and I remain interested in any other suggestions.

Oh, and I need a 10 foot basic interconnect cable for my subwoofer.

 

[GXAlan]

I remain interested in any other suggestions.

1) Cables don’t affect the sound meaningfully so you should save your money on things like speaker or room upgrades.

2) You need cables to pass sound. So you have to have cables in your system!

3) Overly stiff cables are unwieldy.

4) Overly thin wires are at risk of failure from sharp bends or repeated bends.

5) Overly tight RCA cables can rip out sockets from components

6) Overly loose RCA cables can promote oxidation and affect the sound over time.

7) Generic XLRs seem to be more consistent than Generic RCA in my experience.

8) Poor cable termination can cause electrical shorts (poorly designed banana plugs, spades, etc).

9) Speaker cables are most affected by length and gauge.

10) HDMI 4/8K cables really are sensitive. That is one area where replacing cables makes sense. This will show up as HDMI CEC errors or handshake errors — it’s not subtle.

11) Just because differences are measurable doesn’t mean that differences are audible (except for the example I showed).

Measured differences between interconnect cables

Presented purely for interest. TLDR: 1) Differences in cables exist and can be measured at the audio level and achieve statistically significant differences 2) The differences are vanishingly small, so it doesn't make sense when listening to audio 3) The differences may make a difference when...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Descartes]

What cables do you use in your systems?

Interconnects: XLR Mogami W2534 Neglex Quad cable with Neutrik NC3FXX-EMC EMI Protected 3 Pin Female & Male XLR

Speaker cable: Mogami W3104

Coax cable: none

USB cable: Monoprice

Power cable: What came with the equipment or Monoprice

 

[gino1961]

With low impedance source and termination (speakers, power cable), that becomes quite unusual.

yes i also said that an antenna needs a receiver Speakers are passive units They cannot amplify anything

 

[egellings]

yes i also said that an antenna needs a receiver Speakers are passive units They cannot amplify anything

It's possible that RF can ride shotgun over speaker cables & interconnects into the equipment where it may cause problems.

 

[Mikig]

Hi-fi store leftovers kindly donated. All stuff from years ago. I made myself a few pairs of speaker cables, bought the terminations and assembled them.
I want to finish a pair of Straoght Wire Music Ribbons, the flat brown ones, new and never finished, just for the fun of it.
On some, you can hardly even read the writing anymore, faded by time. I think I bought the last signal cable 5 or 6 years ago. Some of the old ones I have, I had to dismantle and re-solder, they must have been connected and disconnected 10,000 times in the last 30 years, used in test rooms.
On the other hand, I bought quite a few USB ones online since I bought devices with USB C, which I didn't have.
Strangely, every time I have a new digital device, I never find the right cable, which I have lying around on which side and therefore I have to resort to Amazon's express delivery….

 

[Speedskater]

Speaker cables can occasionally act as interference antennas. But then people do occasionally win big lotteries.
What happens is the interference sneaks in thru the amps feedback network to the sensitive input stage.
Power cords can (rarely) act as transmitting interference antennas.
Retired Audio Engineering Society interference expert Jim Brown sometimes writes about these problems.

 

[Angsty]

The resurgence of this thread is interesting to me, as I just started looking for a good quality, reasonably priced rca interconnect cable, around 6 feet long, for my center speaker. Thanks for the recommendation and I remain interested in any other suggestions.

Oh, and I need a 10 foot basic interconnect cable for my subwoofer.

I know this is not going to be popular, but I use a basic "toss-in" 10 ft RCA with my subwoofer to good effect. For my stereo interconnects, I have used BJC LC-1 for their construction and shielding. I didn't want to pay ~$50 for a LC-1 subwoofer cable and the cheap RCA has worked just fine. A thinner, more flexible cable was preferred in my application.

For less than $10 off eBay, it's a cheap experiment.

 

[MarcT]

I know this is not going to be popular, but I use a basic "toss-in" 10 ft RCA with my subwoofer to good effect. For my stereo interconnects, I have used BJC LC-1 for their construction and shielding. I didn't want to pay ~$50 for a LC-1 subwoofer cable and the cheap RCA has worked just fine. A thinner, more flexible cable was preferred in my application.

For less than $10 off eBay, it's a cheap experiment.

I don't know why this would not be popular. And thanks for the tip on the BJC LC-1; I'll check it out.

 

[Julf]

Interconnects usually involve circuits with high impedances, which allow outside noise sources to modulate the signal which is not all that stiff, voltage wise. External signals can intrude upon such a signal and shielding is needed to prevent that. Speakers are connected to a very low impedance amplifier output, which at AC looks like a near dead short, making it very difficult for an external disturbance signal to intrude. As a result sheilding is not needed-the low source impedance sort of provides that.

Exactly.

 

[Cbdb2]

It's possible that RF can ride shotgun over speaker cables & interconnects into the equipment where it may cause problems.

Which is also rare.

 

[Kutusov]

the Supra EEFI xlr should have both conductors shielded individually Where did you find that is unshielded ?
they speak highly of it Supra is a great brand

I didn't say they were unshielded, I know they are shielded as most XLRs are. I got to try a pair of Kimber Heros and I noticed those are unshielded and that's why it got me thinking about this. Seems like they don't use shielding at all in their cables but maybe it has to do with their geometry, don't know.

 

[gino1961]

I didn't say they were unshielded, I know they are shielded as most XLRs are. I got to try a pair of Kimber Heros and I noticed those are unshielded and that's why it got me thinking about this. Seems like they don't use shielding at all in their cables but maybe it has to do with their geometry, don't know.

I see I would stick with Supra
Everything from them should be more than fine
I think I must have somewhere in my garbage their digital coaxial Nice one

 

[egellings]

Which is also rare.

I lived in an area that had several large TV and radio broadcast antenna towers nearby (Shorewood, WI USA, near Capitol Drive), and my audio equipment was nearly unusable due to extreme RFI. I had no choice but to move. It's not a common scenario, for sure, but it does happen. Another problem can happen if a ham operator operates nearby, which is also not that common, but happens occasionally.

 

[Kutusov]

I see I would stick with Supra
Everything from them should be more than fine
I think I must have somewhere in my garbage their digital coaxial Nice one

That's pretty much my experience, when in doubt, go with Supra. They are very decent all rounders and they are "cheap". They are a big company in Europe and I think they are one among only two companies that have the certification to sell cables for stuff like air control towers, hospitals and sensitive equipment like that. Meaning they have a production volume small hifi brands don't have and that is reflected on their prices.

 

[rank]

For interconnects, I use a lot : Audioquest to Van Den Hul with Micromega, Mogami, Oehlbach, Ortofon & Supershield inbetween. + Amazon basics, Kimber, Micromega, Monster and a lot of no name for digital & video. Audio Agile, generic and Eupen for power, no name, Proel, and Supershield for speakers, all bought at the minimum, some hand made.

 

[Audiofire]

For interconnects, I use a lot : Audioquest to Van Den Hul with Micromega, Mogami, Oehlbach, Ortofon & Supershield inbetween. + Amazon basics, Kimber, Micromega, Monster and a lot of no name for digital & video. Audio Agile, generic and Eupen for power, no name, Proel, and Supershield for speakers, all bought at the minimum, some hand made.

Incoming!

 

[J.M. Noble]

I make my own cables.

Home stereo:
Canare GS-6 with Rean NYS373 RCA connectors (unbalanced)
Canare L-4E6S "Star Quad" with Neutrik NC3MXX/NC3FXX connectors (balanced)
Canare 4S8 "Star Quad" with Amazon bananas (speakers)

Live PA rig:
Mogami W2552 with Neutrik NC3MXX/NC3FXX (XLR) and/or Neutrik NP3X/NP3RX (1/4" TRS)

I spend an average of $10-15/each for professional quality cables, and they are all repairable.