XLR Cables for microphones

How important is the quality of the microphone cable?

[garysmith]

Thank you to whom ever 'liked' my comment. I JUST found a very nice article on the use of the C-24 back in 1976 when Sheffield Labs made a recording of Harry James and his big band. I MUST hear this! One single point stereo microphone and a large LIVE band, it's got to be fantastic!!

[drdelewded]

For those who don't know.. the C24 is the stereo version of the very desirable and sought after AKG C12
(The vintage one.. not the VR or whatever Telefunken USA makes now)

[chriscutress]

I've used unbranded microphone cables that have a braided silver ground and four silver wire sets that are wired two to hot and two to cold for many many years and have found them to be excellent. They were purchased from a company called Commercial Electronics and were available in multiple sheathing colours which make it easy to designate mic cable runs. I believe they were supplied by Neumann and I used Neutrik connectors to complete them. They were sold in 500 foot reels at the time but I was able to get a good price by purchasing partial reels at near wholesale (the last 60 feet) as they had received a new supply and wanted to clear out their warehouse at the time. Great cable and I've never had a failure or problem with any of them on the road which I can't say about some prepared cables that came with some expensive microphones that I've bought in the past.

[JonAnderhub]

Hmm Paul it seems tests done with these two particular brands seem to show that they pass the identical signal through.
When run on a null test the cables, in fact, null.
What's even more curious is that when these expensive cables are tested with lesser expensive cables there is no change in signal and the cables also null.
Maybe you could put those cables on some test equipment and show us what you are talking about.

[garysmith]

Yeah Paul, lets hear that C-24 all by itself in a LIVE situation! A pure TWO channel recording, now wouldn't that be amazing? The proper tool is there, lets hear it discretely (O:

[sickjohnson]

This was a great one Paul...would love to know more about the cool mics too!

I thought those older type mics with tubes in them were the hot item for recording digitally specifically?

[judmcc]

I wonder how much difference it makes. I have a 20-foot run from my preamp to the amplifier for my electrostatic headphones. I can A/B a single-ended cable and a balanced cable with a button on the headphone amp. I tried it (briefly) and I didn't hear any difference. (The single-ended cable is from Blue Jeans Cable, the balanced is Canare star quad.)

[billyrayvalentine]

Years ago we cut and soldered our Belden XLR cables and they took abuse and lasted 30 years.

[Blacksheep]

Shalom from Israel,

Usauly you take very seriously and maturly my life achivmant trolling
campain here in your YT channels so i will try to troll you seriously and
maturely as i can which is very hard for me and makes me honorable
migrants - being serious & mature.

If i listend to you corectly -
you have described "mostly" Mogami class line installation that run from
studio to machine room/control. Than you have said that for short
run you use the Voodoo class cable.
Where dose the voodoo shtick (XLR in Yiddish) goes into?

Does your Installation include servo line driver/preamp
of any sort( fixed, tunable) or it's a simple and hunble ptp cables
installation execution?
Where is located fisicalythe first pre stage in you usual work flow?

From every thing in i have learnd during my poor, useless, frustrated
and no past-present-or future life cycle here on planet earth i can't
understand the concept of connecting short run High End voodoo
Into long run of avarage/common mogami* and having any advantages
of the voodoo cable in the front end...
Let alone hear it...
(*with XLR connector in the chain)

If you meant short run from mic to Pre/ AD/Interface/
DSD- DXD COSTUME BOX that is in the studio near the artists
I take my trolling back but if you just use suprime cable as "first feet"
in much longer overall mogami line to pre i stand behind my trolling
until kingdom comes ;)

Be blessed, healthy, free, creative and prosper.
Yours recordings are truly some of the finest ever, no trolling now.