I was hoping to turn to the community for experiences on interconnects. I would like to be able to connect my Chord Hugo 2 to either a headphone amp (to be purchased in the future - probably SPL Phonitor X/XE), or to any other external system.
So far, I’ve been eyeing the Chord Company Clearway (MSRP $110 for 0.5M), and the Kimber Kable Timbre ($156 for 0.75M), as both have had solid reviews around the internets. Anyone heard either of these? Other suggestions?
Much thanks!
I use Kimber Kable Hero XLR, and they were pretty awesome (as in transparent) when used with the Hugo TT2 to a Rupert Neve Designs RNHP.
My less ‘fancy’ cables are Mogami studio gold. Those are an excellent studio-grade cable that aren’t as fancy or marketed to “audiophiles”, but they’re a great quality cable that are commonplace in professional studio applications.
Suggestion: avoid 0.5m cables. If you need to repurpose them, they always seem to come up short. 0.75m would be the shortest length cable I would use.
I’ve had my audioquest King Cobras for 5 years now. Absolutely nothing wrong with them. Mind you I bought these used off eBay for 60$.
They retail for 300 for the RCA pair, however there is a sale, my friend.
https://www.musicdirect.com/cables/audioquest-king-cobra-interconnects-pr
I will point you in the direction of Mogami 2549 or Klotz AC110 based cables, both can be found on ebay for cheap with Switchcraft, Amphenol or Neutrik plugs.
Pangea cables. They’ve had some positive reviews from what I recall. One day I’ll upgrade the amazon basics Im using now.
For my interconnects I use Belden (Mogami is difficult to source here) and Neutrik connectors.
With a soldering iron in hand, interconnects work out at about $5 each. Of course, that is assuming you don’t mind DIY.
I’m looking for a pair of balanced XLR interconnect cables for my Topping DX7 Pro and A90 connection. Currently I’m using a pair of XLR 6" cablese from HartAudioCAble and they cost $40. I’m looking for a better cables than these, does anyone have any recommendations? Budget is vary from $50 - $300
Better how? Hart makes good stuff.
I’m with the prof on this one, if they use good cable and good connectors, the rest is aesthetics and personal preference.
I like Mogami cables. They’re reasonably priced studio cables, and you can get ‘generic’ made Mogami cables such as “Worlds Best Cables” found on Amazon.com.
Have a soldering iron?
Parts:
Neutrik NC3FXX-B x2 = $8.00
Neutrik NC3MXX-B x2 = $8.00
Canare L-2T2S Cable (or Mogami W2549) $0.50 to $0.80 / foot.
Solder the shield wire to pin 1, pin 2 to +, pin 3 to -.
There you go. Two 3 pin XLR interconnects for about $20 to $35 TOTAL.
If you want to make it pretty, order some 1/4" or 5/16" Paramax cords, pull the guts out, and use the nylon jacket to sleeve the cable. Lots of pretty colors.
I prefer the Canare wire personally. Tech specs have it consistently lower in capacitance and resistance than Mogami or other similar wires. Does that matter? Probably about as much as peeing into the ocean will contribute to rising sea levels. Shrug
I upgraded from my old Analysis Plus cables to WyWires based on input from a dealer. I’ve been very happy with them (but generally out of this price range). They are having a 40% off sale, which puts some of their entry-tier cables (the Blue series) within your budget.
sO wORLDS best cables are better than Hart cables?
I haven’t used Hart cables, but I do have a few Mogami cables (two pair of Worlds Best, the rest are Mogami Gold).
Mogami cables are commonly used in recording studios, and that speaks to their quality imo.
My other cables are Kimber Kable, but those are pretty pricey and as far as analog interconnects, they perform about the same as the Mogami (2497) in my experience.
Blue Jeans Cable. I use both their balanced and single ended interconnects and love them.
If you’re interested, I have a pair of 1/2 meter Cardas Quadlink XLR in mint shape I’d be willing to part with. $150 shipped and I would cover the PayPal fees.
http://www.cardas.com/quadlink_ic.php
Also comes in the original package with the certification.
These are good cables. I had BJC make split XLRs to power eight amp channels from two sets of XLR outputs on my preamp. (4 out - 8 in) Blue Jeans is a good solution.
I would highly recommend Audio Envy, they make very good cables are very reasonable prices!
I am looking for some thoughts on how long one could run an audio interconnect between my DAC and amp. Currently I am using 1.5 meter long Mogami 2534, but in an effort to get my audio equipment away from EMF I am considering a longer run - perhaps as long as 10 feet. Does anyone have any ideas on this?
I have an option to extend my optical ethernet run to my Pi2AES bridge and move all the high end equipment away from the EMF sources. This seems to be the way to go minimizing loss.
