Do cables make a difference?

Phaser · 4 Feb 2007 at 15:41

I need a new twin phono to 3.5mm jack to connect my mixer to my line in on the computer, will I notice any difference I went for gold connectors, oxygen free cable etc or will the normal ones do?

Cheers.

Zefan · 4 Feb 2007 at 15:46

From what I've seen/read the length of the cable is the most important thing. Try to keep it as short as possible, gold connectors probably wont help much if at all.

cleanbluesky · 4 Feb 2007 at 16:10

if you buy cheap, you buy twice...

good cables can make something more reliable, dont expect a massive shift in sound quality

Phaser · 4 Feb 2007 at 18:05

Talking a length of 5 metres max.

Dr.EM · 4 Feb 2007 at 18:18

5 metres is a fair bit for unbalanced cables. With line level it might not be too big an issue but it's still worth getting decent (ie, properly shielded) cables

. No need to go crazy though, I never feel theres proper justification for those very expensive audiophile cables, just something well made is fine.

Docaroo · 4 Feb 2007 at 19:09

basically no... cable "quality" only affects reliability - specifically how long the cable connections will last (can be fixed by resoldering though)...

this is completely IRRELEVANT for guitar leads however, as is cable length...

I won't go into details but long cables can be better for guitars due to the way in which they effect the guitar signal going to the amp.

Think about the cable length more than anything for normal hi-fi applications where shorter = better generally.

You should be fine up to 5-6m anything more and you will have signal degradation...

Chronos-X · 4 Feb 2007 at 19:33

False economy

There are even £1000 power cables if you look hard enough :eek:

You basically need a clean power supply coming into your home in the first place (back home's is awful, affects all my amps on distortion) and you're set.

More placebo anyone?

Northwind · 5 Feb 2007 at 19:57

A rubbish cable will give you problems, but you can buy cheap without buying rubbish...

MT01XP · 9 Feb 2007 at 21:55

IMO, like most things in life, you generally get what you pay for. However, in the audio world, there's definitely a law of diminishing returns.

Tommy B · 9 Feb 2007 at 22:15

My PC and my Hi-Fi are 3 metres apart. A 3 metre cable sounds identical to a 30m cable, and I have a fairly nice Hi-Fi.

-Ad- · 10 Feb 2007 at 17:25

Tommy B said:
My PC and my Hi-Fi are 3 metres apart. A 3 metre cable sounds identical to a 30m cable, and I have a fairly nice Hi-Fi.

With speaker cable it's another story. Can't be bothered to calculate it now, but the resistance of a thin cross-sectioned 30m cable could provide problems and a detrimental affect in SQ.

Tommy B · 10 Feb 2007 at 23:52

adfinni said:
With speaker cable it's another story. Can't be bothered to calculate it now, but the resistance of a thin cross-sectioned 30m cable could provide problems and a detrimental affect in SQ.

I wouldn't disagree with that, no. Although as I mentioned above, I fail to notice the difference with the jack>2xphono cable.

-Ad- · 12 Feb 2007 at 01:08

Tommy B said:
I wouldn't disagree with that, no. Although as I mentioned above, I fail to notice the difference with the jack>2xphono cable.

YA there ares oo many factors that can affect SQ other than cables it's unbelievable. I had a crummy 3m phone cable connecting my modded emu soundcard to my amp. I didn't bother with a nice cable as there was a breakout cable (Serial port plug lookalike----> 1/4" headphone jacks :confused:

). But i had a custom cable made by an experienced builder over at head-fi going from the breakout socket with a nice quality cable, sheath, going to some fancy phono's. Overall SQ was better, but then i had modded my soundcard by then.

But it sounded better to my ears so i was happy. All this blind A-B testing seems like sooo much effort to me, and as long as you percieve there to be a difference, whether actual difference or a psycholgical, its 'ALL GOOD'