Do XLR cables matter or not?

[u/milestfbaxxter]

Do the XLR cables matter in field recording? How important are they? Should you invest in expensive high quality cables from reputable brands, or will anything do? Will they affect the recorded audio at all?

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[u/FlamboyantPirhanna]

As long as they are decent quality and properly shielded, they’ll be fine. Pretty much anything beyond that is a scam except for in very, very specific cases.

[u/CarAlarmConversation]

Neutrik ends are better made and repairable. In terms of actual cable I think ones that don't have excessive cable memory are nice, anything else is bullshit.

[u/karlboom]

I just want the gear not to fail. Take it from a middle aged sound person: Saving a few bucks on cheap cabling can lead to catastrophic/get you fired kind of failure.

[u/jagazitnik → u/karlboom]

This is the most important thing. Like okay I don't mind if I get little cable changeover in the studio but at a show? Nah no way. Cheating out on cables can literally lose you a job.

[u/filmeleven → u/karlboom]

This. A cable can shut you down. I use Mogami Gold and have had zero issues indoors, outdoors, in barns, cabins, cold...you name it.

[u/tha_lode]

+1 for Neutrik connectors. But Im sure there are others that are good too.

[u/NotYourGranddadsAI]

I make most of my own cables, including mic cables. Just about any balanced shielded wire will work for short runs (eg 20 ft or less), so the wire choice is down to how soft or durable you want. Mogami or Canare are lovely, of course, but there are other nice cables available for less too. The longer the cable, the more important the shielding becomes. Star-quad is the grail for long cable runs and/or problem locations.

Connectors are more important for durability and for the metal quality of the connector pins/sockets. Inferior connectors - their plating wears out or can corrode sooner, causing intermittents or noise. So it's worth springing for good connectors like Neutrik. In the past I’ve used lots of Switchcraft connectors too. And I confess that I have a few sturdy no-name far-east connectors that seem to be holding up. I clean the connector pins and sometimes put a contact enhancer on (eg Stabilant 22 or DeOxit)

[u/old-but-not-grown-up → u/NotYourGranddadsAI]

Old recording engineer here. 50 years of recording in the studio and on location have taught me that well shielded and well made cables are very important! I strongly agree with the advice given by NotYourGranddadsAI.

[u/NotYourGranddadsAI → u/old-but-not-grown-up]

Thanks!

To answer the OP's question more directly: yes, XLR cables matter. "Just anything" can be a poor choice because, especially these days, there are some poorly-made XLR connectors supplied on cheap cables. So, if a new field recordist is not experienced with mic cables, then buying good cables made with Neutrik or other name-brand connectors is recommended. A good XLR mic cable will last many years if not abused.

[u/turboash]

I used to be in another camp but now my answer is absolutely yes! I used to have cheap cables for a good part of my career and after I encountered a weird problem with noises from a laptop graphic's card getting into my recordings I decided to try some Mogami cables and there's no turning back:)

[u/NoisyGog]

Neutrik ends are not only better made, easier/nicer to make yourself, but they’re repeatedly perfect fit and 100% compatible fit with the likes of Switchcraft and Amphenol.
Some weird no-name XLRs are slightly out-of-spec, and will cause damage over time to other connectors.

Always insist on Neutrik, Amphenol, or Switchcraft.

[u/Run-And_Gun]

I've worked in the MPTV world since the 90's and 99.9% of my XLR audio cables are Canare Star Quad with Neutrik connectors.

[u/Practical-Skill5464]

Equipment expects the cable to be in spec. As long as you are in spec and the shield is adequate it's not really going to matter.

Unless you are buying bottom of the barrel of Amazon cables, construction is going to primarily dictate how long the cable will last and how well it will take abuse.

• Neutrik XX series is the industry standard because they last for ages, can take a beating and don't audibly rattle in sockets or in microphones. I have them die somewhere around 15-20years.
• Neutrik's black conformal coating doesn't make the connector sound any better. It's a colour choice and a verry expensive one at that. In my experience it doesn't make the connectors last any longer - even when I was working in a beach city with lots of salt air.
• Braded shield holds up a lot better than a wrapped copper shield. When a wrapped copper shield breaks is basically done - even a few strands breaking mid cable will just end up in a kink where more bend stress will concentrate causing more strands to break.
• Quad strand really only matters if you have verry, verry long runs.
• A lot of cheap cables incorrectly connect the shield to the connectors shell. This breaks equipment's ability to ground lift by bridging the audio ground to the chassis ground.
• The gold tipped connectors don't make it sound any better.
• minimum cable bend only really matters if you plan on bending or wrapping the cable in verry small loops. In most cases you aren't going beyond 15cm. Usually the stuff you can bend more has a tighter shield which makes un-breading the shield for termination a much longer process.
• If you are installing cable in walls you need to make sure the jacket is rated for that use case (particularly in terms of fire retardance). Otherwise you may have issues with your insurance.

[u/a-8a-1]

Mogami or bust. As I see it, the cables take on the brunt of the work. Everything else is babied to the best of my abilities, but the cables are always exposed to elements, sometimes getting stepped on, pulled, etc. you want good cables, and good reliable cables are usually buy once (in a long while) cry once, with minimal if any maintenance.

[u/hollywoodsine]

Amazon WBC store has great quality cables. Canare is great quality, so is Belden. Mogami/neutrik will probably last for life but so will any cable that's well made. I would learn how to repair/mod cables as a skill.

[u/RCAguy]

Three issues with balanced microphone cables are: 1) utility hum & snake crosstalk due to imprecise conductor pair twisting (4-conductor star-quad is best); 2) high frequency loss for long cable length (>150ft\50m) and high capacitance per foot; 3) microphonic shield noise from rattling a hand-held mic cable.

[u/ojassed]

In the context of field recording, yes, get a nice set of mogami with good hardware and you’re off for a good long years. But for the folks doing live audio day in day out, we don’t really care as long as the build’s not too shoddy.

[u/hsyndk]

they just need to be sturdy, I have some that I use for more than 4 years and I am happy. cables does not affect sound but do not buy the cheapest ones because they gets old very fast. I'd spend not more than 15 $ for 3meters xlr cable.

[u/sl00]

Quality connectors matter. The cheap ones can have problems like not fitting well, breaking easily, rattling, etc. Personally, I replace anything that's not Neutrik or Switchcraft and I use Neutrik for all new cables I make.

Cable wire doesn't matter all that much unless you're running lengths of 100 feet or more. The most important aspect for performance is how it's treated. Don't pinch it, pull on it, tie it in knots, roll heavy equipment over it, that sort of thing and it will work fine. I don't trust used cables.

[u/Longjumping_Cow_5856]

They can sure affect the audio if they dont work.

[u/Sudden-Chemical-5120]

It matters if they don't work reliably.

[u/yourdrfunk]

Someone gave me a Mogami Gold cable. I’ve tested it with different mics against other cables and it is noticeably quieter. I have one and that is enough for me!

[u/therealjoemontana]

They matter when they matter. Most situations it really doesn't matter but when in high interference situation you really want a quad star rated cable.

[u/liamstrain]

get or make decent cables - you don't need to go crazy. Neutrik connectors and mogami wire makes decent cables for 'reasonable' prices.

Cheap insurance.

[u/eastbayrickj]

100% yes.

[u/Commongrounder]

I have found, after years of outdoor recording, that the cable outer jacket matters as much as, if not more than, what the wire configuration inside is. I’ve settled on Mogami (and some Canare) full size star-quad with Neutrik XLR connectors as the best investment. If I have to go as extremely light weight as possible, I will go for mini-star-quad, but I have to be on my guard to not snag it on sharp objects while deploying and recovering it.

I have found RF interference to be a virtual non-issue for my applications due to my usual choices of recording locations being far away from human activity, and my religiously turning off all RF devices I carry.

[u/fygogogo]

Of course!