Cables - one of the most taboo subjects in audio

Mather said:
Omg I'm so excited. I get to post in the cable thread and it's an actual post about an actual question, not just me being a dumbass and screaming "CABLES!" over and over again.

So... with the new amp incoming I will now have the option of going XLR balanced between my amp and stage. I've never had balanced cables on anything other than IEMs. My question is, what does this bring to the table sound wise (in theory)? And is there anything I need to look at in terms of my current gear that will tell me whether this is a good or bad idea? Specs ohms MATH!? I can get a matched pair of XLRs that are identical to the rest of my cables on Audiomart for relatively cheap so it should be easy to keep everything in the same house. Thoughts?
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Go with balanced if they are relatively cheap, especially if they match your other cables. I'm waiting with bated breath for @Angsty to chime in. ;):)
 
Joe Mac said:
I’m worried for the space time continuum…
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Hey, I’m a simple guy. If something works for you, you like the way it looks and it’s not a fraudulent drain on your wallet - buy it.

I happen to prefer using balanced cables over RCA when the option is there, so that’s a plus, too.
 
mindhead1 said:
WBC FTW!

youtube.com

Post from Nemo Propaganda

some of the guys in the discord got all uppitty about finding the best cheap cable a couple years ago, more than a handful of them agreed it was the WBC bran...
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I think WBC is a pretty good value - I have a balanced pair. The only thing I disliked about my particular cables was that the XLR plug did not lock. Therefore, it pulls out of a socket too easily.

I use them in a setting where things don’t move much, so that missing feature was not a dealbreaker.
 
Angsty said:
I think WBC is a pretty good value - I have a balanced pair. The only thing I disliked about my particular cables was that the XLR plug did not lock. Therefore, it pulls out of a socket too easily.

I use them in a setting where things don’t move much, so that missing feature was not a dealbreaker.
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I’m using WBC throughout my system. RCA, XLR, and Speaker. I’ve been pleased with the quality of the cables.

Prior to the WBC I had used Amazon Basics, Kabel Direct, Monoprice. The WBC cables are a step up for sure. I’m not at a point where I could justify spending more on cables.
 
Mather said:
Omg I'm so excited. I get to post in the cable thread and it's an actual post about an actual question, not just me being a dumbass and screaming "CABLES!" over and over again.

So... with the new amp incoming I will now have the option of going XLR balanced between my amp and stage. I've never had balanced cables on anything other than IEMs. My question is, what does this bring to the table sound wise (in theory)? And is there anything I need to look at in terms of my current gear that will tell me whether this is a good or bad idea? Specs ohms MATH!? I can get a matched pair of XLRs that are identical to the rest of my cables on Audiomart for relatively cheap so it should be easy to keep everything in the same house. Thoughts?
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Besides what @Joe Mac said, I’ve found some components sound better with single ended, and others via balanced. So get the XLR’s and experiment away!
 
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Angsty said:
What was I saying about a fraudulent drain on your wallet … ? 😂
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I'm kidding, basically. I'll buy one that has some shielding just to protect my stage, because it is susceptible to noise from the modem as I did actually have to move it when I got this stage, previous one didn't have an issue. But with the amp needing a constant Ethernet connection now due to streaming, better safe than sorry. But I'm pretty sure that can be had for less than $100.
 
Mather said:
I'm kidding, basically. I'll buy one that has some shielding just to protect my stage, because it is susceptible to noise from the modem as I did actually have to move it when I got this stage, previous one didn't have an issue. But with the amp needing a constant Ethernet connection now due to streaming, better safe than sorry. But I'm pretty sure that can be had for less than $100.
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Careful, I tried a shielded run from my movie server to switch and it introduced a hum in my system. Swapped back and the hum went away.
 
Mather said:
You know what what I get to buy? MOOOORE ISOLATION FEET FOR A SOLID STAGE TOTALLY DIGITAL AMP!

YASSSSSSS
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HRS stuff works. Even on solid state and digital. Reduces self-noise or some-such. It doesn’t make sense to me on an intuitive sense, but it was audible in a blinded test.
 
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