Question about Cables

[Randyj75]

Hi everyone, hope this is the right place to ask a question. What are the best audio cables? Stinger seems to be, but I am not sure. Has anyone ever done a comparison?

It seems every vendor has a different brand, not too sure what I am looking at.

Any help would be appreciated.

Randy

[Holmz]

It is easier to find good reasons to debate religion ...

If you like certain cables, then buy whatever tickles your fancy.

[Jdunk54nl]

I like knukoncept cables because they are of good quality and priced cheap. I like the krystal the best.
http://www.knukonceptz.com/mobile-au...al-rca-kables/

But if I had a choice, I would go with the below.

I also really like the seller "Worlds Best Cables" on amazon. They use very good quality cable and connectors

Example: https://www.amazon.com/Foot-RCA-Cabl...9175968&sr=8-2

Again they are priced very reasonably. If you can't find the right length, you can reach out to them and have them build you some custom lengths.

If you look at the above, the amphenol RCA connectors are like $3 each so $12 there, the cable it about $1/foot so $6 in that. So for $26 you get what would cost you $18 to build plus your time and solder skills. $8 for someone else doing the work is well worth it.


If you pay any more than those above, you are wasting money. You can't beat the worlds best cables choices in connectors and cable.

[nadams5755]

i take a practical approach to it.

for a vehicle? i'd suggest: get twisted pair, shielded or unshielded doesn't seem to matter much. install it correctly. some of your decision may be impacted by what actually fits. molded ends are usually smaller which you might need in a vehicle. the WBC cables with canare ends above? ends are like 2" long, so you're looking at 2.5-3" of space by the time you account for bend radius of the cables.

barrel connector size may impact your decisions. some are quite wide and won't plug into a multichannel input/output, so you have to examine your equipment as well. for example, the stinger 9000s

some of your decision may be impacted by cable size: what you can actually fit in a given space. thicker cables usually have larger bend radii as well. so fitting them through cavities and plugging them into equipment that's mounted close to adjacent walls could be tough.

some rcas use stamped metal barrel connectors, some use cast metal, some are bent cloverleaf stamped metal.

all of jtaudioacc's installs seem to use use stinger 4000s unless the client asks for something else. small ends, thin twisted wire, relatively inexpensive.

i've got stinger 6000s front-to-back and dsp-amp are custom cables with small ends and thin cables (gepco 61801ez and pailiccs RCAs)

(switching from stinger 4000s to the 61801ez+pailiccs sounded different. not better, not worse, just different. nothing i couldn't account for in the dsp, but that's another discussion i guess)

buy/make a spare set

[Randyj75]

So I guess this means that you guys think that spending $150-200 dollars for a set of Stinger 9000 cables is a waste of money? I already have a new set of Stinger 9000 x 12' cables I got for a good price, but I need two more sets.

I am afraid that if I buy a different/cheaper set of cables, I'll be able to hear the difference.

Still not sure what to do.

[nadams5755]

depends on how OCD you are about them being the same?

could sell the stinger 9000s and use the money for 6ch of 12' cables. just another option.

[Randyj75]

My OCD is definitely a problem, but on the other hand, it's allot of extra money to spend. I am afraid that if I buy cheaper cables. my new system will not sound as good as it could.

I guess I will have to think about it.

[Holmz]

Or get some magomi cable, or similar, and some Neutrik ProFi and make a set.
Then try one of those on one channel and one on the other channel and see if they work?

If they work fine, with no difference in sound quality, then you know of another option for the future.

[rob feature]

I am afraid that if I buy a different/cheaper set of cables, I'll be able to hear the difference.

If you have the shielding and twisted pairs, you've done all you can do. And all that is is noise rejection. If you bought or made cables which somehow let in noise, then yeah, you might be able to hear a difference. But you don't need to spend a lot of money to avoid that. As long as no noise is introduced, you won't be able to hear the difference between something cheap and something expensive.

[Jdunk54nl]

Maybe some of these will help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlYjQBTx-rs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyWt3kANA3Q

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/f...-review.11271/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/f...-review.14683/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/f...ference.11272/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/f...-review.17065/