# XLR cable quality



## tk2k (Oct 19, 2012)

Is it something worth thinking about? 

The XLR patch pannel in my theater was built with about 18 gauge wire which is not copper, the runs are all of 3' to the amps, but I've noticed all of the XLR i've ever used is at least 16 gauge and copper... does this matter at all? This is for line-level out of a digital snake to the amps


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## FMEng (Oct 20, 2012)

tk2k said:


> Is it something worth thinking about?
> 
> The XLR patch pannel in my theater was built with about 18 gauge wire which is not copper, the runs are all of 3' to the amps, but I've noticed all of the XLR i've ever used is at least 16 gauge and copper... does this matter at all? This is for line-level out of a digital snake to the amps



Don't worry about it. What really matters for balanced, line level audio is that the cable is twisted pair with a shield. Because line inputs are high impedance, typically 10,000 ohms, there is essentially no loss in the wire for any reasonable length, so the guage of the cable does not matter. As an example, the most widely used audio cable is arguably Belden 9451, which is 22 guage. That size was probably chosen mostly for its mechanical properties.


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## derekleffew (Oct 20, 2012)

tk2k said:


> ... was built with about 18 gauge wire which is not copper, ...


While it may not be penny colored, it's still copper, most likely tinned copper, if it looks silver. The only other metal it could be is aluminum, which I've never heard of for an audio application, and is frowned upon except for installed high-amperage feeder.


tk2k said:


> ... I've noticed all of the XLR i've ever used is at least 16 gauge ...


Are you sure about that? Whirlwind MK-series microphone cable is 22ga.; Belden 8412, another popular mic cable, is 20 gauge.
.


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## museav (Oct 20, 2012)

derekleffew said:


> Are you sure about that? Whirlwind MK-series microphone cable is 22ga.; Belden 8412, another popular mic cable, is 20 gauge.
> .


West Penn 291 is 22AWG, Canare L4-E6S quad cable is 24AWG pairs equivalent to 21AWG, Mogami W2549 and W2791 are 22AWG and 24AWG respectively. Most microphone and line level cable is 24AWG to 20AWG and the sale of larger gage mic and line level audio cables may be counting on people assuming 'bigger is always better' without understanding the relevance of factors such as capacitance and inductance.


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## porkchop (Oct 20, 2012)

museav said:


> the sale of larger gage mic and line level audio cables may be counting on people assuming 'bigger is always better' without understanding the relevance of factors such as capacitance and inductance.



Hey that and gold plated contacts for digital cables are pretty much Monster Cables entire business model and it's worked alright for them....


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## tk2k (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks guys, 

Just wanted to check


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## FMEng (Oct 20, 2012)

There is nothing wrong with gold contacts. Gold oxidizes less. After all, reputable companies like Neutrik sell plenty of connectors with gold plating. However, Monster inflates prices with marketing hype and fancied up appearance. They are also corporate bullies who have gone so far as to sue smaller competitors for selling a cable with an RCA plug that looks too similiar to theirs. The RCA phono plug has been around for about 70 years and there just aren't that many ways to style it.


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## neotrotsky (Oct 21, 2012)

FMEng said:


> There is nothing wrong with gold contacts. Gold oxidizes less. After all, reputable companies like Neutrik sell plenty of connectors with gold plating. However, Monster inflates prices with marketing hype and fancied up appearance. They are also corporate bullies who have gone so far as to sue smaller competitors for selling a cable with an RCA plug that looks too similiar to theirs. The RCA phono plug has been around for about 70 years and there just aren't that many ways to style it.



This, and more. 

For all intensive purposes, Monster cable like "Beats By Dre" and the brands like that are pure snake oil. I also remind my student workers that yes, gold-plated connectors are all the rage for "superior" looking cables, but the signal still gets there on copper wires. And, if you treat your cable bad and step on it, roll on it and not coil it proper, it's still junk cable. No amount of gold will help you. If people were *truly* serious about the quality of their audio, they'd pay more attention on what they're plugging that jack _into_, not what the plug is plated in.


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