Hello,

I received my Mogami cable today and comparing it to the Monster Pro 1000, is rather thin.
The cable model is W2534 (Neglex Quad Cable). It supposedly is the best mic cable the company makes...?
The question is... Does the thickness of the cable matter? I don't know how much the gauge of a cable can affect its performance when it comes to audio and this is what I'm trying to find out.
Anyone with any actual technical data/info that can enlighten me is welcome to do so.

mosca.

Actually, thinner cable has the ability (for lack of a better word) to sound better because there is less skin effect.

Some of the hi-fi weirdo dudes, and the hardcore diy'ers (whom i respect), are switching their interconnects, and their in-chassis wiring, to very thin silver wire coated with teflon for this reason.

Some advice though: don't get caught up in what other people think about stuff like this. Yes, there is some science to it, but it's much easier to just string it up and test it out for yourself. Live with it for a while. If you end up liking it, good for you. If you hate it, and it makes you want to punch yourself in the face, don't use it. On second though... nevermind.

russ,

please refresh me or point me to somewhere that can refresh me on the definition of "skin effect".

ben adrian
okaland, ca

If I'm not mistaken, "skin effect" is the phenomenon by which the high frequencies of a signal tend to travel only along the outermost portion (the "skin") of a wire.

Alrighty then. Just wanna some technical info as I have no fucking clue about how some shit works/is. I seriously doubt Mogami would make an inferior cable, so...I'm gonna start soldering.


mosca.

This company has a rather nice essay about audio cables. Just click the "Cable Theory" button when the menu loads.

http://www.audioquest.com/

this is all bullshit

skin effect is important at RF

absolutely negligible at audio frequencies

extra-thick or extra-thin interconnects, internal wiring, and/or speaker cable don't do anything

unless it is so narrow it is not up to handling the current going through it, in which case it will get warm and maybe melt

get these cable guys in a room with a well-done a/b setup, and their special cable will do no better than normal copper wire, provided they haven't added any bullshitty filtering boxes to their special cables

of course, this will never happen. no one does blind a/b tests on cable or wiring. people who buy it like to think they're getting something for their money, and the people who make them like to think they're making something worth buying. whatever gets you through side two of _dark side_...

Check this site out for cable "anatomy". Helpful for neophytes on the subject like myself.


http://www.procosound.com/downloads/mic_guide.pdf


Also, check this out on how to wire them (good info):

http://bwcecom.belden.com/college/prodfaq/faqpqdmc.htm



mosca.

i said:

get these cable guys in a room with a well-done a/b setup, and their special cable will do no better than normal copper wire, provided they haven't added any bullshitty filtering boxes to their special cables

of course, this will never happen. no one does blind a/b tests on cable or wiring.

i lied

someplace in the middle, john dunlavy discusses blind testing of cables:

http://www.verber.com/mark/cables.html

and here are some tests done as samples at abx:

http://web.archive.org/web/200202140752 ... x_wire.htm

more info, w/many many links, including links to both of the above:

http://2eyespy.tripod.com/myaudioandhom ... e/id3.html

chances are very, very slim that you will ever find a trained EE who will make any claims at all for special wiring and cables, unless s/he is selling cables. likewise, it's hard to find an audiophile who will submit to double-blind testing of his favorite speaker leads. it would be nice if someone would do a tightly controlled, comprehensive, and public shootout of these things to kill this off once and for all, but no one with any stake in fancy cabling would take part.