Audioquest Makenzie XLRs


I have the opportunity to purchase Audioquest cables at approx 40% below retail... 

I cant spend hundreds or thousands on cables.

Is there a better XLR cable for the money at the price point of $110 a pair than the Audioquest Makenzie?  110 is my cost.  Next up the line in AQ more than doubles my cost.... cant swing that much on ICs.

Gear consists of Marantz 7704, ATI 1807 Amp, B&W CDM 9NTs.
Not high end by any means but it's far better than what I had.

So .... is there a better cable for the money?
Seems AQ Makenzie is well reviewed and well designed.

Thoughts? Comments?  Assistance and advice is appreciated.
lightfighter2018

Showing 10 responses by lightfighter2018

If I should avoid AQ.... what are a few solid recommendations that wont break my budget of <150ish a pair??


Also -- same goes for power cords and hdmi cables. looking for recommendations for my AVP and amp.

Although I dont want to spend 100 for hdmi -- 50-100 max

Thx
@nrenter 

CORRECTION> The amp I have is the ATI 2007 not 1807.  Sorry.  The 2007 says true balanced XLR.  Is that not same as differential?

I was under the impression that using XLR was better regardless, providing lower noise floor etc. Not sure if the 7704 has 'true' balanced... but it does have XLR connections... Spec says balanced XLRs.  Does not say true balanced on the 7704.


I will double check the pin outs. Thx.

Never realized there could actually be a difference.

How do I change the pins on an xlr cable?  Or are the pins switched on one end?  I thought XLR was a standard?
@bdp24 

Thank you for that information.  So I take it for every amp that meets a US vs EU standard the global solution is to switch speaker wire connections as mentioned above... or change the pin out?

Are there any XLR cables that are built reversed so one doesn't need to switch speaker cable connections?  Seems it would be an easy solution.
@nrenter

Thanks.

I am a bit OCD... :) esp now that I know there is difference in pin outs. Which I had not even considered would be a possibility.

I just didn’t want to mess up my gear somehow.

I didn’t think changing the pins on the cables would be that straight forward, I just ran across an article that said to change the pins.

Ok. So just so I understand:

amp end... black to red and red to black for all speakers.

speaker end... black to black and red to red for all speakers..

What effect if any will this have on sound quality and sound behavior?


Appreciate all input.  I am going to buy some XLRs and plug and play and will see how it turns out.

Although trying to sort out what is and what is not... but it occurred to me that I believe the pinouts are in fact the same. Yes opposite while looking at them on the back, but if you put the avp and amp back to back... same pin out. For some reason the orientation was messing with my head. So, apologies for not catching it sooner.
Dustsailor...

What is better than AQ at the given price point. I don't have the means to drop $300-1000 per cable... 

So for 120-150 a pair... what mfgr is not snake oil?
@nrenter 

I have seen Mogami mentioned in Audiogon before.

If I may ask - 

What makes Mogami a better/same choice as other cables made by companies like:

Blue Jeans
BetterCables
Signal Cables
MorrowCables

And what would I be loosing out on by not spending more? At $40 a meter pair for the Mogami I can't imagine that not spending more won't translate into better performance.

I am okay with being wrong, but with so many on Audiogon spending thousands on ICs and PCs -- I can't imagine that any of them would replace their pricey cables for Mogami's.  

Of course - if there are folks out there that have indeed replace their 'expensive' cables with cables like Mogami -- 

I would love to hear feedback about their experience with the Mogami gears.
gdnrbob

Thanks.

Per the recommendations of so many - I opted for the Mogami Gold XLRs -- have had them about 2 weeks - 

and so far - am pleased wit the results - far better performance over the RCAs they replaced.

I know there are far better cables - but for my existing system - I believe them to be a solid choice...

To the rest -- thanks for all of the input --