The thing is, you will always wonder, in MY system, will it make a difference? WTH, do some research, make a choice, buy one, use it, don’t compare it, keep the old one for a spare. You sleep better.
Primary reason for dedicated phono cable is easily avoiding hum, after that you have the design/quality of the cable conductor and jacket.
DIN connector the easiest, ground is in the tonearm fitting and separate ground wire stays within the cable until it separates at the end that attaches to the preamp’s ground. RCA phono cable ground wire needs to be connected to ground both ends.
I used a common phono cable
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PO1H80/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
while waiting for my high quality Ortofon phono cable, highly recommended by my Blackbird tonearm’s maker.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ortofon-6NX-TSW-1010R-Tonearm-Cable-RCA-RCA-Terminal-1-2m-Japan-NEW/1233236...
Changed them, nobody hears a difference. I just moved it to a different arm, again, no difference.
I just bought a 3rd tonearm, it is coming with it’s own fancy phono cable included,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mission-Model-774LC-Gimbal-Bearing-Stereo-Tone-Arm-Pick-Up-Arm-Outstanding/...
I’ll move that cable here and there to see if anyone hears a difference. We are all old dogs, old ears, differences in highs we can’t hear? I’ve had young musicians listen, they don’t hear any difference.
btw, that Mission Arm and it’s Jelco version are extremely compact, only 210mm spindle to pivot, and short rear counterweight arm. I will just barely squeeze it onto my JVC CL-P2 dual arm plinth, left side, backwards, just clears dust cover.
Primary reason for dedicated phono cable is easily avoiding hum, after that you have the design/quality of the cable conductor and jacket.
DIN connector the easiest, ground is in the tonearm fitting and separate ground wire stays within the cable until it separates at the end that attaches to the preamp’s ground. RCA phono cable ground wire needs to be connected to ground both ends.
I used a common phono cable
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PO1H80/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
while waiting for my high quality Ortofon phono cable, highly recommended by my Blackbird tonearm’s maker.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ortofon-6NX-TSW-1010R-Tonearm-Cable-RCA-RCA-Terminal-1-2m-Japan-NEW/1233236...
Changed them, nobody hears a difference. I just moved it to a different arm, again, no difference.
I just bought a 3rd tonearm, it is coming with it’s own fancy phono cable included,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mission-Model-774LC-Gimbal-Bearing-Stereo-Tone-Arm-Pick-Up-Arm-Outstanding/...
I’ll move that cable here and there to see if anyone hears a difference. We are all old dogs, old ears, differences in highs we can’t hear? I’ve had young musicians listen, they don’t hear any difference.
btw, that Mission Arm and it’s Jelco version are extremely compact, only 210mm spindle to pivot, and short rear counterweight arm. I will just barely squeeze it onto my JVC CL-P2 dual arm plinth, left side, backwards, just clears dust cover.