Do Costly XLR Cables Make A Difference?


Serious question here. I currently own a rather good XLR cable that goes between the amp and DAC. I’m considering a better XLR cable to improve things, basically all the good aspects of sound reproduction such as deeper and more defined bass, better separation and detail across the frequency spectrum and an airier and more 3-dimensional sound in the midrange and treble. Will a different XLR cable supposedly one that’s costlier bring me to that direction?

My current XLR cable costs about $2k actual price paid.

I’m looking at an alternative pair up to about $2k perhaps $3k tops if it is proven that the cable is able to bring a noticeable or worthwhile if not significant difference. I am actually looking at the Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8 and Gold Eclipse 8 XLR.

Any experience would be appreciated. 

 

ryder

Serious question here…

My current XLR cable costs about $2k actual price paid.

I’m looking at an alternative pair up to about $2k perhaps $3k tops if it is proven that the cable is able to bring a noticeable or worthwhile if not significant difference. I am actually looking at the Wireworld Silver Eclipse 8 and Gold Eclipse 8 XLR.

Any experience would be appreciated

Have you gone the other way and compared the $2k cable to a $100?
Was it noticeably better?

No, I don’t have a $100 XLR cable on hand so I’m asking for experiences here. I usually don't consider cables below $500 for the main system.

Hi @ryder

I’m skeptical. No, not a "cable skeptic", as I have spent significantly more money on cables than any true skeptics ever would, and believe that they can indeed make noticeable differences. But I am also a strong believer in diminishing returns, and am skeptical that a very expensive XLR could be significantly better than an expensive one, assuming that the materials and build quality of both were what one should expect for the price levels that you mentioned.

I suppose that if one cable employed silver, or silver and copper, while the other was pure copper, there could possibly be some difference in SQ, but that would be more a function of basic design, and not necessarily cost.

Like you, I don’t A/B in the classic sense, mainly because it would be extremely difficult and expensive to do so. But like most audiophiles, I have listened to a variety of cables for extended periods of time on my own system, and with music that I am very familiar with. I don’t consider confirmation or expectation bias to be significant factosr, as there have been instances in which I really would have liked to have preferred a recent acquisition, but found the opposite.

Over the past ~20 years I have used Audience cables more than any other, and, after a couple of fairly recent "grass is greener" forays into other brands, have returned to the fold. I use Au24SX speaker cables, and Au24SE XLRs, both of which were purchased used. The SX was the previous top Audience model, and the SE were one step below. So, would a pair of Au24SX XLRs make a difference? Or a pair of their current top model, the Front Row?

I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I am skeptical that any differences would be significant. I say that partly because when it comes to cables, I believe that even well-established companies with products made with good materials and based on good design principles typically feel compelled to create model hierarchies, with the top-end, of course, being targeted to those who can afford to spend serious money in a quest to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of their systems. So I assume that the differences between the top models, and those a step below, are very likely to be small, if they even exist!

My two cents.

I do not know what you are currently using but here are some points of consideration. At your price range you can check some cables from Acoustic Revive (triple c reference or absolute) Furutech (nano flux pcocc), Acrolinc (mexcel ducc), even though some of them are near or out of your budget. That's where i would look, for the best copper around. Since this territory is costly i would suggest to try before you buy and probably check the possibility of using the entire cabling from one manufacturer, it will be less costly in the long run.