Mogami Neglex W2549

@zavato Mogami will not approach the performance of Acoustic Zen. I’ve tried that. No bueno. Same goes for Blue Jeans. Waste of time. I keep a set of bluejeans RCAs and XLRs as spares. 

I’ll add that for tuner these cables may be fine. But not for dac to pre and pre to amp

Give the Veritas cable a try. It might save you $550 compared to the A. Zen. Then you could allocate that money where it’s needed or donate it to those in need.

@chuckaronson 

Welcome to Audiogon! I hope you have a great experience here.

I've never seen the need for exotic cables.

I've been building my own cables for over a decade. I've settled on Belden 1505F for single ended and Mogami 2552 for Balanced. Both are low capacitance (1505F is 17pf/ft and the 2552 is 27pf/ft, not a big difference for short lengths). I use Rean for SE and Neutrik for Balanced. I've had great success, especially for a low capacitance SE phono cables. I've compared my cables to offerings by World's Best Cables using different Mogami cable (2549). I can't tell the difference (my system is posted in Virtual Systems). 

I am curious about the Gotham GAC-1 Ultra Pro for SE. It seems to have more shielding. Capacitance is a bit higher than the 1505F. The price is comparable.

How easy is it to work with? Is it stiff? Difficult to strip, etc. 

You have listened to both of the cables I've mentioned. Can you elaborate your findings on the audible differences between these two cables a bit more?

My system is very quiet, even the phono section. But there's always a need for a well shielded low noise, low capacitance, inexpensive cable.

@kevemaher thanks for the welcome — and for the thoughtful questions.

I’ll start by saying Belden 1505F is an excellent cable. I’ve worked with it and listened to it, and I understand why many people settle on it. At typical interconnect lengths, I don’t think small capacitance differences alone explain what I hear.

Where I personally landed differently had more to do with shielding behavior and perceived noise floor in more critical applications.

For me, Gotham GAC-1 Ultra Pro has been the standout in this category. Their Reussen shield — the counter-wound spiral — is the quietest shielding scheme I’ve encountered in practice. The “black floor” description isn’t hype; it’s repeatable. The moments of silence between notes are simply dead quiet, and that was immediately apparent to me.

Sonically, what I hear is not warmth or coloration, but the opposite: less edge, less glare, and a cleaner background. It doesn’t season the sound at all — it just gets out of the way. What really impressed me is that this character stayed consistent whether the cable was a couple of feet long or closer to 10–15 feet.

As far as workability goes, GAC-1 Ultra Pro does demand patience. The Reussen shield gives it a definite bend memory, and there are thin PVC layers that need to be carefully removed during prep. Initially, I sacrificed a few feet to develop a method, and after that the process became very consistent and manageable. It’s not difficult, just deliberate.

For termination, I handle the shield a bit differently than usual — partly influenced by Japanese practice — folding a portion of the bare shield back under the strain relief for mechanical stability and potential reuse. It’s not required, but it works well for me, and Gotham themselves found it interesting when I discussed it with them.

Compared directly to 1505F in my own system and a few others I’ve worked on, the difference I consistently noticed was in the perceived noise floor. Belden sounds clean and correct; Gotham sounds quieter. That drop in noise was obvious to me and to others listening, including people with very resolving systems.

For context, I use Mogami 2964 regularly as what I’d call a great utility cable — especially for long subwoofer runs or non-critical sources. It’s flexible, easy to route over long distances, inexpensive, and a pleasure to work with. The smaller diameter also makes it easy to sleeve in multifilament, which gives it a great vintage look. For critical sources, though, I keep coming back to GAC-1 Ultra Pro.

If you’re curious and willing to work with a cable that rewards careful handling, I think GAC-1 Ultra Pro is absolutely worth trying. For me, the audible reduction in noise floor was immediate and repeatable.

I’m also about to spend time with Mogami 2497, which I’m genuinely curious about. I try to stay open — I just report what I hear. I’d be interested to hear what else you’ve worked with, or how you specifically landed on 1505F. Sharing experiences like this is how we all learn.