[trollbearpig]

I got a new audio rack incoming to store this beast and my current XLR cable will no longer reach from dac -> amp, so looking at a new cable. Does RCA vs XLR make a difference as far as interconnects, and are their any decent brands for quality but not outrageously priced cables you guys might recommend?

 

[RobertSM]

I got a new audio rack incoming to store this beast and my current XLR cable will no longer reach from dac -> amp, so looking at a new cable. Does RCA vs XLR make a difference as far as interconnects, and are their any decent brands for quality but not outrageously priced cables you guys might recommend?

It depends alot on the DAC. Some sound better on one versus the other, RCA vs XLR. On the amp, it's widely believed that both balanced and unbalanced sound nearly equal.

How long of lengths of cables do you need for your new configuration?

 

[trollbearpig]

It depends alot on the DAC. Some sound better on one versus the other, RCA vs XLR. On the amp, it's widely believed that both balanced and unbalanced sound nearly equal.

How long of lengths of cables do you need for your new configuration?

I haven't measured it out yet but probably around 2 ft

 

[RobertSM]

I haven't measured it out yet but probably around 2 ft

So .5m will be too short. You'll need .75m or 1m in length.

I don't know what your budget is. I'm a big fan of Cardas. They use copper conductors. Some of the best copper in the business. They have reasonably priced cables but they also sell the super expensive stuff too. It honestly depends of what your comfortable spending.

 

[dynamic headphones]

I haven't measured it out yet but probably around 2 ft

a safe and presumably cheaper route is going with pro audio brands.

 

[ArkNerevar]

Robert is right, it's influenced by your DAC outputs, the Yggdrasil for example has superior performance from the XLR out.

Even with the above aside I feel based on my own testing that the XLR & RCA inputs will result in a slightly different sound, not nearly as big as the difference between the single ended & 4 pin XLR outputs but still a little different.

To me in my testing the RCA was a little warmer and bloomier and the XLR was a little drier, tighter and with better bass impact, that was the biggest difference to me, the bass was clearly harder hitting and faster.

 

[krude]

Robert is right, it's influenced by your DAC outputs, the Yggdrasil for example has superior performance from the XLR out.

Even with the above aside I feel based on my own testing that the XLR & RCA inputs will result in a slightly different sound, not nearly as big as the difference between the single ended & 4 pin XLR outputs but still a little different.

To me in my testing the RCA was a little warmer and bloomier and the XLR was a little drier, tighter and with better bass impact, that was the biggest difference to me, the bass was clearly harder hitting and faster.

I had the same observations.

Quality of the cable is more important than construction, but ... and this is the most difficult part about it ... it's all about synergy ... so unfortunately in the end you need to roll cables.

For me cables can make or break the final 10% of the performance and at this level 10% is huge.

Some general observations (there are no rules with cables) :
XLR - more technical / tighter
RCA - looser, more relaxed

Silver solid core - sharper, more air
Silver litz - a bit more neutral, still great air (depends on litz as well)
Copper - a lot less air compared to silver (it's not a rule though, there are exceptional copper cables), generally warmer, bloomier.

I try to get all silver cabling if I can, I'm a sucker for air and microdetail.

But there's one cheap and very good copper RCA that is almost like a hack as it performs on par with pure silver cables : TaraLabs RSC Vector 2 RCA (1 sounds a bit muddy in comparison).

 

[trollbearpig]

I had the same observations.

Quality of the cable is more important than construction, but ... and this is the most difficult part about it ... it's all about synergy ... so unfortunately in the end you need to roll cables.

For me cables can make or break the final 10% of the performance and at this level 10% is huge.

Some general observations (there are no rules with cables) :
XLR - more technical / tighter
RCA - looser, more relaxed

Silver solid core - sharper, more air
Silver litz - a bit more neutral, still great air (depends on litz as well)
Copper - a lot less air compared to silver (it's not a rule though, there are exceptional copper cables), generally warmer, bloomier.

I try to get all silver cabling if I can, I'm a sucker for air and microdetail.

But there's one cheap and very good copper RCA that is almost like a hack as it performs on par with pure silver cables : TaraLabs RSC Vector 2 RCA (1 sounds a bit muddy in comparison).

Thanks! I'm really just looking for flexible cables that look nice and have solid feeling interconnects. I love the ones that are kind of made of soft fabric almost and don't have any rigidity to them. I've been using the APOs Flow XLR cables which are actually quite nice feeling but too short. Maybe I'll just grab a longer pair from them actually

It sounds like their isn't really a preference for RCA / XLR for this amp so thats great. For the DAC, I've got the May incoming so I assume that should be able to handle either of those connection types with competence.

 

[RobertSM]

Thanks! I'm really just looking for flexible cables that look nice and have solid feeling interconnects. I love the ones that are kind of made of soft fabric almost and don't have any rigidity to them. I've been using the APOs Flow XLR cables which are actually quite nice feeling but too short. Maybe I'll just grab a longer pair from them actually

It sounds like their isn't really a preference for RCA / XLR for this amp so thats great. For the DAC, I've got the May incoming so I assume that should be able to handle either of those connection types with competence.

Check out the 'High-end cables' thread in the Summit-Fi forum.

There's alot of very useful information posted. Many have posted about their trials and errors and wins and losses in the world of cables.

 

[ArkNerevar]

My advice would be to still look into your DAC if its preferable from one output over the other, you could be leaving some free performance on the table.

 

[idairyou]

Thanks! I'm really just looking for flexible cables that look nice and have solid feeling interconnects. I love the ones that are kind of made of soft fabric almost and don't have any rigidity to them. I've been using the APOs Flow XLR cables which are actually quite nice feeling but too short. Maybe I'll just grab a longer pair from them actually

It sounds like their isn't really a preference for RCA / XLR for this amp so thats great. For the DAC, I've got the May incoming so I assume that should be able to handle either of those connection types with competence.

Make you own interconnects. Not that hard to do and you can make them to the exact length you need with the exact materials you want at a much cheaper price.

 

[dynamic headphones]

Make you own interconnects. Not that hard to do and you can make them to the exact length you need with the exact materials you want at a much cheaper price.

do you have a link to a good tutorial?

 

[idairyou]

do you have a link to a good tutorial?

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/make-audio-cables/

If you want to get fancy and braid your own cables get a Kumihimo disk. Makes doing a braided cable easy as 1, 2, 3.

https://www.amazon.com/Beadsmith-KD...sk&qid=1714598284&sprefix=kumi,aps,152&sr=8-2

 

[DrDen]

do you have a link to a good tutorial?

Soldering is like one way ticket. Might be more future proof to purchase one (or better two sets of solder-free connectors to easily try different wires and compare them).
Of course, the good ones aren’t cheap.
Again, this way is better for silver or silver plated wires because copper ones are prone to oxidising.
Moreover, from the low mass approach the best thing is no metal connector at all. But there are no available connectors made of dielectric, so it will take time and labour.

 

[idairyou]

Soldering is like one way ticket. Might be more future proof to purchase one (or better two sets of solder-free connectors to easily try different wires and compare them).
Of course, the good ones aren’t cheap.
Again, this way is better for silver or silver plated wires because copper ones are prone to oxidising.
Moreover, from the low mass approach the best thing is no metal connector at all. But there are no available connectors made of dielectric, so it will take time and labour.

You can also reach out to Moon Audio or ZMF and get one of their DIY headphone cable kits. I also believe Moon Audio does do DIY interconnects kits as well.

Less to worry about like the finding someone who sells quality cable in bulk, making sure you order the right parts and so forth.

All you have to do is get a soldering kit within your price range, and some decent solder.

You still get the benefit of it being much cheaper without all the worries of if you are getting all the right materials needed.

It's a good way for a beginner to start.