The m********* friend mic cables that were like $3 10 years ago are quickly dying (more and more every gig LOL) So my question is what is the best value mic cable package for the money? Preferably the "screw-on" type black XLR connectors. I'm looking for like a 5 or 10 pack of 25' to 50' cables that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
- Thread starter Brandon Blakeney
- Start date
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
It appears in your case-"best" means cheapest. But in cables, cheapest is not always the "best" way. Often durability-flexability are features that cost a little bit more-but make life a lot easier, "better" over the life of the cable. Sometimes you will have to buy 2 or more "cheap" cables to last as long as one better cable.
The size of the wire and the strain relief on the connectors is a big factor. Yes you can spend YOUR time fixing them-but how much is that worth? Once you add some dollar values to your time-the better cables seem like a deal. How much does a failure on a job cost? Especially during the performance.
Kinda like buying tires for your car. I am a big fan of buying quality tires. Yes they cost more. But they also last longer. When you add in the extra cost of more tires+cost of install+your time at the tire store and so forth-they may not be that much (if any) more expensive.
PLUS during the life of the tire-the ride is much better/smoother-quieter etc and they tend to have less "issues" than cheaper tires.
So for me-"best" is more expensive. It makes more economical sense. And in the long run is cheaper (or so it has seemed over the years). I typically put around 20K miles/year-so I go through a number of tires. I have 60K on my current set-with maybe 10K left on them. With cheaper tires I would have bought 2 sets during the life-and the good tires were not twice as expensive.
Rant off.
"Best" is an often used word-without describing what is "best".
It appears in your case-"best" means cheapest. But in cables, cheapest is not always the "best" way. Often durability-flexability are features that cost a little bit more-but make life a lot easier, "better" over the life of the cable. Sometimes you will have to buy 2 or more "cheap" cables to last as long as one better cable.
The size of the wire and the strain relief on the connectors is a big factor. Yes you can spend YOUR time fixing them-but how much is that worth? Once you add some dollar values to your time-the better cables seem like a deal. How much does a failure on a job cost? Especially during the performance.
Kinda like buying tires for your car. I am a big fan of buying quality tires. Yes they cost more. But they also last longer. When you add in the extra cost of more tires+cost of install+your time at the tire store and so forth-they may not be that much (if any) more expensive.
PLUS during the life of the tire-the ride is much better/smoother-quieter etc and they tend to have less "issues" than cheaper tires.
So for me-"best" is more expensive. It makes more economical sense. And in the long run is cheaper (or so it has seemed over the years). I typically put around 20K miles/year-so I go through a number of tires. I have 60K on my current set-with maybe 10K left on them. With cheaper tires I would have bought 2 sets during the life-and the good tires were not twice as expensive.
Rant off.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Yes, I would agree, but with everything there is a "best for the money" and that is what I'm trying to find out.
Yes, I would agree, but with everything there is a "best for the money" and that is what I'm trying to find out.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Broadcast Supply Warehouse usually has pretty good bulk pack deals. In my experience, the difference in quality of the wire is fairly negligible, the important part is the connector. Find cables with a name brand connector like Neutrik or Switchcraft, or buy a roll of cable and a few dozen connectors and knock out some cables one evening.
Broadcast Supply Warehouse usually has pretty good bulk pack deals. In my experience, the difference in quality of the wire is fairly negligible, the important part is the connector. Find cables with a name brand connector like Neutrik or Switchcraft, or buy a roll of cable and a few dozen connectors and knock out some cables one evening.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
SLMA Mic Cables
I've had very good luck with these:
SLMA Mic Cables
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
+1
I have lots of them and they are all I buy now.
When I do custom work for my customers I buy the ones with the Neutrik connectors.
+1
I have lots of them and they are all I buy now.
When I do custom work for my customers I buy the ones with the Neutrik connectors.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
+1, Mark and Liz are great. I do think it's worth the extra ~$5/cable for Neutrik connectors though.
+1, Mark and Liz are great. I do think it's worth the extra ~$5/cable for Neutrik connectors though.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Here's a good candidate for "the best": TecNec Cables & Connectors Premium XLR Microphone Cables Featuring Canare Star Quad Cable and Neutrik Black and Gold XLR Connectors XLR to XLR Cables at Markertek.com
Here's a good candidate for "the best": TecNec Cables & Connectors Premium XLR Microphone Cables Featuring Canare Star Quad Cable and Neutrik Black and Gold XLR Connectors XLR to XLR Cables at Markertek.com
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Yea, I actually have A LOT of EWI cables (mostly NL4 and NL8) and have had virtually no failures...I think I'll go with them
Thanks for the help.
Yea, I actually have A LOT of EWI cables (mostly NL4 and NL8) and have had virtually no failures...I think I'll go with them
Thanks for the help.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
I have been a big fan of Gepco cable for many years, and currently roll my own using the X-band mic cable, using Neutrik connectors.
Gepco International, Inc. -- Audio and Video Cable Products --
There are multipair, instrument, and double braid versions available in the range too.
Best regards,
John
I have been a big fan of Gepco cable for many years, and currently roll my own using the X-band mic cable, using Neutrik connectors.
Gepco International, Inc. -- Audio and Video Cable Products --
There are multipair, instrument, and double braid versions available in the range too.
Best regards,
John
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Rapco/Horizon Road Hog......excellent extra thick cable, Neutrik connectors, no or very low memory, have yet to have one fail for any reason. Best I have used!
HOGM Microphone Cable
Good luck.
Rapco/Horizon Road Hog......excellent extra thick cable, Neutrik connectors, no or very low memory, have yet to have one fail for any reason. Best I have used!
HOGM Microphone Cable
Good luck.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Road Hog cables are very good. I've been using some now for about 5 years and I've never had one go bad. I also like the EWI mic cables as well and have been buying them as of late.
Road Hog cables are very good. I've been using some now for about 5 years and I've never had one go bad. I also like the EWI mic cables as well and have been buying them as of late.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
I've been using the EWI for some time now (3ish years) and I haven't had a failure. I don't have the Neutrik ends.
I've been using the EWI for some time now (3ish years) and I haven't had a failure. I don't have the Neutrik ends.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
I used to buy the GLS mic cables off of ebay. They're Chinese ripoffs of Neutrik connectors and are actually pretty durable. The cable itself is a little thin, but they've held up over 6 years for me with only a few failures. They were like $2/cable back in 2006, but the price seems to have gone up a good bit since then... 6 GLS AUDIO 25ft XLR MICROPHONE CABLE Mic Mike 25' MC25 | eBay
For that price, I'd almost just agree with everyone else and buy the EWI mic cables. The jacket is thicker on those cables, and I didn't have one failure with those cables- I even took them out on tour!
Evan
I used to buy the GLS mic cables off of ebay. They're Chinese ripoffs of Neutrik connectors and are actually pretty durable. The cable itself is a little thin, but they've held up over 6 years for me with only a few failures. They were like $2/cable back in 2006, but the price seems to have gone up a good bit since then... 6 GLS AUDIO 25ft XLR MICROPHONE CABLE Mic Mike 25' MC25 | eBay
For that price, I'd almost just agree with everyone else and buy the EWI mic cables. The jacket is thicker on those cables, and I didn't have one failure with those cables- I even took them out on tour!
Evan
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Amazon has the GLS cables sold through Orange County Speaker Repair. They are $90 for 10 through Amazon or $80 plus shipping from Orange County direct. I considered buying these for a student venue I used to work for, but instead updated my cables and sold them some of the odds and ends that I had. FYIW, I use CBI ML Ultimate for rentals and high abuse applications. They aren't my favorite cable to work with, but they are very sturdy. I got the grey ones so they are easier to keep separate. For regular use I have a bunch of EWI and Canare.
If I were buying again I would only buy Neutrik. I once had someone cross rent some gear and one channel of an subsnake EWI snake went (LOUDLY) intermittent with phantom power. The soundman blamed the knock-off connectors. Whether or not he was right, if he had on of my Whirlwind snakes that has since replaced the EWI's, it would have been a 'shit happens' evaluation of any problem. The point is that if you aspire to provide quality without shortcuts, knock-off ends may make you look bad if they fail precisely because you took the cheaper route. If I was doing bar bands myself I probably wouldn't care - the nature of the work may determine what compromises are acceptable.
Amazon has the GLS cables sold through Orange County Speaker Repair. They are $90 for 10 through Amazon or $80 plus shipping from Orange County direct. I considered buying these for a student venue I used to work for, but instead updated my cables and sold them some of the odds and ends that I had. FYIW, I use CBI ML Ultimate for rentals and high abuse applications. They aren't my favorite cable to work with, but they are very sturdy. I got the grey ones so they are easier to keep separate. For regular use I have a bunch of EWI and Canare.
If I were buying again I would only buy Neutrik. I once had someone cross rent some gear and one channel of an subsnake EWI snake went (LOUDLY) intermittent with phantom power. The soundman blamed the knock-off connectors. Whether or not he was right, if he had on of my Whirlwind snakes that has since replaced the EWI's, it would have been a 'shit happens' evaluation of any problem. The point is that if you aspire to provide quality without shortcuts, knock-off ends may make you look bad if they fail precisely because you took the cheaper route. If I was doing bar bands myself I probably wouldn't care - the nature of the work may determine what compromises are acceptable.
Silas Pradetto
Graduate Student
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Here's what I've figured out after a bunch of years in the business:
1. The cheap stuff not worth buying. As others have said, it may work fine now, but a failure in the middle of a critical show is probably going to hurt you far, far more than the $10 more a good cable would have cost.
2. Anything without a chuck-type strain relief is worthless (read: anything other than Neutrik is junk). Even the Chinese Neutrik clones have fit/finish issues and sometimes don't fit into mics properly, or the latches break.
3. Ends fail more often than the cable itself, provided good cable is used. And properly installed Neutrik ends almost never fail.
4. (Puts on review/marketing hat) CBI makes custom mic cables cheaper than I can do it myself buying ends and cable separately, and this is not even considering my labor time. Additionally, I have never had a CBI cable fail in any way. I think Marlow is using my old CBI MLU cables now, and you could easily substitute them for rope and repel off a cliff...I switched to the MLNQ quad cable just because it coils so nice, and now I'm using the Neutrik XX series ends. I sell the MLN 'regular' mic cables to customers all the time and have never had a callback or cable failure. And of course, CBI has all the other nice brands of cable (I really, really like Belden 1192A), but are any of those other brands really that much more durable than CBI's custom cables? Maybe, maybe not...
When it comes right down to it, spending $25 per cable once every 10 years (or maybe more) is worth the investment, at least in my opinion.
Here's what I've figured out after a bunch of years in the business:
1. The cheap stuff not worth buying. As others have said, it may work fine now, but a failure in the middle of a critical show is probably going to hurt you far, far more than the $10 more a good cable would have cost.
2. Anything without a chuck-type strain relief is worthless (read: anything other than Neutrik is junk). Even the Chinese Neutrik clones have fit/finish issues and sometimes don't fit into mics properly, or the latches break.
3. Ends fail more often than the cable itself, provided good cable is used. And properly installed Neutrik ends almost never fail.
4. (Puts on review/marketing hat) CBI makes custom mic cables cheaper than I can do it myself buying ends and cable separately, and this is not even considering my labor time. Additionally, I have never had a CBI cable fail in any way. I think Marlow is using my old CBI MLU cables now, and you could easily substitute them for rope and repel off a cliff...I switched to the MLNQ quad cable just because it coils so nice, and now I'm using the Neutrik XX series ends. I sell the MLN 'regular' mic cables to customers all the time and have never had a callback or cable failure. And of course, CBI has all the other nice brands of cable (I really, really like Belden 1192A), but are any of those other brands really that much more durable than CBI's custom cables? Maybe, maybe not...
When it comes right down to it, spending $25 per cable once every 10 years (or maybe more) is worth the investment, at least in my opinion.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
I noticed that some of the GLS mic cables come in "color" packs. I've always thought this would be a great way to keep track of what is what on stage. Has anybody had issues with acts "throwing a fit" because your mic cables were various colors such as on a vocal mic?
Silas Pradetto
Graduate Student
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
No, but corporate events would likely make the rainbow unacceptable.
Neutrik makes colored boots for exactly this reason. I use them to mark length.
No, but corporate events would likely make the rainbow unacceptable.
Neutrik makes colored boots for exactly this reason. I use them to mark length.
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
Nothing screams amateur hour like a stage full of colorful cables.
Evan
Nothing screams amateur hour like a stage full of colorful cables.
Evan
Re: What is the best Mic Cable package for the money?
"When it comes right down to it, spending $25 per cable once every 10 years (or maybe more) is worth the investment"
Wise words, indeed!
Because of all the positive comments here about EWI cables, I thought I would give them a try. First of all, I wanted Neutrik connecters and the standard SLMN Starline cables were not available with Neutriks in 20 or 25 foot lenghts so I had to order the MBQM Quad cables. They certainly seem durable but flexability in cable is important to me and it is virtually impossible to use the EWI Quads without kinking them! Way too stiff ! And they are no bargain, especially for an Asian made product. They cost me about the same as the Canare cables from Markertek and Markertek shipped a hell of a lot faster. I know Audiopile is on the west coast, but it took 10 days to get product from them. The Markertek and Horizon cables offer quality and flexability and are my current go-to brands.
"When it comes right down to it, spending $25 per cable once every 10 years (or maybe more) is worth the investment"
Wise words, indeed!
Because of all the positive comments here about EWI cables, I thought I would give them a try. First of all, I wanted Neutrik connecters and the standard SLMN Starline cables were not available with Neutriks in 20 or 25 foot lenghts so I had to order the MBQM Quad cables. They certainly seem durable but flexability in cable is important to me and it is virtually impossible to use the EWI Quads without kinking them! Way too stiff ! And they are no bargain, especially for an Asian made product. They cost me about the same as the Canare cables from Markertek and Markertek shipped a hell of a lot faster. I know Audiopile is on the west coast, but it took 10 days to get product from them. The Markertek and Horizon cables offer quality and flexability and are my current go-to brands.
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