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Howdy,
I have been using this Volvox Sonorous Protect A for about 2 weeks. What a nice sound. It has a crisp leading edge and delivers a nice nuance which can be lost with some cables. Nicely constructed, and has an individual ground wire as I understand it. I'm sure this adds to it overall tonality.
This cable is very open especially when compared to the Monster Jazz Cable that I have laying around. The Monster cable is very dark, and closed in. I seldom used it.
One cable that I have been using for years is the Klotz. I believe that is a good sounding and neutral cable, but not on the level of the Sonorus.
One other thing that I like about the Klotz is that the standard length is 15 ft. which gives me some slack.
The Monster cable is a standard 12 ft. which is okay. The Sonorous is 3.5 meters, or about 11.5 ft. and I need to sit a little closer to the amp. I don't have extra length to allow for my lack of coordination. They do have a cable at about 19 ft., but that's a tripping hazard for me.
This is a pricey cable, but I like it and feel its worth the extra bucks. I don't know if it sounds any better than some of the other high end cables as I have not done a comparison (nor do I plan to), but it is much better than any I've used over the decades.
improv
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02-27-2015 01:30 PM
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I use Vovox also.
I like Shadow cables with preamps too.
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IMO cables don't affect your sound unless they are seriously screwed up.
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What type of guitar and amp do you use and what type of effects do you use if applicable.
Originally Posted by improv
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with high impedance systems like Originally Posted by drbhrb
ours
(approx 8Kohms driving a typical amp/pedal
input z of approx 1Mohm)
the cable does change the tone (and volume)
quite a bit
even cables of different lengths
of the same make , can sound very different
in my experience
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That's fine. In my experience the difference is negligible. Originally Posted by pingu
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IMO, based on basic knowledge of physics and electrical engineering, the effects of instrument cable on tone are driven by the cable's capacitance and the equivalent circuit of the pickup. Some folks like a bit of capacitance with certain pickups, much as some folks like to roll off volume and tone controls. The capacitance of a cable is a function of cable design and length, so it's no surprise that length can affect tone.
(This isn't intended to be a troll!)Last edited by KirkP; 02-27-2015 at 03:30 PM.
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They do, actually. Cables have capacitance which is measured in picofarads per unit of length (foot or meter depending on whether you live in the US versus, well, anywhere else in the world). Cables with higher pF/foot ratings are like running your signal through an extra tone control. You can find measurements of capacitance for instrument cables on the web. There is also a lot of cork-sniffing BS about cables out there too, and separating the wheat from the chaff is something that takes a little bit of diligence and a tiny understanding of the principles of electronics. There is, for example, a notion that cables somehow become "directional" over time in terms of how electrons flow through them; this is BS. There's lots of marketing crapola that gets applied to instrument cables. Shielding, BTW, can add to capacitance (which also happens when shielding the pickup cavities of a solidbody guitar). Originally Posted by drbhrb
Whether this matters to you depends on what you're looking for in a sound. If you want a bright clear sound with a lot of high end, you're going to want a low capacitance cable; if you want a dark sound, you probably won't care. If you keep your tone control wide open all the time, the cable will make more difference to you; if you keep it rolled down, you can just roll it up a but to mostly compensate for the cable's capacitance. I fall in the latter camp, so I don't sweat the cables much at all.
When I was looking into this a couple of years ago, I found that one of the best price-per-low capacitance deals out there is the DiMarzio cable, IIRC. It has lower capacitance than some cables costing much more. Even cheaper is buying bulk cable, plugs, a soldering iron and rolling your own. You can save 50-75% over boutique cables by using the exact same materials they use and applying a few minutes of labor.
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Originally Posted by drbhrb
I'm sorry that you can't hear a difference, but to say the cables have to be screwed up is nonsense.
I can hear a difference. Just as I can a difference in sound quality if the direction of a burned in cable were reversed.
improv
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Originally Posted by Pat Clare
Hello Pat,
No effects at all.
I usually play my Sadowsky Jim Hall or my Schaefer Swingmaster which has incredible tone. The amps I use are a Henriksen JazzAmp 10 ER (although I have never used the ER), or an Acoustic Image Claris 1R through a Raezers Edge Stealth 12.
FWIW, it was Rich Raezer's personal box.
I also had a LAB L5 with 2 12", Fender Hot Rod Delux, and some others. I always wanted a Fender Twin, but I never got around to it.
I also have a Roland Cube 30 that I need to get rid of (I personally don't care for it), and I still have a Fender Blues Junior that I like. Oh, and a Fender Champion 600 (Pure Class A).
improv
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I switched from Monster to Magomy about a year ago and have been happy.
Some people say the chord does not make a difference, but I think it does.
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a bit off topic - in my experience, some cables work more like antennas than others. I recently used a 25£ 'shielded' cable, and it turned my amp into a radio. Change of cable and radio was off. No idea why, since I know very little about what could cause this phenomenon, but causation was established beyond any doubt.
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I said I think the difference is negligible, not that there is no scientifically measurable difference. The difference in what room you are playing in makes such a huge difference that something as small as the tone shaping ability of a cable isn't going to be effectively leveraged. Unless you bring 30 cables to each gig and match the room to which cable sounds best(which I doubt anyone could do in a noisy club). Originally Posted by improv
Cunamara mentioned that rolling off your tone makes the cables matter less so maybe it's a bit of that(I roll the tone off 1/2 - 2/3rds of the way).
I'd also love to see someone pick out which direction a cable was plugged in in a proper blinded test.
By all means I'm not telling anybody what to buy. Just that fancy cables (to me) are snake oil.
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I made exactly the same experience. Was a longtime Klotz LaGrange user. The Sonorus is just another league. Very happy with it. Originally Posted by improv
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Now you say "I said I think the difference is negligible, not that there is no scientifically measurable difference."
but you did say
I was posting my friendly opinion of a cable I like, yet somehow you seem to interject Originally Posted by drbhrb
"I'd also love to see someone pick out which direction a cable was plugged in in a proper blinded test."
and
"Just that fancy cables (to me) are snake oil."
So, again, I'm sorry if you can't hear a difference. Save your money, and go troll elsewhere instead of saying I can't discern what I'm hearing.
improv
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You'll see I also posted:
That's fine. In my experience the difference is negligible.
I'm not sure why your opinion is valid yet you brand mine as trolling. I don't know why anyone would be personally offended based on cable preference.
The placebo effect is real and I happen to believe it's more of a factor than the actual difference of plugging a cable in one way or the other(electrons do not care).
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I think the discussion is interesting, both sides of it. I read that 'directionality' of AC current in cables does not exist. On the other hand, one can read "The theory of many high end cable manufacturers is that the the molecular structure of the metal (copper, silver, alloy etc...) used as the conductor becomes directional during the manufacturing process from solid metal to cylindrical strands. This can be seen under a microscope as linear grains or striations. The idea is to go with the flow of these and not against them."
To me this sounds rather obscure, but what do I know... Anybody here with insider expertise? :-)
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The debate about cables is even more hot-blooded and controversal in the "hi-fi world" (stereo-systems, cd-players etc.). I was once in a dedicated forum and they had a category for cable debate under the thread "voodoo". When somebody opend a thread and said he liked this or that cable and that he does hear a difference, a myriad of others will respond and frazzle him out. Typical argument is: what cant be measured via physics does not exist and hearing a difference is mere autosuggestion, hence "voodoo". The fronts between these opinions seem to be immovable. Of course there is also a market for it: there are very expensive cables (very!) and I wonder if they do anything better than a cable that costs 10 times less. Well, all I can say is that I took a risk and bought a Vovox and I hear a difference (over the LaGrange) and the difference is one that I´m very pleased with. There are even more expensive guitar cables: Evidence Forte, Mogami, Analysis Plus...
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Hello lapideusvir,
I'm also in that hi-fi community. It's something I've been involved in since '74, and it's taken decades for me to build my system to where it is now. I have have had and do have some of those very expensive cables. The difference is in the hearing, just as you mentioned with the Vovox.
Hello drdhrb,
You say "I'm not sure why your opinion is valid yet you brand mine as trolling."
Let me see if I can explain this. You are not merely stating an opinion (which is more than welcome and valid), but you are interjecting that there are those amongst us who cannot hear a difference, and we must be daft if we do.
If you wish to indicate, as you have , that you believe the difference is negligible, then that is an opinion. If you wish to say that the difference is not worth the cost. Then that too is your opinion and it's welcome.
However, you not only contradict yourself, but you discount those of us who do hear a difference. Your contradictions are going from "IMO cables don't affect your sound unless they are seriously screwed up." to "In my experience the difference is negligible." That indicates that there is a difference. If you feel that difference is unimportant to you, then that is your opinion.
You discount we who hear and appreciate the difference by saying that the cable has to faulty for a difference to be present.
You say "I'd also love to see someone pick out which direction a cable was plugged in in a proper blinded test." Well, it's been done. Again another way of discounting those you disagree with.
Another, "Just that fancy cables (to me) are snake oil." Well that's probably borderline opinion with a hint that I and others are being sold a bill of goods, and are willing to buy into something that is not legitimate.
But you are absolutely relentless. Now you're willing to concede that it's a "placebo effect".
You seem to not understand the difference of stating your opinion, and in disparaging comments aimed at those you disagree with.
Thus, troll!
improv
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"You say "I'd also love to see someone pick out which direction a cable was plugged in in a proper blinded test." Well, it's been done. Again another way of discounting those you disagree with."
Please link to the peer reviewed study then.
I made no personal value judgements against anyone. People are welcome to spend their money on whatever they want. I think I've explained my position fairly clearly so why would I not call a spade a spade. Would you have me say "I don't think there's a meaningful difference when I use different cables but the same cables used by someone else vary greatly!". That makes no sense.
You're the only one slinging insults here.
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The debate about cables is pointless. Believe me, I´m through with this. I just enjoy my better cables! :-) Let ´em use their bellwire all day long if they like
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I'd also be interested in reading peer-reviewed studies of the claims made by boutique audio cable suppliers. Until then, I'll remain a skeptic.
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Why dont you just try one? Originally Posted by KIRKP
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I dont want to play referee here, but I think the 'insults' expressed here, if there were any, were negligible... (oops - now it was me who said that...)...
btw - this discussion is a great justification vis a vis my wife that I spend 100€ on a guitar cable and try if I can hear a difference. The Swiss stuff looks juicy, doesn't it?
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I have. Originally Posted by lapideusvir
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Raney and Abersold, great interview.
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