It’s essentially the bottom rung on which you can get solid protection from signal interference, though not as high quality as copper. You’ll find a few types of materials that cable manufacturers use to make their shielding:Īluminum laminate is undoubtedly the cheapest of the three types of shielding. Essentially, it takes any ground interference and directs it through the cable, keeping it from the main signal. You’ll find three pins on the male end of the XLR cable, and the shielding is connected to third one. Shielding on an XLR cable can protect your signal from any interference such as radio or power frequencies. They are very pure sounding, have low noise, are strong, and flexible.
Regarding the actual build, you should have your eyes on Oxygen Free Copper cores.
Many people like to use thicker cables for studio recording as it adds more capacitance for the best sound.įor live sound, people like thinner cables because they are much more flexible. Core thickness is measured in diameter with the American Wire Gauge table and ranges from 20 to 26, 26 being the thinnest. Cable CoreĬore thickness is another critical feature to consider when looking for an XLR, as it can affect the way your signal is transferred. Know your space, and be as thorough as possible when deciding on length so you can keep everything neat, tidy, and in working condition. Though you won’t have to worry about XLR signal degradation like with instrument cables, if you have a ton of extra cable from a 100-footer lying around, your studio or stage space can begin to seem disorganized. Take into account that there may be small obstacles like amps or speakers that you’ll need to snake the cables around, so a couple of extra feet can’t hurt. Never just measure from the console to the instrument. Getting the cable that is the proper length, whether for live use or studio use, is extremely important.įor example, in live use, you must remember that you’ll probably be running it from the stage to the mixing console in the back, so you’ll likely need a cable that is 20+ feet.Īll in all, give yourself some wiggle room. Many XLR cables are labeled for live and studio use, so make sure to keep an eye out for that! Length In that case, paying extra for the extreme durability might be a waste. On the other hand, you might just be using you XLR for the studio. If the cable is low quality, it won’t last. It’s very helpful if the cable has a PVC Jacket as well, as that can provide tons of flex. You’ll most likely be running the cable over with amps and wrapping it back and forth around different mic stands. It should also be flexible so that you can move it around the stage with ease.
If you’re using an XLR audio cable for live use, it is of the utmost importance that it is built with durable shielding. You can also decide whether you want to use them for microphone or instrument applications, though we can cover that more in depth in a different article so that we can focus on all-around applications here. Most XLR cables have the same basic build, though deciding whether you want to use it for Live or Studio applications, can have some bearing on the features you should be looking for. Before we move into comparing the 5 products we chose, let's first explain a few important factors that will help you make a concrete decision.