I have to be crazy. Speaker cable for amp head.

  • Thread starter Thread starter GuitarGuy08
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GuitarGuy08

GuitarGuy08

Well-known member
Hello all,

Yep, another post where I claim to hear something others cannot. I knew this would happen when I bought the cable.

Anyway,

I decided to buy a new speaker cable because of one reason or another and got one of the Gator series. The nice 12g ones with gold connections.

I have found that I dislike gold connectors for guitar/instrument cables but gave this a shot.

The one I have been using is also a 12g cable, a Pro Co one with standard nickel connectors.

There is a certain amount of high end that is gone with the Gator/gold.

I have more testing I will do tomorrow, but this is throwing me, as I was hoping I would NOT hear any difference in audio. If I really thought that though, why did I go with another brand? Curiosity.

More testing to come, but yes, I appear to hear a very audible difference between the two.

Damn these crazy ears.
 
Yep. The Gold plated Gator definitely shaves off high end grind. Not sure if I prefer that or not. It 'reduces' the volume a bit but produces a more 'mid-centered' guitar sound. I am wondering if I can dial the high end back in and reproduce the sound field the Pro Co Power Plus presents. It feels like I can dial out the high end clarity of the setup, if needed, but could I dial it back in if the Gator reduces it?

What would even cause the high end reduction? My guess would be the 'noise-free' sheathing that is used. It may reduce background noise or something by reducing the audibe amount of presented high end, but I am not so sure that is a good thing.

They are both 12-2. I removed the connectors to check the cabling inside, just to be sure.

Other than the Neutrik connectors, which are beefier (Pro Co.), and the Gold/Brass plating (Gator), I don't see a difference.

I didn't expect the audible difference to be so drastic.

On Low power mode, my amp would probably sound better with the reduced top/bottom end and a more present midrange, but the high power mode seems to rumble and thump your feet with the Pro Co and not so much with the Gator.

Further testing at higher volumes will ensue tomorrow.

HA! I can't be that crazy. This reminds me of when I did Mogami vs my EB braided cables.

Sound clips comparing a piano piece. You can hear that the Mogami reduces top end clarity and bass depth.

Something is different in the transients.

That is the same thing I am getting here with the Pro Co vs the Gator.

Mogami: http://www.rensheijnis.com/audio/LDM54MPB502Mog.wav

Other: http://www.rensheijnis.com/audio/LDM54MPB502Hul.wav
 
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GuitarGuy08 said:
Yep. The Gold plated Gator definitely shaves off high end grind. Not sure if I prefer that or not. It 'reduces' the volume a bit but produces a more 'mid-centered' guitar sound. I am wondering if I can dial the high end back in and reproduce the sound field the Pro Co Power Plus presents. It feels like I can dial out the high end clarity of the setup, if needed, but could I dial it back in if the Gator reduces it?

What would even cause the high end reduction? My guess would be the 'noise-free' sheathing that is used. It may reduce background noise or something by reducing the audibe amount of presented high end, but I am not so sure that is a good thing.

They are both 12-2. I removed the connectors to check the cabling inside, just to be sure.

Other than the Neutrik connectors, which are beefier (Pro Co.), and the Gold/Brass plating (Gator), I don't see a difference.

I didn't expect the audible difference to be so drastic.

On Low power mode, my amp would probably sound better with the reduced top/bottom end and a more present midrange, but the high power mode seems to rumble and thump your feet with the Pro Co and not so much with the Gator.

Further testing at higher volumes will ensue tomorrow.

HA! I can't be that crazy. This reminds me of when I did Mogami vs my EB braided cables.

Sound clips comparing a piano piece. You can hear that the Mogami reduces top end clarity and bass depth.

Something is different in the transients.

That is the same thing I am getting here with the Pro Co vs the Gator.

Mogami: http://www.rensheijnis.com/audio/LDM54MPB502Mog.wav

Other: http://www.rensheijnis.com/audio/LDM54MPB502Hul.wav
Click to expand...


Speaker cables definitely influence the sound, particularly the kind of cable that is used and the length. Not sure about gold plating though.

What really makes me laugh is those $100+ power cables that some audiophiles swear by.
 
I recently got some cheap speaker cables, short and long, because I have more amps, and no room.

Not doing any comparisons; if it sounds wrong, I just adjust the tone controls on the amp until it sounds right. Not noticing any difference in feel.

Then again, my ears have been shot for decades, so that could explain it?

edit: I just looked, the speaker cables I purchased are ProCo StageMASTER 14 gauge, various lengths, 25', 15', 10', 6' and 3'.
 
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Monkey Man said:
Of course, make sure any cables used for comparison are exactly the same length.

It's no secret that cable capacitance is a thing.
Click to expand...
Yes, I should have mentioned that they are the same exact length as well.

This is doing the Mogami thing 100% and I would guess it is how they shield the cable for the 'extra low noise reduction'

I can always hear the difference when I put a Mogami in the mix, and it is almost never for the better, which is hilariously unexpected.

I will do further testing today, but yeah, the Gator is a high quality cable, it just reduces the high end and bass punch in a way I don't think I prefer, just like Mogami stuff.

I have an instrument cables testing thread on here somewhere.

I literally took the same exact cabling and put assorted connectors on and listened to the differences.

Anything with 'Gold plating' changed the sound in a way I did not prefer.

I had a friend with me doing the comparison and had them turn around/blind and they could tell me when I went to the cables with the neutrik gold on them.

Boy this audio stuff sure is touchy.
 
Also, be sure you listen to the clips posted in the links, as it relays my exact listening experiences. This is is from a speaker/cable website where they compared cabling in the exact same scenario and recorded the differences. What I hear in that comparison is what I hear at home with the new cable, and when I was testing with Mogami before.
 
thegame said:
FWIW, silver is a superior conducting material to Gold
Click to expand...
That was actually something I was thinking about. I figured it surely couldn't make that much of a difference, but I can't find much else to put it on at this point.
 
I started using these a couple years ago for cabinets:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JSP122QQ10--jumperz-blue-line-ts-ts-speaker-cable-10-foot

Brad Bartosz at BTPA is awesome, I built a lot of cables with his stuff and my pedal board, also had them send a couple cables my way.

Also, Vinnie makes good stuff at Signum. I got one of the demartini cable wraps for kicks and have to say I really like the cable, though I would pass on the wraps. Just get the cables and be happy.

My old board was made from Mogami. I have some 10 and 20' mogami laying around still that I soldered up and like. That said, I favor Signum and BTPA a little more.
 
GuitarGuy08 said:
Also, be sure you listen to the clips posted in the links...
Click to expand...
Unfortunately no way to hear them properly bro'.

For some years now the CrapMac™ speaker in my 2012 Mac Cheesegrater™ is all I've had. :loco:

That should all change next year, fingers crossed...

GuitarGuy08 said:
Anything with 'Gold plating' changed the sound in a way I did not prefer.

I had a friend with me doing the comparison and had them turn around/blind and they could tell me when I went to the cables with the neutrik gold on them.

Boy this audio stuff sure is touchy.
Click to expand...
I can't help but wonder whether or not gold imparts the same "sound" I hear from gold-plated bass strings in the top-end.

It's "sweet", but not necessarily accurate.
 
Monkey Man said:
Unfortunately no way to hear them properly bro'.

For some years now the CrapMac™ speaker in my 2012 Mac Cheesegrater™ is all I've had. :loco:

That should all change next year, fingers crossed...


I can't help but wonder whether or not gold imparts the same "sound" I hear from gold-plated bass strings in the top-end.

It's "sweet", but not necessarily accurate.
Click to expand...
That is a really perfect description, actually.
 
Thanks man.

The high end sounds sweet-and-rounded, as if there's a bump at a pleasant-sounding freq (I'm guessing, like, 16kHz), but also a lowpass just above it, thereby eliminating harshness / hardness above it.

That's how I remember the effect of gold plating on the bass strings I tried back in the '90s. That's all I'm going on. I could hear it clearly.
 
This thread brings me back to an idea I had a while ago. When I was building my DIY tube amp audio system, I did braid my own speaker cables. The difference was bigger than I expected. I was thinking of trying this for my guitar amp.
 
If you have a good multimeter, you can measure the capacitance of the cables and compare.
 
Yes, Silver > Copper > Gold for conductivity. Gold's best use is for low power devices like computer components that benefit from more equal impedance across contact points due to their lower level of tolerance for errors. Other than that, I would assume that it's main use for cables is consistency from one to the next and life given that it very resistant to corrosion. Any other point would be snake oil, for the purpose, imo.
 
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