Looking for XLR cables for under $200

I recently got the Parasound P3 preamp and the matching A23 stereo amp for my Dynaudio DM 2/6 speakers.  The preamp and amp both have XLR connections, so I'm looking for a good XLR cable. 

I currently use entry-level Transparent cables in my system ($90 interconnects and $200 speaker cables), but Transparent's cheapest XLR interconnect is over $600.  I have the BlueJean XLR cables right now, but was wondering if there's anything better for under $200, or are the BlueJean cables good enough?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bixby 

Blue Jeans makes some decent cables.  The transparent stuff is nice but really pricey.  I have a really good pair form the pro side of audio.  It is the Evidence Audio Lyric Hg cables.  Lots of good props over on gearslutz.   These are much more open and natural sounding than Mogamis finest and outperforms lots of audio side xlrs. 

 

I found they did very well in my system only outperformed by some strong $450 Element Cable signature coppers.  Alas they do not seem to offer xlr terminations for some reason.  I think the Evidence cables are a safe bet and work well in lots of systems.  FWIW - David Gilmour uses Evidence Audio Lyric in his studio.  I think you can pick them up for under $150 for a 3 foot pair.

 

Best bang for the buck though is probably diy if you are handy.

Are these the ones you're talking about?  http://www.guitarcenter.com/Evidence-Audio-Lyric-HG-Microphone-Cable-330280-i1430282.gc

I didn't think a microphone cable would work.  I was looking at the audiophile cables.

They no longer have the 3ft versions (it goes from 1.5ft to 10ft) but 1.5ft is long enough for me.  $68 for one.  That's a very reasonable price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3320070 

Insulated copper cable vs. audiophile insulated copper cable? What's the difference?
 

 

Magic dust?  hehehe

I've been looking around and saw some similarly priced (or cheaper) XLR cables:

Signal Cable Analog Two ($60) or Silver Resolution ($120), but I don't think silver plated copper will sound good on my system.  The Analog Two will probably sound similar to the BlueJean XLR cables I'm using now.

Kimber Hero ($150-200).

XLO Ultra 2 ($160).

Any thoughts on these?  I'm thinking the Evidence Audio microphone is the best, and it looks great too.

I took the Transparent RCA cable from my headphone amp and put it between the preamp and amp.  It sounds better.  It's even easier to separate the instruments and vocals.  The largest difference is the increased clarity, especially in for vocals.  Of course the Transparent RCA is $90 and the BlueJean XLR is $60.  Maybe I'll just get an extra set of Transparent cables and be done with it.  No need to worry about mismatching different brands of cables and changing the overall sound signature (my entire system has Transparent cables).

I'm wondering if my preamp/amp would really benefit from having the XLR cables because the Parasound P3 and A23 is not a true balanced design, and I'm not having issues with noise or ground loop.  If there's no real benefits from going XLR, I might just stick to RCA and save some money (the same type/level of cables with XLR connector is more expensive).