I’ve been on a bit of a cable kick lately, really trying everything in the $65-$150 price range to find the winner(s). I’m not really of the mind that well made cables are going to affect sound quality, certainly poor quality will, but if there are not flaws in the design, components, or build then I can’t see the cable choice doing much to affect sound. I am not completely close minded to the idea that they could, but I am skeptical and have not heard any sonic differences between cables myself. I am totally fine spending extra money for something I find aesthetically pleasing and which is more convenient than stock options. What I do like to see is high grade components.
So far Ive purchased from Hart, Audiophile Ninja, Fog City, Arctic, Forza, Norne and someone from East Asia via Etsy whose name escapes me. If customization meant nothing to me I would probably buy from Audiophile Ninja Exclusively, at the price point they provide the highest quality cables, always using Neutrik XX balanced XLR connectors which tends to be a bit hard to find at the sub $100 price range and can ship within 3 days.
Hart offers a bit more convenience and customization, however the quality is a slight step down from Audiophile Ninja, never to the point of an issue, but it is there.
Fog City is a bit of a puzzle as the cable and available options were solid, the turnaround was quick and the price was fair, however when I ordered from them the only closeup picture of a balanced XLR connector was of my preferred Neutrik XX model, however when the cable arrived the connector was an unbranded model which looked very much like the Neutrik connector, but wasn’t, afterwards I looked back through the connector options picture and you’re forced to zoom way in to see that for most models of cable they offer it is not in fact the Neutrik connector but an unbranded model used which seemed a bit disingenuous.
From there Arctic takes things a step higher with far more custom options, however and this is just a personal preference thing, but it annoys me that they don’t offer Neutrik XX balanced XLR’s, only X models with the up charge for the HD from Neutrik or other more premium options from other brands, I went with Amphenol, nothing at all wrong with the connector, I just tend to prefer the Neutrik XX. Still, the cable was high quality and arrived fairly quickly, I’m happy with it. Worth noting that they offer the largest selection of custom options(usually at a premium) for connectors and such.
From there the Forza cables take another step up, however they’re a bit more expensive while also using a different type of cable(litz) rather than the standard offerings from Canare or Mogami, so if you need adapters the you’ll probably want to stick with the same cabling which will come at a premium as well, it isnt a huge premium, none of these are the kilobuck cables that you see available, but I think it’s pretty important to note the increase in price when you’re thinking of the difference between the various aftermarket cables as well as in my case when you’re the type of person who orders many cables to cover my bases on different aesthetics and whatnot.
Finally there is the Norne cable… which I haven’t received yet. Kind of a bummer as every other brand I ordered from blew me away with quick turnaround. As an aside, these are a bit more expensive and the customer service has been top quality. Perhaps I got terribly lucky as far as turnaround so I can’t really say Norne has done a poor job, simply all others arrived before I expected them.
The cable from the individual etsy shop offered similar quality to Audiophile Ninja with a few customization options, however the shipping time rather than the turn around makes me less likely to order consistently.
Like to point out that for certain makers I listed they offer far higher end offerings, I was more focused on my above stated price points, only the Norne came in higher. So take my opinion for what it is: comments on build quality, customization options, value and turnaround time. Also, being more focused on aesthetics and ergonomics I’m unlikely to really dig into truly TOTL. Though there is a thick naked copper twisted cable from Double Helix which is honestly pretty enough that it just might justify the big price tag.
