Which type of analog signal cables are the best for Kemper?

  • Good evening, I own an audio interface with no S/PDIF ports, so I would have to connect the Kemper through the balanced male XLR main output connectors.

    Which is, according to your opinion, the best type of cable for this purpose? Which cables do you use?

    I saw some stuff from Mogami, Wireworld Luna, Mackenzie and Van den Hul but it is not clear for me which can be the best one looking also for the quality/price ratio.

    Many thanks!

  • You'll get as many opinions as there are members.

    There is no best. A good quality cable is all that is necessary. You do not need to spend a bunch of money on a brand.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Good evening .

    Mogami is good but expensive :/

    HOSA is good too and half the price :)

    I have used many different brands in my P.A. profession

    back in the days and most of the cables does a good job

    as long as you treat them well , but don´t buy the cheapest

    ones from China ..... :P

    And with balanced XLR there´s almost no risk of hum and

    other noice ........


    Cheers !

    The adjective for metal is metallic. But not so for iron ... which is ironic.

  • most of the cables does a good job

    as long as you treat them well

    Well said, well said Hoki Toki . Sometimes I wonder how people spent lots of money on their amps and other gear. And even on cables which they handle afterwards like its a piece of useless crap. Same for walking on cables, rolling or unrolling them in interesting fashions, buying thin and cheap wires etc. 8o


    Time to understand that the cable is the piece which transfers the great sound of our great gear. If it is the weakest point of your signal chain the signal suffers. And I fully agree with paults : Solid quality is what counts, not marketing and esoteric features.

  • any decent quality cable will be fine.


    personally I tend to just buy so e Van Damm cable and make up my own to meet my needs at the time. This was a major issue when I was trying to wire up an Old Skool pedal board based around an RJM PBC switcher and trying to get all tue cables to exact lenghts etc. With the Kemper I no longer need to worry about all that stuff ?

  • As always ... it depends.

    With a line level signal and 1m cable length, differences will be negligable (inaudible).

    With a weak mic level signal and a 9m+ cable length, things can already be quite different if it's a cheap cable.


    In a massively equipped pro studio, cables can make quite a difference due to long total cable runs through various outboard gear in different racks all over the place. In a home studio this isn't typically a major issue.


    Just go for quality mid priced cables in the price range of 25-40 Euros for a 3m cable and you should be perfectly fine.

  • I work for a cable manufacturer. For line level you really only need decent interconnect cables. Mic cables work just as well, but they are more bulky and expensive, so it's a bit of overkill.


    I know the word "decent" is a bit arbitrary, but you want something with medal ends and where the jacket isn't almost as thin as the conductor inside. Plastic molded end cables won't end the world, but they don't have nearly as good of isolation and typically made to meet a price point rather than a high standard. Since it was mentioned, gold or nickel contacts won't make a significant difference that you'd likely be able to tell. Gold is more conductive, but its use is more for durability since gold doesn't oxidate or corrode nearly as fast as nickel. Still, this isn't something you're likely to worry much about. It's a nice feature, but not a necessity.


    Price can vary dramatically, but more $ does not always equal better. Higher price can certainly denote more rigorous QC or better components, though the cost in components is fairly negligible in most cases. Most often it's just down to where it's manufactured and the cost of labor there. Good cables come from China, bad cables come from China, or Taiwan, or Indonesia, or Japan, or even the USA. You can buy an inferior cable made in the USA that's more expensive than a cable made overseas that's spec'd out, and visa versa.

  • I only use solid gold cables for the best quality sound. It's basically like a gold bar with audio jacks on both ends. Gotta get the best audio sound though!



    /s

    For real heavy metal guitarists and bass players i recommend Osmium cables ;)


    Cheers !

    The adjective for metal is metallic. But not so for iron ... which is ironic.