XLR cable – best ‘sound proof’ one

[Bouke Vahl]

Old ones can get noisy, but then it has to be really old.
Now, since a connector is 1.50 bucks, and very good cable 1 buck per meter, and soldering a cable takes 15 minutes if you’re unexperienced, why not make a new one to test?

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com

[Eric Toline]

Could be that you have intermittent connections at one of the connectors. Open each XLR connector and look for loose or unsoldered wires at the solder points. You can test the cable when connected by moving the cable along it’s length and listening where it happens. If it’s in the cable and not at either connector then a new cable is required. Also be sure the connectors are firmly seated where connected to the mic and the connection on your mixer. It could also be a loose connection in the mics output XLRM plug.

\”I push the RECORD button and hope for the best\”

[Ty Ford]

Hello Chris and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

I have experienced the same thing. Last time i recall was setting up mics in the visor of a car for a video shoot. I was running the mic cable around the rear widow and along the headliner to the front of the car. I had my cans on and could hear the tapping and positioning. There was no stress on the connectors.

I don’t recall the make of cable, but I was a bit unsettled by the noise.

Cables I like Gotham GAC-3 and GAC-5. I have not tap tested them yet.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

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[Chris Newberry]

Thank you everyone – some really helpful info. I shall be looking into it more next week

Thanks again

Chris

[Bruce Watson]

[Chris Newberry] “…when using an XLR cable with my boom mic etc if it slightly moves or is accidentally knocked then I hear that on the final recording (through the cable, not through the mic).”

OK, I’ve got to ask: what makes you think the problem is the XLR cable? In particular, what do you mean when you say: “through the cable, not through the mic”? Do you mean that if you disconnect the mic and thump the cable, you record a sound? If so, can you post the sound so that we might hear it? And even if not, can you post a sound sample somewhere so we can hear it?

And just so we’ll know, what mic, what mic mount, and where is it mounted (boom pole, c-stand, camera top, etc.)? Are you recording directly into the camera (which camera?) or into a dedicated sound recorder (which recorder?)?

To answer your question: [Chris Newberry] “Is there a particular type of XLR cable that would protect against this?”

Since I don’t know what “this” is, it’s difficult to say. What I can tell you is that I’ve been using fairly cheap AT8314 cables for well over a decade now and never heard a any kind of sound that I could attribute to the cables. Many of these cables I actually bought used, so who knows how old they are? Yet they still over-and-under just fine, lay flat on the floor when I need them too, and I don’t get any kind of cable noise or connector noise at all. Maybe I just got lucky. Who knows?

[Chris Newberry]

Fantastic – thanks Bruce.

I can’t do it today but I will sort something soon. I’m away filming on Thursday and there’e a change I’ll use the mic and cable then (if not I’ll mock up something in the office)

Thanks again for your detailed reply

All the best

Chris