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It came time to replace my worn gigging patch cords, which had always been the cheapest heavier-duty ones I could find, so I spent about double (US$25 for 5m) and got gold tipped Planet Waves. They seem to make my keyboard sound better (or is it my imagination)?
The guitarists I know are all cable aficionados who fight over their favorites like audiophiles used to do (in stark contrast to keyboardists who never mention the matter). One of them swears by Evidence Audio. Others mention Lava and Mogami. Prices go all the way up to US$150+. They think the expense is worth every penny. They all denounce Monster as good but overpriced and inferior to the above brands.
Do y'all have an opinion? I don't expect an expensive cable to make a bad box sound good, but do any of you think they're worth it, or make a difference at all? And why not? After all, a guitar only has 2-1/2 octaves or so vs. an 88-key instrument.
A cheap cable might not last as long, but ultimately the signal quality is the product of the length, resistance, and cross-sectional area of the wire, so I can't imagine that it would affect the tone per se. I'm not an expert though. I'm aware that this can be a hot topic on guitar player and DAW forum groups, and some electric guitar players claim that better cables give them a better high frequency resonance or whatever, but I'm skeptical, especially as it applies to DPs.
Yamaha P120, MO6, Steinberg MR816, Galaxy Vintage D, Komplete 8 & various other VIs, Reaper
They seem to make my keyboard sound better (or is it my imagination)?
Well it's more than imagination, it's the power of suggestion. If it's expensive it must be better, right?
No, gold tips and other features of high-end cables do not affect sound quality. Unless there is something serious wrong with the cheap ones the expensive ones will sound the same. The benefits are much more subtle than that (longer lasting, better looking, etc.).
A cheap cable might not last as long, but ultimately the signal quality is the product of the length, resistance, and cross-sectional area of the wire, so I can't imagine that it would affect the tone per se. . . .
+1.
. Charles
PS -- for long cable runs, there are other considerations. But we're talking about audio frequencies, and _short_ cable runs. Gold plating never hurts, but it's not very expensive, either.
. Charles --------------------------- PX-350 / Roland Gaia / Pianoteq
Caveat: To date I have NO experience with cables used with digital pianos - BUT I have a lifetime of experience in consumer audio. Cables do sound different. I suggest buying/borrowing a couple of candidates, hook'em up and see if you enjoy the sound of one more than the other.
Don't worry about critical A/B comparisons - just play a bit of your music with one, then with the other. Do this a few times over a period of days. Pay attention to your reactions. If they sound the same to you (that is, you enjoy them equally) buy the cheaper one. If you consistently find yourself preferring one to the other (no need to over-analyze WHY) then buy and use that one!
We can hear things we can't measure, at least so far. Listen and if you hear a difference, go with the sound you like. If you don't hear a difference, buy the cheapest cable that meets your standards for construction quality.
Bottom line: If you hear an audible difference, go with it. If you don't, no harm no foul.
PS; This response is specifically to the OP. It's neither my desire nor intent to argue with other posters, whose views may differ from mine. My intent, rather, is to communicate my own experience and encourage the OP to experiment and trust his ears.
Isn't there a difference in the currents involved, between DP and guitar? And doesn't that make an electric guitar (without active electronics) more problematic to connect up successfully than a DP?
In a balanced cable there are three conductors. There's a shield braid, like many other cable types but it doesn't take part in carrying the signal. The other two wires carry the signal, but one wire's signal is inverted (or out of phase by 180 degrees). Any interference that gets past the braid and is picked up will be picked up equally on each signal wire. When the differential signal recombination takes place at the other end (in the amp or in a balun) the interference will be cancelled out. So, longer cables can be used without interference starting to become a problem.
(I believe rhe same principle is used in twisted-pair ethernet cable. Because of the twist, interference tends to arrive out of phase with itself and cancels out.)
