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Evidence Audio Cables

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jacove

jacove

Apr 12, 2003
722
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Aalborg, Denmark
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#1
Hi,

I bought a Evidence Audio Lyric HG cable a few weeks back....this cable has really amazed me. I previously used George L (great clarity, but lacks bottom end), Planet Waves (full, but a bid muddy) and the standard cables...There is a striking difference from these cables and to the evidence...The Evidence has great clarity and a full smooth sound, really a great improvement...they are pretty expensive, but I really think they are worth the extra dough....
 
#6
George Ls don't lack lows - they just have all the highs. Many cables roll off the highs and the listener perceives it as having more lows.

re: Evidence cables - snake oil indeed. You'll get the same quality for a lot less money if you buy some Neutrik plugs and Mogami two conductor with shield cable.
 
#7
Well, ok guess I'm being a bit stupid spending my money on those evidence cable...I wasn't aware of the fact you mention!.... :crying: But anyway, I did do some testing, and to me they are FAR better than the cables I tested against...and everybody in my band agreed that the change wasn't subtle but very noticable...actually, my guitarist who "was" a big sceptic regarding differences in cables was so surprised that he has changed all his george L cables with evidence!...I'm not trying to say you can't find a cable equal in quality for less money....you can also order the parts yourselves from Evidence and make them yourself, that's what my guitarist did and he saved alot of money....But the fact for me is that I think they sound better than the standard cables I can get in my local music shop, so I just wanted to share that experience.... ;)
 
#9
The thing is, when someone says "listen to Brand X cable" and then "now listen to Brand Y cable" the listener can always hear a differerence.

But when you listen to cables without knowing which is which, no one consistently hears differences between cables of similar quality. People claim to hear differences - in fact, they will hear the difference between the same recording played twice.

I've done some blind tests on my own, and I can't hear differences between George Ls, Mogami/Neutrik, and an Evidence I borrowed. I might have expected to hear differences, so I made sure I didn't know what cable I was hearing during the tests.

All good quality cables. Some just cost WAY too much.
 
#10
Lyle, I totally agree with you that a blind test is the best way of testing...actually we did blind testing and everybody could spot the evidence from the George L...That being said we also blind tested by laying down two tracks on an 4-track recorder, the difference wasn't as noticeable as when we played through my Aguilar DB750/El Whappo rig...

We also did some testing running the evidence into a pedal circuit and george l from the circiut to the amp and the vise versa, the sound was way better running the evidence into the pedal circuit, probably beacuse the pedals were hit with a better signal, all I know is that there was a difference...I just don't agree that all cables are equal and the evidence is pure snake oil, but maybe I'm fooling myself...At least the blind test proved otherwise....
 
#11
Smash, okay maybe I didn't explain it too well...The George L is to me a bit thin sounding compared to planet waves and evidence, at least to my ear, it is more open and treble sounding...I agree that it cannot lack bottom end, hehe... but compared to the others I did find that the bottom end wasn't as full...
 
#15
Lyle Caldwell said:
Evidence cables - snake oil indeed. You'll get the same quality for a lot less money if you buy some Neutrik plugs and Mogami two conductor with shield cable.
Click to expand...
Not true. I've done just that. Not the same. In fact, every time I use Mogami, I have a terrible night of trying to get a sound. I don't use Mogami anymore. Or Canare. Maybe you can't hear a difference; that's fine...I can and do. The Evidence Lyric is absolutely the best cable I have ever heard with single coil basses.



Lyle Caldwell said:
when you listen to cables without knowing which is which, no one consistently hears differences between cables of similar quality.
Click to expand...
Our experiences have been different then. When I first tried the Evidence cable, our guitar player who was sitting next to me and was not told I had tried my new cable turned to me after a couple songs and said "Hey, are you using that new cable you were gonna get? It sounds 'beefier'".

There have been times I forgot to bring it to a gig and had to use either my backup Mogami or Canare cables. In every instance, I had a horrible evening trying to get a sound I was happy with. Every time, without exception. I suppose I'm just imagining it...hearing what I expect to hear.

Except that I had high hopes for the Canare and Mogami cables. If I had ANY predisposition, it was that I expected them to sound great; that's what I wanted to hear. But I didn't. The first time I tried both of them it was a bad night. Couldn't get a tone I was happy with no matter how much I tweaked. And (here's the important part for those who espouse the placebo effect) I was expecting them to sound killer.

Conversely, when I tried the Evidence, my expectations were low. I took a chance; what the Hell. I've blown more money on less...MAYBE it'll sound better...whatever. I could immediately tell the difference, and it was a good difference. I don't claim to understand the physics involved, but I do know what I hear.

You don't have to believe me or anything else, that's your right of course. If you're perfectly happy with generic cable X; more power to you...really.

Just IMO, as always...
 
#16
Are your basses wired internally with Evidence? How about all the wiring inside your preamp, effects, and power amp? Do you use Evidence speaker cable? What about inside your cabs?

Sorry, I just don't buy that a $100 cable magically changes the sound of all that $0.05/foot wire.

People say all kinds of things about how to improve audio. There are people who quite seriously stack coins on top of their speaker cabinets. And these people argue about how many coins, and whether pennies sound better than quarters.

If you can't get a good sound with Canare or Mogami cable, you're doing something wrong. And god forbid you should go into a studio where your signal will go through Mogami and Canare cables from start to finish.

Not a personal attack on you, and if you're happy with your sound, I'm happy for you.

But when blind tests are done, no one can ever repeatedly distinguish cables of similar quality and construction. This isn't just me - this is the AES.

Not only do blind listening groups not support the Evidence claims, but you can't measure any difference using scopes or meters, when comparing comparable cables of the same length (to be more accurate, two cables that are the same model from the same manufacturer will test within the same margin of difference that two models from different manufacturers do).
 
#17
Lyle Caldwell said:
Are your basses wired internally with Evidence? How about all the wiring inside your preamp, effects, and power amp? Do you use Evidence speaker cable? What about inside your cabs?
Sorry, I just don't buy that a $100 cable magically changes the sound of all that $0.05/foot wire.
Click to expand...
That's cool, you don't have to. All is well. BTW, the only change in my situation was the cable. Dismiss it if you want, that's fine.

Lyle Caldwell said:
If you can't get a good sound with Canare or Mogami cable, you're doing something wrong.
Click to expand...
I see. So it's my fault that I couldn't get a sound I liked with Mogami or Canare (did I hook it up wrong...?), but I suddenly could with the Evidence? If it's the placebo effect (a valid criticism), please reconcile that with my expectations. What exactly did I "do wrong"?


Lyle Caldwell said:
you can't measure any difference using scopes or meters, when comparing comparable cables of the same length .
Click to expand...

This is true. It is also true that the human eye can discern more color variations than any computer. Do those differences not exist because we do not have machines that can measure them (yet)?
 
#18
I'm only going to respond to that last bit about measurement, because there can be no "winners" in a thread like this. It's almost a matter of religion and not worth the hassle.

But anyway, the equipment used for measuring electrical signals and audio signals was developed for the telecommunications industry, which deals with much higher frequencies in much more critical environments, where capacitance and inductance are deadly enemies. They can measure everything we hear in an instrument cable. They can measure everything we can't hear in an instrument cable.

Remember, a bass amplifier and cabinet only accurately reproduces frequencies from about 40Hz to about 10K, assuming big dog top of the line cabs. We hear much more info than the speakers can reproduce. And instrument cables can carry more info than we can hear. And equipment exists that can measure a lot more than any instrument cable can carry.

Else we wouldn't have satellites, cell phones, TV, etc. Bass amplification is not exactly technically demanding by 21st century standards. An iPod leaves our gear in the dust, let alone what NASA and Lucent are working with.

With that, I'm done with this thread.
 
#19
Even it is only a matter of religion, I think people should respect what people hear and play and don't disclaim any views...I tend to like the Evidence cables better because I hear a difference...I just done another A/B blind test today, and I still hear a BIG difference, that's the fact....you may have other experiences and I have no problem with that.
 
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