XLR length??

[bleeding]

I have heard that instrument cables over 25' can potentially degrade your sound...

Is this the case with XLR cables from my amp to the house PA? I need to pick up a new XLR cable and cant decide if i should stay away from the 50 footer and just get the 25' - or if it really even matters?

Thanks!

 

[AlembicPlayer]

no loss from a balanced line(XLR)...that's one reason why house snakes are balanced.
If you are using a DI from your amp or a box, then you only need to get the line from the DI to the stage breakout box.

 

[JustDavid]

Balanced line & a low impedance load GREATLY reduce cable effect. & keep in mind you are likely plugging into a snake that's at least 100' long.

The only downside I see to 50s is coiling the buggers.

 

[TimmyP]

The only downside I see to 50s is coiling the buggers.

Grab the middle. Coil to the end. Turn the coil around in your hand. Coil to the other end.

 

[Mark Reccord]

The loss issues aren't actually about the cables themselves but what's connected by them. An instrument cable driven by a low impedance source like an active bass or a preamp output into a high impedance input won't exhibit any more loss than a similarly connected XLR cable.

The key is low source impedance driving high load impedance. When you get into a situation where you have a high source impedance like with a passive bass, then the capacitance of the cable becomes a factor at audio frequencies. So with passive instruments you really need to use a DI close to the instrument to convert that high-Z output to a low-Z one suitable for driving long cable runs. It's less important for active basses.

Where balancing comes in is for noise rejection. Basically if you have a balanced line driving a differential input circuit (like every mic preamp) any noise picked up along the length of the cable will be canceled at the preamp input. This is definitely important in long runs.