… and when very long microphone cables are often used.
Again, a reminder that balanced connections are of benefit when there are both low signal levels, as in microphones, and high levels of EMI. When voltage levels are higher than 1-3 mV, balanced connects rarely if ever make difference. Subwoofers get pre-amp level voltage signals, roughly 100 times stronger than 1-3 mV.
Don't judge so quickly
https://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=397
Thanks for refining my knowledge - especially on the difference between mic and pre-amp levels!
However, while maybe not absolute in every sense, I will still stick (in general principle) to my statement about the pro-audio balanced XLR cable market not being so prone to snake-oil cables!
My reasoning is that AudioAdvisor falls squarely into the home audio market and if I check Sweetwater (my go-to for all things pro-audio including my Focals), their most expensive XLR cable is $190 for a 100' cable ($1.90/ft)!
https://www.sweetwater.com/c1033--Microphone_Cables?sb=high2low
I figured I would check Guitar Center as I would guess it is the largest pro audio outlet if you consider the aggregate of all of their stores!
Using the same search process ("XLR Cables", sort by price - high to low) on Guitar Center's website quickly reminds me why I like Sweetwater! I made an honest effort, but short of scanning through 100's of items, the search does not limit "hits" to XLR cables and does not even order items from most to least expensive the way Sweetwater's site does. I did spend some time looking and did not see any "boutique" brands and the most expensive XLR cable I noticed was $140 for 100'; however, the poor search tool leaves some question as to whether that was actually the most expensive XLR cable they sold!
https://www.guitarcenter.com/search?N=18993&Ntt=xlr+cables&typeAheadRedirect=true&typeAheadSuggestion=true#pageName=search&N=18993&Ntt=xlr cables&Nao=0&recsPerPage=90&&Ns=pHL&postalCode=30601&radius=100&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD
So, while it is disheartening that boutique brands are making snake oil XLR cables, it is nice to see that they do not appear to have a presence on mainstream pro audio retailers (at least, yeti).
