Germany’s Sommer Cable has introduced its new SC-Silver Stage microphone cable stock that uses copper with silver alloy wire. This combination provides optimum conductivity and stable operation.
Why silver? Unlike copper oxide that tarnishes over time and reduces conductivity, silver oxide is still conductive; keeping it in oxygen-free cable will reduce any long-term change. SC-Silver Stage is oxygen-free cable and uses tightly and concentrically stranded copper wire that is refined and coated with a silver alloy.
For review, I received a 12-meter length of SC-Silver Stage plus a pair of Neutrik XLR connectors. I wanted to make a very special microphone cable I could pack with me for trips to any studio or remote recording sessions. This cable would connect the microphone directly to the XLR input of the microphone preamp—no extension cables, no patch bay, and no studio mic panel. Here, I am looking for the most pristine connection possible.
Making my own SC-Silver Stage mic cable was easy—the wire is flexible, tough and lays flat on the floor without curling, kinking or knotting. The wires are easy to solder but are not Star Quad pairs. The outer jacket is thick temperature-resistant PVC and I measured very low DC resistance for this 40-ft cable. I compared a Canare 4-LE6S Star Quad cable that was half the length of the Sommer and immediately heard a difference in the openness of the sound coming from my Bock U195 condenser microphone.
I also tried this same cable as an AES/EBU cable from my Pro Tools digital out to my Avocet IIA monitor controller. I could hear no difference between it and a 1-meter long Mogami 3080 digital cable used inside my rack.
Sommer also makes a ready-to-use line of cables plus their custom shop will make any set(s) of cables in any length you would desire. Check
Sommer’s 200-0011 SC-Silver Stage cable at:
usashop.sommercable.com/en/Cable/Bulk-Cable-Audio/Mikrofonkabel-SC-Silver-Stage-200-0011.html
