Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsNeutrik ends are easily converted to 90 degree XLRs. Mogami cable can and do sound better, depending on application.
February 6, 2018
I converted female (mic end) XLR connectors to 90 degree versions without soldering. Merely purchase Neutrik NC3FRX 90 degree female connectors from Amazon. The front soldered connector and the back threaded nut are the same as the Mogami originals and can stay on the cable. Just disassemble, swap the other parts, rotate the 90 to the desired "clock" location, bend/tuck the wire into a 90 degree shape, and reassemble. Made up four of these yesterday, they work great, and I now have four extra "new" Neutrik female XLR ends left over. They can be converted back to straight ends later.
In the process of converting my studio to better cables, as a degreed EE I look at specifications; in particular, capacitance per foot, which can cause a (somewhat minor but audible) rolloff effect in the top of the treble range, particularly with higher impedance preamps. This quad cable (Mogami 2534) has significantly higher capacitance per foot (worse) than their non-Quad (2549) product, but slightly lower capacitance (better) than the competing, also very high quality Canare Quad. Quad cables trade capacitance for interference immunity - they are very quiet indeed.
I have found that if a mic or source is "active" (48 VDC phantom powered mic, active DI, or an electronic instrument output), it typically does not need the super high interference rejection of a quad cable, but can still benefit from lower capacitance. I use Mogami 2549 (non-quad) for those sources. Dynamic (non-powered) mics are more interference sensitive, and benefit more from a quad cable, as do longer runs (25 foot+) from active devices, particularly lower level ones. I use Mogami 2534 Quad (this cable) for those applications, and combat the capacitance rise by keeping cable lengths as short as possible.