Do studio snakes degrade quality?

[primomusic]

Hey guys wanted to purchase maybe a 8 channel snake for my studio and cue mix instead of just taking the cables straight out to the booth. Will getting this degrade my audio quality. I see snakes being used in studios but dont know if they are specific ones. I’m using a modded BLA 002 with aUA 2192 A/D and a great river mp2. Also just purchased a b2 bomber and a Pacifica to add 2 more channels.

[EGS]

Just avoid the cheap ones, and you'll be fine.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by EGS

Just avoid the cheap ones, and you'll be fine.

I agree but wanted to offer more info(just for education purposes). Using snakes is unavoidable in anything beyond a simple 1-room setup. Using the best you can afford is always a good idea and remember that each step(connection) in the audio path is a potential spot for failure. Those steps could include any/all of the following:
Microphone
cable from mic to wall plate(or snake box)
input to patch bay
patchbay cable(or normalled connection)
cable from patchbay to preamp input
preamp output connection
converter input

Every single connection is important and a possible failure point, so the more steps in YOUR chain of connection, the more important "quality" becomes. With that in mind, avoid cheap "house brand", Mono-Price and the like. Buying a used snake from a craigslist ad from someone's old "bar band" PA system is also not a great idea. There are lots of Chinese-made cables that APPEAR to have Neutrik connectors, but they are often fake and really poor quality(and it really stinks to have a good performance ruined by something crapping out in the middle of a great take

BTW, the length of cables is much less of an issue when the cables are high-quality

[Marcel Risberg]

I use snakes only to save time or when it’s the only option. The audio / signal degradation of snakes may be negligible to most but not to all. You’ll have to listen and compare for yourself to know about your specific situation.

[Bob Olhsson]

I was shocked by the degradation from even "high-end" snakes and patch bays. Preamps and even digital conversion located right by the mikes sounds best.