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Is there any noticeable difference in sound quality if you use a new XLR cable instead of a well-used 10 years old one?

I work at our local church and can borrow a cable from there to do some recording for a short film instead of buying it..

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Balanced microphone cables for low impedance connections generally have very little influence at all on the sound, unless they're simply broken or the connections are extremely long. Room acoustics, microphones, preamps, even AD converters all contribute much more significantly to the sound quality. – leftaroundabout Mar 3 '12 at 15:09

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If you use a new crappy cable, it's going to sound worse than a well-made and cared for high-quality cable that's 10 years old.

But by the same token, a well-used workhorse cable that's been cared for properly for 10 years might not sound as good as something studio-grade.

Age really has nothing to do with it. Quality, construction, and care are what matter here. When care is absent, then age makes a difference--but that would be visually noticeable.

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