Get your cables from the discount retailers such as Walmart and Target and get a good middle of the road cable. The best buys and circuit cities will only stock the premium monster cables. Otherwise when you buy a new TV, ask for them to throw in one of their premium cables.
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General discussion
Home audio and video: Premium vs. generic cables
Alright, so I've been trying to become involved in the high-definition era for a few years now. As far as I'm concerned, picking the right cables can be controversial. Whenever you go buy a new HDTV or an accessory component, the salesmen always ask if you have the appropriate connections. Then they always ask if you have "the best" connections that will provide the optimal picture and sound. So is there? Is a $15 cable going to provide equivalent performance to a $100 cable of the same type? And does this question have a different answer for analog and digital cables? I'd love to get the facts straight once and for all. Thanks!
--Submitted by Derek M.
Answer voted most helpful by our members:
HDTV Cabling
Cables and connections for stereo, HDTV, or any electronic media can be compared to hoses for moving water around your house. If you have a pump that will deliver 50 gallons of water per minute and you need to deliver 75 gallons per minute to some plants or a fountain--sorry, it will deliver 50 gallons max and your fountain will not chirp merrily, it will just slog along.
Cables have a maximum delivery capability and if you don't meet or exceed that your media will suffer. But on the same line of thought, if your plumbing will deliver 200 gallons of water and your pump will supply 100, you have wasted a lot of capability (which you paid for and will never get). Same with some of the monster cables that are around today, they are built to deliver ear shattering amount of wattage to speakers that if you did deliver, would soon reduce your ability to hear it to deafness.
The idea behind HDTV is that they are now sliding more data down the channels, and you can't do that with the old cables (maybe 25 gallon pipes). Same with HD DVD, Blu Ray and all the new things. You need to have a pipe that will deliver the amount that is being sent. You definitely need HDMI or better when using any HD device. You can use the other cabling (component, s-type, etc) but there is a difference. Some things won't even work without the proper cable, like upconversion to an HD set.
As for the price, that is something else entirely. Just because you pay $100 for a hose, doesn't mean it is made to stand the pressure of delivery. It is almost a matter of 'You get what you pay for', but not quite. There are connections at both ends of the hose and there are connections at both ends that belong to the other components, like your TV and the HD DVD. They are just as critical as the cable, they could be below par so that needs to be checked in the buying phase. I will say that buying cable from a reputable source has always made sense (when money is no object). I have however, bought from many different sources and compared and find that workmanship, and a quality product is not guaranteed by price.
What I have done is buy a great cable at a high price (you are going to need many cables by the way) and then bought a few from other sources at reasonable prices and compared them. Most have a return policy anyway, so the ones that didn't perform, I just sent back. Some times the ones that went back were the high priced ones. If you can't see or hear the difference, what are you paying for?
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10149_102-0.html?forumID=7&threadID=250288&messageID=2504006#2504006
--Submitted by the_shelton
If you have additional opinions, advice, or recommendations for Derek, let's hear them. Click on the "Reply" link to post. Please be detailed as possible in your answer and list all options available. Thanks!
Discussion is locked
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In my previous post I mentioned the Impact Acoustics SonicWave HDMI Cable. It has excellent construction, received very good reviews, and has basically the same composition as the following "expensive" premium brands:
Monster
AR
Belkin AV Pure
Audioquest
Kimber Kable
SPECS:
Silver Plated Oxygen Free Copper Conductors
foam PE Dielectric
Triple shielding
24K gold plated contacts
You can purchase this cable online at www.overstock.com for $50 (2Meters) or $53 (3Meters) plus shipping. It is also available at PCUinverse.com for $37.29 (1Meter) + [$7.24 (S&H to Atlanta)]
Note, however, that this is the same cable that Radio Shack, CompUSA, etc. sells under the Cables-To-Go label. But if you purchase it at any of these stores will cost you about the same as the above mentioned "premium" cables which is about $100 for 2Meters.
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Hmm, 10 types. I bet no one knows this one.
Bob
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Thanks for the info Proffitt. If memory serves me correctly, Hitachi made the first OFC cables (audio) I bought back in the eighty's. Iand my professor at the time was very impressed particularly with HF reproduction.
I am a fan of both Continuous Casting (Cu and Ag) and Cryogenics as well as the cable manufacturers using it (Ridge Street Audio, PNF Audio, and Chris Venhaus).
I am reasonably certain that the OFC being referred to by almost all the vendors (with the above exceptions) are not of the above two types and are more likely to be in the "General" category. Otherwise I am sure these guys would advertise the fact as bragging rights which separates their product from the rest.
In particular, I would love to obtain a pair of Ridge Street Audio Poiema III interconnects but I just can't afford that luxury rioght now.
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maybe I'm wrong, but I think he was referring to the type of alloy, not that the OFC may be used by other companies. The difference in alloy can make a big difference, provided it's matched with an equal counterpart for the female connector. The alloys can vary greatly in resistance. (copper is very low and resistant to corrosion) Oxygen Free really doesn't matter unless you frequently expose your connectors to chlorinated water and high temperatures or current on a regular basis. I, personally, do not water my AV equipment
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but smart users go to avsforum and learn like I did. monoprice has the hdmi cables you need for less than 8 dollars and they are the same cables you overpay for from the red shirts or the blue shirts. these cables work perfectly and its inarguable that they are of the same quality as the 50-100 dollar rip offs in the stores or online.
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I have been buying all my audio and video cables from Audio showcase (www.audioshowcase.com) and have been very happy with the quality. I have put them up against monster cables in a side by side comparison and I can't tell the difference. I just bought a LCD TV for our bedroom and wanted the hook my PS3 up with HDMI cable. I looked around and the best price I could find was $50 for a 6 foot cable in retail stores compared to $12.50 from Audio Showcases premium. They also sell Monster cables if your not sold on thier cables but the prices for the Monster cables are as you would expect for Monster cables. I haven't cut into one of their cables to compare the sheilding, but the thickness of the cable is the same as all those expensive brands and as I stated earlier, I could see a difference in the picture in a side by side comparison. Check them out!
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I thought about this, and realized that if there was truly a difference, then the premium cable manufacturers should would set up a comparison in the store. Show one TV or stereo running with cheap cables and one running with their high-end cables, and let the consumer judge the difference. Even go so far as to set up a selection box and let the customer change among several cables to let them decide what to buy, much like selecting among speakers to choose which you want. If there truly was a difference, then this set-up would let the cables sell themselves. But I have NEVER seen such a set-up. So, I decided that there isn't much difference.
When I purchase cables I always purchase above the cheapest, but I also use cables included with the equipment, and they work well.
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Manufacturers of high end cables often set up demos at industry shows.
In fact.
And some of the more successful demonstrate to anyone with an open mind the superiority of better cables.
But...
In fact....
Lots of people do not have open minds when their biases force them, for their own psychological reasons, to deny the reality that all steaks do not taste the same no matter how many McDonald's fans would tell you otherwise.
All CD players (digital devices, no?) do not sound the same. All HDTV video displays do not process video signals the same (visible to anyone who ever stepped into a big box store.) The last are digital devices.
All digital cables do not transmit a digital signal the same way.
There are analogue distortions that explain the performance, or lack of, for audio cables...and yes, price alone does not determine performance. There are expensive audio cables that beat the pants off the ultra-expensive audio cables. But cheap audio cables have never surpassed in performance audio cables that costs.
There are digital distortions that explain the performance, or lack of, for digital cables....and yes, price alone does not determine performance. Again, the cheap digital cables do not surpass, or often even come close to, the performance of top notch -- and often very expensive -- digital video cables...and yes, you CAN see the differences that anyone can see unless one is blind. But that is another issue.
On the issue of buying up, rather than down, they are values judgments...not a judgment of value.
A cheap cable can be a bad value; and an expensive cable can be a good value.
A cheap car can be a poor value if it doesn't protect your life or drives like a piece of junk, or is inappropriate for your status in life...let's say a Beetle for a business executive, or a Ferrari for a real estate agent.
The best, or even the better, always cost more money than the standard, the pedestrian, the common.
This principle goes for video cables too. The best is expensive and selling it is not a fraud provided the vendor can support his case. Some vendors can; others cannot.
Radio Shack and Monster are just two brands among several hundred. they are generally at the low end of the spectrum in price and performance. When one talks about cheaper cables than Monsters, you are no longer in the basement; you are below the slab in the sub basement.
Life just ain't fair, is it?
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All the discussions about quality of audio and video cables (excluding speaker cables) are close to gossip. Everyone that ever has seen a production studio knows that there are no snake oil cables, nor oxygen free ones. These cables simply have to stand a relatively rough treatment since people often trample on them, which rarely happens in your home. Excluding rough handling in home installation, there are few things to care for, yet it is not easy for the technical unexperienced to check: Video cables must have the correct impedance and must be loaded correctly (in common 75 Ohms). You simply can hope the manufacturer of the cable AND the equipment connected have followed the rules! No snake oil, oxygen free copper, gold plated connectors can overcome any sins committed here ! With audio cables the matter is even more simple: They have to be of low capacitance. This calls for a very thin inner copper lead which may easily break under mechanical stress. Big cables with a heavy inner wire are on the wrong side anyway. Excepted are speaker cables which have to be as big as possible, but again, snake oil, freedom of oxygen may only load your pocket. As long as the the points mentioned are followed and the connectors are firmly mounted, there will be no trouble about cabling.
Better to put your money in good equipment than in exotic cables.
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The weakest link in any connection are the actual cable ends that connect the two components together -- the connectors (be it HDMI, Component, DVI, RCA, etc.) . This is where any measurable signal degradation occurs over a realistic distance.
Only the very very very bottom end cables are suspect to signal degradation (be it digital or analog) due to no insulation and/or bad connectors.
Monster Cable (the Company) are perhaps the world's leading scam artists (do some research on the company be prepared to be shocked). Paying $300 for a 6 foot cable is hilarious -- when I see someone buy these I often wonder what their IQ is and how they managed to make enough money in the first place.
Rob
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You will if you are looking for it. But what is the point of some minimal difference that would go un-noticed when enjoying a movie. I hate walking into "high end" audio stores and listening to all the usual tech BS. Go to radio shack and buy a 15 dollar optical audio cable and it will give you pristine sound, given that the source(dvd and dvd player) are of decent quality. Remember, the source is what is the most important factor here, i.e.. DVD/CD player and quality production of the DVD or CD. Buying expensive cables wont make a crappy system sound better. Your audio video is will only be as good as the source. I recommend allocating more on the sources. As for audio cables I reccomend buying online from sites geared towards music production, usually in their pro-audio section. The cables they offer are ones used in studios to produce audio. Personally I prefer mogami for analog rca connections. Keep your cables organized, dont mix or put power cables near signal cables. Basic things will save you alot of money and improve signal quality.
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heres two different rca cables(monster vs. mogami)
Look at pricing difference and look at rating difference. Customers who shop on these type of online stores usually are more knowledgable of audio components and studio experience. As you can see Mogami is an industry standard in audio interconnects.
Monster:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Monster-Cable-Studio-Link-500-Interconnect-RCA-RCA?sku=331682
Mogami:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mogami-Pure-Patch-RCA-to-RCA-Mono-HiDefinition-Patch-Cable?sku=339032
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Get the least expensive cables you can. Most are gold plated, which is probably as are as I'd go in the way of "extras." Avoid Monster if possible, in my opinion they're overrated and overpriced.
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When I purchased my plasma TV in 2005 and subscribed to HDTV I set up my own experiment by purchasing both high & lower quality cables. I purchased a set of Monster Component cable and a set of radio shack component cable. Monster cost about $110 and the radio shack set cost $35 and there was no visual difference. The cable box I use has two video outs for component, so I used the cables at the same time & my TV has p.i.p and so i was able to set both screens side by side. So for myself RAdio shack cables are the way to go. Colors do seem brighter with HDMI instead of component cables.
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I agree monster and radio shack sound and look the same. I'm thinking that most people think thier monster cables sound better because they paid tons of bucks for them and they are trying to justify that cost even if it means lying to themselves.
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I purchased a 6 foot hdmi cable @ BJ's Warehouse for $29.99 and when I first purchased my 42" LCD display (last May) I purchased a 3' monster hdmi for $99. If there is a difference then it's so minimal that it's not worth it. I agree, monster cable owners see a BIG difference because they're trying to justify to themselves that spending rediculous amounts of cash for a cable is worth it.
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Comparing water piping to an electrical circuit is an excellent and correct analogy. However, the way it was described is wrong. The pipe size is analogous to electrical resistance and water flow (rate) analogous to electrical current. However, the 3rd part of the equation that was not included is water pressure - analogous to electrical voltage. Although not a great analogy, think of your speaker as a sprinkler. It's generally not too useful to connect the sprinkler directly to the pump - the water must travel through a pipe to place the sprinkler in the desired location. If they are close, you can get by with a relatively small, poor quality pipe. But, the further away your sprinkler is placed, the larger and better you want your pipe. You just want the energy required to run your pump spraying water through your sprinkler, not pushing it through the pipe! But, it is not a "go" or "no go" decision - it is all relative. Some people are damned picky about their sprinklers and their spray pattern so they get highly polished, perfectly straight, huge titanium pipes. Most of us just want to water our lawn or wash our car using good quality hoses that last, don't kink, don't leak and that allow water to flow easily through them!
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bottom line... digital is 101010 and analog is analog! what does this mean well think about it if you have interfierence it is going to be analog base and your tv is not looking for this your tv is only looking for 101010 digital. if the cable is constructed properly it either works or does not that is what 1010 means something, nothing, something, nothing your tv does not care about the analog anything. monster is looking to survive and monster knows it is what mobile fidelity was to lps of the 80's an ageing dinosour. if you want premium cables to make you feel better just buy them at monoprice.com i love this web site they are monster quality at 10% of monster cost.
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