Community Newsletter: Q&A: Home audio and video: Premium vs. generic cables
- 6/15/07 6:51 AM
Monster cables at Monster prices
by lt x - 12/23/07 9:58 AM In reply to: Video Cable, beach front property and snake oil salesmen all by pkipnisHere's the short story:
I've had two home theatre sound systems in the past year. One system was in the $350 range and my present system is in the $1700 range. I tried Monster cables and Radio Shack cables on both systems. The digital signals between dvd player and the amp/converter (and subwoofer) was no more than six feet. There is no sound difference between using $90 Monster cables vs $24 RS cables. I've even used the cables that were provided by the manufacturer of the subwoofers and the amp/dolby converters. No quality of sound difference between using the expensive Monster cables and the cheap looking cables that the manufacturers provided. The final test in sound systems are your ears and not digital graphics provided by Monster Labs. I conclude that the expensive cables that are being pushed by the Sales Associates at box stores such as Best Buy exist to improve profits and not necessarily performance.
What to look for
by vdblu - 6/1/07 10:32 PM In reply to: Home audio and video: Premium vs. generic cables by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Price is not necessarily an indication to the quality of cables. However, as another poster said, those cables you can buy from the %0.99 store probably won't do good either.
You need to find balance. Balance between your wallet and quality that YOU are looking for. Just remember, when buying cables, make sure they have gold contact points. Also, shielded cables will give you better quality but it's one of those intangible things. Some people know just by the picture if a cable is shielded, others can't. If you're the latter, then shielded isn't necessary (though keep in mind, you live near powerlines, shielded would probably be a good idea).
Simple answer
by baran220 - 6/8/07 7:39 PM In reply to: What to look for by vdbluCheap cables $20.00 give you poor quality, expensive cables $100.00 are a rip off for most home theater systems, unless you have a 60,000 watt virtual movie theater in your house but then you can also afford gold plated cables with diamonds.
The expensive cable is what most high-end A/V shops will try to sell you. Not because they really feel it works better but to cover them selves from having to make a return visit with a better cable because you think the picture is not what you expected. And of course they want to make more money.
I bought $20.00 HDMI cables just to get me started and set up my AV system. I have a fairly high end AV unit with an HD/DVR cable box and 46"" LCD. I use HDMI cables through out no composite at all except for the DVD player where I use optical and composite.
Though I had a decent picture, for the heck of it I went out a bought $60.00 cables just to see. Big difference, I did not realize I was losing picture quality with the cheaper cables until I changed them out.
Bottom line; buy a brand name cable like monster but stay in the middle price range and you will have what will work excellently without buying what you don’t need.
Check this out
by Watzman - 6/9/07 9:58 AM In reply to: Simple answer by baran220I just got a reply from someone who bought (and after reading my answer was returning) a "Monster" (brand) 6 meter HDMI to HDMI cable that he had paid $120 for.
Monoprice has two 6 foot HDMI-to-HDMI cables; their premium cable is $15.44 (their item #2219), their budget cable (item 2412) is $4.79. I've used these cables, and there is nothing wrong with them. These are the kinds of price differences we are talking about.
MIND YOU, THE MONOPRICE "BUDGET" CABLE IS GOLD PLATED AND HAS FERRITE NOISE REDUCTION CORES.
Get It?
Analog Cable from Sat Box...
by Gregarious1 - 6/16/07 2:37 AM In reply to: Check this out by WatzmanThanx webfoot...re the control...I was just planning on running up to the house to change it. Are you saying there is a way to control it from my place? How? Oh, and I want to mention, you know Michael Schenker, from AC/DC? The supposed 'god of guitar'? Well, his 'wife' and kids came down and spent a few days with us, and a friend of hers came over to visit, her not us. He was talking about how they got cable from military subs, made out of silver, not the color-the metal, and used it for electric guitars. Awesome sound, and then they rewired the guitars with silver, too. Classy. ;D
long analog cable
by webfooted_willie - 6/16/07 5:27 AM In reply to: Analog Cable from Sat Box... by Gregarious1What satellite box do you use? Make and model. You may be able to control it via the coaxial link - if not, there may be a wireless device with enough range.
Or, if no one in the house uses the satellite box could you move it into your mobile home if all else fails? I have a friend with 70 foot cable from dish to receiver and no problems. Some authorities say maximum length 70 METRE! But others say 100 feet (see http://cablemaster.com/SatelliteTip.HTM) It's worth a try, and if the signal is too weak (most receivers will tell you) you can install an inline amplifier in the house.
Alternatively move the dish too? Solves all your problems.
Sorry, no comment on silver cables.
Analog Cable...
by Gregarious1 - 6/15/07 11:48 PM In reply to: Simple answer by baran220I live on a ranch, in a mobile home about 125' away from the main ranch house. I want to run a cable to my standard tv set, from the satellite box. No EMR worries. But I have been wondering if I need one of those, what's it called, a refresh box? To strengthen the signal after some distance? I am not too worried about quality, anything is better than what I have now. Zippo. What is that 'box' called, and do I need it?
And if I buy 100' roll, and add the remainder, do the connections degrade the signal? Thanx, David
Analog cable from satellite box
by webfooted_willie - 6/16/07 1:57 AM In reply to: Analog Cable... by Gregarious1As no one seems to be answering:-
I am using 127 foot coaxial cable from satellite box to standard TV (Panasonic 20 inch) which I tested before installation and could detect no difference from using a 1 metre cable. There was also little difference from using a 1 metre SCART connector.
My cable also involves a male and female pair of coax connectors as I did not have a long enough continuous length.
You do not say how you intend to remotely control the satellite box: mine is controlled by 9V DC signals via the coaxial cable.
Yes and No
by mikeinHB - 6/1/07 10:55 PM In reply to: Home audio and video: Premium vs. generic cables by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In my experience, digital cables can be the cheapos and analog should be better grade. Now, that doesn't mean you need to spend a ton of money on a set of BRAND name cables that we all see at the big box stores. While those cables are of a good quality (probably even in the top tier), there are cables with less of a bling factor that do just as good a job. Search around the internet for information forums that contain brands and experiences, don't just take the replies here for gospel. In my home theater I have HDTV, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVR. That's alot of acronyms, but you get the idea that I like my tv and movies in high def. Now, my screen is of top notch quality, my speakers also, and my sources are of great quality. By no means is it a 30k setup, but it's no slouch. I've been in the position where my newest component I've just bought was so expensive that I really didn't want to nor could I afford the big dollar cables, so I opted for the cheapos, with the intention of buying the more expensive ones when I could. I'll tell you that the analogs made a big difference in sound and video quality, but the digitals were all snake oil. That's using my blue-collar worker's ears that are probably not as audiophile-esque as some, but no noticeable change nonetheless. In terms of analog, I bought the gold plated, bling-style cables that were 90 bucks for a 3ft. cable and then had the 30 dollar cable when I discovered that 3ft wasn't long enough for the new entertainment center. No difference again! Except for the 'monster' pricetag.
As a final note to this, I will tell you that the power conditioners are NOT snake oil. Many will tell you their setups work just fine without them, and that their picture is just great without it. I will tell you that living in a home with older wiring and a city grid that's overloaded (southern CA), I noticed the difference as soon as I powered it all back up! Plus, my insurance may not have to cover my losses if there is a problem and any of my equipment fries. Get one just for the 200 dollar insurance policy on a 3 thousand dollar TV!
Analog cables
by bennetthk - 6/1/07 11:05 PM In reply to: Home audio and video: Premium vs. generic cables by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Can't say I have noticed too much difference with my digital cables Derek. However, the difference with low quality and high quality analog cables is marked. I used to use the cables that came with my gear. A mate assured me of the performance improvement with his speaker cables, and it got me interested. We moved house, and I was interested to upgrade our sound system, but it was only about a year old. So I purchased some better speaker cable, and *WOW* - the change was amazing - I was so happy with the sound improvement from the speakers - greater tone, clarity and richness.
As we were moving I went out and bought some other analog cables that connect to the AV Amplifier. I used Monster Cables as they were in my price range and widely available. There are other brands, but Monster's quality and price made them a good choice for me. The improvement was amazing and seriously, has kept me so happy with my existing kit I have not needed to upgrade. I later bought even better speaker cable (which is actually a good investment as you can use it over and again when you eventually change speakers) and it was a worthwhile incremental improvement.
I have only one original equipment cable left, that connects my DVD recorder to the analog cable tv box. The performance in terms of colour, clarity and sound is pathetic, but I am too damn lazy to pull all the equipment off the wall to make the change now!
Good luck with your decision Derek!
AlexB
Speaker cables .....
by Watzman - 6/8/07 7:20 PM In reply to: Analog cables by bennetthkWith speaker cables, it's not so much "quality" that matters as wire guage. A system delivering 100 watts to a 4 ohm speaker system is going to be putting 5 amps through the speaker wiring. That's significant current, so you do need some good heavy wire (more so if the length is long as well). But given the guage that you need, there is still a big price difference between "plain old wire" and "premium wire", while I will contend that it makes no difference in sound quality (using a smaller guage wire, however, can degrade sound quality). And all that said, speakers are about the only cable application where wire guage matters ... they are about the only application carrying significant current. Just as computer analog video (not TV, not digital video) is about the only application where cable capacitance and crosstalk really becomes significant (but VERY significant).
Speaker Wires
by ralphieflaff - 6/9/07 7:55 AM In reply to: Speaker cables ..... by WatzmanI agree, speaker wires are the only place I have ever noticed a big difference in quality depending on what kind of connecting wire you use, especially if you have a high powered system with long lengths of speaker wire. The only other recommendation I can make is to keep connecting points clean by occasionally using something like noxon. Poor connections and using really cheap line level RCA type cords with poor shielding can affect signal quality.
Speaker cable quality..
by rchaisse - 6/9/07 10:25 AM In reply to: Speaker cables ..... by WatzmanI have to respond to Watzman's statement.. 'With speaker cables, it's not so much "quality" that matters as wire guage'.
You're right about guage being important. There is a lot of power (amperage) that is sent to the speakers. However, the quality of the wire is very important for a couple of reasons.
1. most copper wire fatigues. after a period, it needs to be re-tightened. ( you can check this yourself ) Some speaker cables use an alloy that has less fatigue, but also, is more efficient in allowing more of that power to reach the speakers.
2. the capacitance of the wire significantly effects the slew rate (rise time) of the signal. A low-capacitance cable permits the sparkle to come through. With a high-capacitance wire, the sound is dull and nothing that you can do with any of your components or audio cables will change that. The best design is wire that is twisted inside an outer jacket.
Reply .....
by Watzman - 6/11/07 9:10 PM In reply to: Speaker cable quality.. by rchaisseAs to your point 1, I don't know what you've been drinking (smoking?) but that's some good stuff. Fatigue is only an issue in terms of mechanical failure to a wire subject to frequent movement (most are not). And, within broad limits, fatigue is a function of guage (copper is copper .....).
As to your point 2, your point is technically correct but really not relevant at audio frequencies, and only a bit relevant at composite video frequencies. It is, however, VERY relevant at the frequencies used by computer monitors and HDTV monitors driven with analog signals (e.g. component video).
Save your money
by tim63 - 6/1/07 11:26 PM In reply to: Home audio and video: Premium vs. generic cables by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
For analog signals like component video, cables can make a difference, up to a point. Tests have shown there is no difference in picture quality between moderately priced cables and the most expensive, especially for short distances.
Digital cables (HDMI and DVI) have become one of the biggest scams in the industry. Even the cheapest cable will deliver the same digital bits as the most expensive one. Only on very long cables, heavier gage wire will reduce the possibility of signal loss. Don't pay monsterous prices for a cable that does the same job as a printer or USB cable. Some stores carry only overpriced cables, so customers have no choice but to shell out or go elsewhere.
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