Home audio & video forum: Are expensive HDMI leads really worth it?

The expensive cables do appeal to those that must have the looks as well as some other feel.
Bob

If I'm going to install a cable between units of a home theather system, ones that will be plugged in and left untouched for years, the cheaper cables will work just fine. However, if the cable is to be plugged and unplugged, the more expensive cables will last a bit longer but they will fail eventually too. Dressing cables, cheap or new will last much longer if cables are supported so that the weight of the cable length is not pulling on the connector.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20056502-1/why-all-hdmi-cables-are-the-same/
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57321956-221/why-all-hdmi-cables-are-the-same-part-2/
http://reviews.cnet.com/2719-11276_7-226-3.html

Hope this helps,
-Lee

Usually not.

However, I have had rare cases, such as with a OnLive Microconsole, where brand-new cheap cables caused the video to distort and have sync problems where Accell cables (not so cheap) made it work fine. I had multiple cables of both types and the higher quality cables always worked and the cheap cables always failed. All cables were rated the same. It drove me nuts for a few days until I figured out that the higher quality cables worked.

I recommend having 2-3 higher quality cables and the rest as cheap cables. That way, if you have an issue or make a change, you can temporarily swap in the higher quality cables to see if it's a cable issue or not. Most, if not all, connections will work just fine with the cheap cables but you always have a few higher quality cables available for troubleshooting.

We tried two different expensive HDMI cables with our system which includes a Pioneer KURO TV, a Sony Blu-Ray player, and a Comcast DVR. Neither cable enhanced the picture or sound compared to a $4 HDMI cable from monoprice.com

Next, we installed a Belkin PureAV PF60 power console box which is a fancy surge protector with multi-stage filtering of the voltage for a little under $199 last year. We were impressed by the crisper, brighter, less "noisy" picture on the TV and a slightly more dynamic sound from our Magnepan speakers, McCormack amp and Audio Research pre-amp. All this while using the $4 HDMI cable. These effects were repeatable when going from the Belkin back to using just the AC power outlets on the wall, then back again to the Belkin. Cleaner, crisper, better !

Frankly, I expected no improvements and probably even a squashed dynamic range from the McCormack like I've heard from power conditioners in the past.

We tried the expensive HDMI cables once more to little or no effect. There was a slight perceived extra sparkle to the treble on a Blu-ray music concert disc, but when we reverted to the standard cable it seemed the same.

In most domestic situations, expensive HDMI cables are just hype. Not a bad idea to make sure the weight of the cable isn't hanging off the connector, as others have said.

The one possible exception is where the cable run is very long, then a higher priced cable may help if and only if you get distortion on a cheapie.

IMHO, they do not.
However, it is a very good idea to get 24AWG or even 22AWG High-Speed HDMI cables.
I do notice 28AWG and sometimes 26AWG cause drop out.