To Doug Schneider,
I was wondering if you can share some information regarding the use of exotic HDMI and loudspeaker cables. It seems the debate over using ordinary versus exotic cables is still going on. Do they make any difference at all and, if so, is the extra cash spent on exotic cables worth it? I can’t wait to hear your answer. Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Maximillan Cue
There’s a consensus among SoundStage! Network reviewers that insofar as video quality goes, one doesn’t need a high-priced, exotic HDMI cable to see a perfect picture providing you’re not running too long a length, something I’ll touch on briefly. Our reviewers have tried really cheap and really expensive cables and, providing the cable is properly constructed and appropriate for the type of HDMI connection you’re trying to make (1.3, 1.4, etc.), they can’t see a difference. Most likely because it’s transferring digital data that simply tells the display what colors to light up the pixels. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use a good-quality cable. Some of the really cheap cables out there break easily and have lousy connectors, so you want to avoid them. Companies such as AudioQuest and DH Labs make good-quality HDMI cables for fair prices.
I’ve found that where differences can be found among HDMI cables is when you have a very long cable length. What you’ll find, though, doesn’t have as much to do with picture quality as it does with whether the signal is getting to the display device or not. For example, I use a good-quality 30’ HDMI cable that runs from my processor to my projector. Some people say that you need an HDMI repeater to run lengths longer than 25’, but this cable works fine, at least up to that length. If it were longer, perhaps the signal wouldn’t make it and the projector would show no picture at all -- I’ve seen that happen in certain installations. If that happened to me, I’d either have to get a better-quality cable that would allow a longer length or, most likely, I’d simply insert a repeater to go the extra distance.
As far as loudspeaker cables go, that’s a different story. In this instance we’re talking about an analog signal and some people do find sonic differences among cables. I’ve never found the differences to be as significant as some proclaim them to be, but I have found enough of a difference that I choose my loudspeakers cables as well as interconnects carefully. Once again, quality is important, so you have to look out for that, but you also have to consider the sound, which means trying different cables out. Loudspeaker cable brands I’ve personally used and have had good success with include: DH Labs, Nordost, Crystal Cable, Siltech, and Nirvana Audio. . . . Doug Schneider
