Ask Engadget HD: Which cable / interconnect brand should I rely on?
By Darren Murph 
posted Sep 24th 2008 12:00PM
posted Sep 24th 2008 12:00PM
"I'm not going to pay hundreds of dollars for those cables sold in Best Buy and Circuit City, but I want the best possible audio and video quality. I've got a pretty basic setup, and I just need a few HDMI cables, a set of component cables and a few optical audio cables. Where would I go to get the best for my money? Is there a particular brand I should look for? What has worked out for your readers?"
Unload your experiences with cables -- however expensive (or cheap) -- below, and be sure to elaborate on which brand / store / etc. you found to be the best for the price. Oh, and make no mention of Furutech, we're trying to keep the cost-per-cable under a grand.
Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.
http://www.monoprice.com
Seconded
Thirded.
Monoprice is the only place I buy cables (to date: 3 HDMI, 1 DVI-to-HDMI, 2 component, and at least 4 SPDIF). What is that, like, $50 at monoprice? :-D
Fourthed. Monoprice all the way. I refuse to pay more than a few dollars for a 6 foot HDMI cable.
'Fifthed' Monoprice get's my vote
The only brands I rely on is MonoPrice and other "truthful" companies that bring great quality cables to the consumer at a great price.
I do not trust companies like Monster Cable and FuruTech, that use tons of marketing and essoteric mumbo jumbo speak, rather than independent test with full measurements (not some high end magazine that uses fancy descriptive words.
Give me data - give me numerical proof of your cable.
Otherwise I will stick to Monoprice.
Monoprice - (http://www.monoprice.com/) for the least expensive, yet decent cables. Blue Jeans Cable (http://www.bluejeanscable.com/) if you want to "Buy American" (some cables at least) or just support a company that showed Monster who's their daddy. A little more expensive than Monoprice, but not that bad.
Seconded.
For short digital cable runs where construction quality won't make a difference, Monoprice's prices can't be beat (and their quality is good too!).
For the absolute best money can buy in cable quality, Blue Jeans Cable is unbeatable, and won't rip you off.
That's easy... buy the "Premium" version of whatever cable you need from Monoprice.com, you'll save tons of money and the quality is outstanding for the price.
HDMI cables on sale:
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/14042/2-Pack-of-6-HDMI-1-3b-Cables-7-49
Monoprice that bi*ch!
Why, Squiggleslash Cables, naturally!
Our cables are developed for minimal cross-path magnetic-field optical tachyon interference, using our proprietary LHC-derived shielding technology that enhances acoustic signals over HDMI while increasing color depth and making 480i look like 1080p even when connecting up SDTVs.
And our prices aren't bad either. A 2' HDMI cable from a company like Monster might be cheaper, but our $499 HDMI two-footer includes pillars to keep it off the floor, and a cleaning kit you can use to prevent dust on the contacts from interfering with the integrity of your signals. Does Monster cable come with that? I don't think so.
It's absolutely perfect for anyone who wants to hook up their Sony Plasma TV & Blu-ray player to a Bose surround sound system. Buy one today!
Oh, and did I forget to mention? In blind tests, 50% of correspondents noticed a "slight", "strong", or "massive" improvement in quality when equipment using our cables was compared to equipment using cables made by our leading rival. We stand by our products, if you don't notice a "slight", "strong", or "massive" improvement in quality, you can return the cables. We appreciate not everyone is part of that 50% who know quality when they see and hear it!
Monoprice.com FTW.
Anyone who pays more than $5-10 for their HDMI cables deserves to be ripped off for not being smart and see past the marketing bs from CE companies. I make sure that all my friends and family get their cables from Monoprice.
let me echo monoprice (digital cables are absolutely dirt cheap) and bluejean (any analog cable).
i got 3 hdmi cables off of a one time sale on woot for $8 shipped and so for they work great
optical and component cables i just got the phillips from target and haven't had any issues with my basic setup
monoprice.com
they are simply the best value for money (and tend to be the cheapest too).
I have wired several houses with their gear (network, audio, video, mounts, etc,etc,etc,etc, etc... the list really does go on and on....)
I hate to sound like some bandwagoner, but I too like monoprice since their prices are beyond fair and I to date have had no issues with any purchases that I have made for me or my friends.
You can put me down for Monoprice as well.
I also have used monoprice. PS3, XBOX360 elite to 52xbr4, soon to be ln52a650. seems like th quality is top notch, however, I have no used another brand so no comparison. but yea, I got the premium with gold silver insides.
It depends on length and analog or digital.
A digital cable under 8 or 10 feet will be perfect no matter what brand or BS shielding you buy. Period. Digital is digital is digital. It either comes in or it doesn't. When you get to longer lenghts you will need shielding to prevent interference, but an off brand will be fine.
HDMI, DVI-D, TOSLINK, S/PDIF (optical or coax), etc. are all digital.
Analog, that's a horse of a different color...
When noise gets into a digital cable, the levels have to be really high for anything to show up, and when it does, it kills the signal almost completely. Analog, on the other hand, accepts all noise, any little bit of it can distort the picture in a number of ways, but if the noise levels get really high, the signal can still be interpreted, like a really fuzzy TV channel. Therefore, it's a decent idea to hit up shielded cables for anything analog over 3 feet. Don't fall for that monster crap though, that's just a gimmick.
RCA, S-VIDEO, composite, component, SCART, VGA, DVI-A, etc, are all analog.
If your shielded cable costs more than twice what an unshielded version would cost you, run away. That cable place they're talking about is probably good. I usually shop around, though.
www.monoprice.com
That is all you need to know.
I purchased both 15' and 16' HDMI cables. The 16 was made by Belkin and sold at Sam's Club for $25. The 15' was a Monster 1000 series that I paid $180 for. They are both hooked up to a 46" Sony XBR5, one to a SA DVR and the other to a Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player. I have switched the cables between the devices and personally cannot tell ANY difference in picture or sound quality. I just wish I had known about the Belkin cable before I bought the Monster.
As if you haven't heard it enough in this thread, monoprice.com is THE place to go for cheap, high-quality cables.
Bluejeanscable.com gets all of my business. All their cables are excellent quality (all custom terminated Belden cables) and their service is impeccable. Not to mention their HDMI cables work PERFECTLY even at lengths of 50'+ which I can't say the same for a twice-the-price 50' Impact Acoustics HDMI cable that didn't work at all...
Thanks BlueJeans!
bluejeanscable is the place to go. Can't beat the quality / price combo.
As an alternative to monoprice, firefold.com has great deals on their house brand cables. Similar pricing, but in my experience buying in bulk they ship faster and have better customer service. (May be marginally more expensive, not sure.)
Here are the cables I use for my system.
www.elementcable.com/catalog/
Monoprice or Bluejeans (especially the latter for long HDMI runs).
I've gotten all my HDMI cables at meritline, 2 for a Hamilton. Looks great for me, I'm still not convinced expensive cables give any better signal than my cheapos.
I used AudioQuest, but I was not concerned about price. If you are just starting out, I highly recommend Bluejeans. The absolutely pwned Monster Cable in court and that counts for a lot in my book!
Don't interpret my AudioQuest endorsement as misplaced priorites. You should only think about dropping more-than-Bluejeans money on cables AFTER you've invested substantially in acoustic treatment for your room (1000x more important than cables) and isolation for your equipment (2x more important than cables).
Acoustics; GIK, ATS, Ready Acoustics, or RealTraps
Isolation; Bright Star and Vibrapods
You can get the party started right on acoustic treatment for $200, and have a serious sounding room for less than $500. A set of Bright Star IsoNodes is $19.95 and should be mandatory for every Blu-Ray player sold.
Both acoustic panels and iso nodes fall under the heading of resonance control, which is almost the only thing that matters to system performance! After you've done everything listed above, then talk to me about upgrading the capacitors&resistors in your speakers; that's the next easiest $100 you'll spend.
Most people are around $500 away from getting beyond-their-wettest-dream level performance out of the gear they've already got, but they don't know where to invest that next $500. Sorry to have gotten so far afield from the original question, but I wanted to put the issue in proper perspective.
Good Luck,
Jake
On the topic of digital is digital is digital... Can someone explain to me how/why some HDMI ports don't accept a pc input? I've never heard of this. I have the Panasonic TH-50pz80u (which has an incredible picture for $1600!!) that wont allow me to plug in my pc using either of the 2 rear HDMI ports but the one in the front does work (using DVI to HDMI cable). Panasonic Customer Service confirmed that it's not designed to allow for a PC connection but couldn't tell me why exactly. I could actually trick the rear HDMI ports into working but if I turned the TV off it would become non-responsive until I unplug it for a minute or two.
But What about in Wall HDMI cables? I was told for in wall I should spend a little more then the cheap HDMI cable. The cable is going inside the wall to run from the receiver to the wall mounted tv.
Depends how long the run is really. For anything short of 10' (not sure where most consider higher quality cables being necessary).. you're fine with the cheapest stuff. It only becomes an issue at much longer runs. If anyone knows at what length you should consider better cables please let me know.
For in-wall installation, you should get a cable that is rated at least CL2. I would recommend Blue Jeans BJC Belden Series-1 Bonded-Pair Cable, which is what I used for a run from my closet to the TV (50 feet).
The aforementioned cable is actually rated CM which is higher than CL2 and is made with Belden (please note NOT Belkin) 23.5 AWG cable. The cable is made in the US and is extremely high quality. It is rated for the HDMI 1.3a and is certified under the HDMI specification for 45 feet (I have no signal loss at 50 and they have tested it to 125 feet with no loss as well).
In my opinion, Blue Jeans cable is the best value for the price. Independent tests rate its performance higher than some cable that is more expensive. I spent a long time researching cable and took a long look at monocable as well (which is also an excellent brand), but I determined that for my installation (long run and in wall) Blue Jeans was the best choice.
First, this was an article that came out earlier this year. Audiophile Deathwatch: Monster Cables vs. a Coat Hanger.
http://consumerist.com/362926/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables
Second, I work at a megaplex movie theatre, with our biggest auditorium that house 600+ seats. I regularly perform maintenance work in the projection room and on the sound rack. The speakers wires and interconnect we use are all simple no name brand stuff. So if this stuff is good enough for a 600+ seat movie theatre, I doubt that anyone's living room is going to hear the differences...
Third, when it comes to any digital contents, they all got error correcting algorithm with-in the transferred data. So as long as the proper wires are used, it will do just fine.
Lastly, spend the extra money on good speakers and equipments, that’s where you’ll hear the big differences.
coat hangers FTW
Well, scrap those Monster cables, they are way too expensive and don't really perform any increasingly better than those found here....see link.
I would also pick HDMI cables at Monoprice but they are very ridgid and tough to get into tight spaces.
Check these out@
http://www2.dvigear.com/index.html
Monoprice is the one I hear about from a lot of other people, but the place I usually order from is http://www.cablewholesale.com and they've always had great results. Cheap cables, good quality, and the deliver damn quickly if you're near California.
I've used MIT Cables for about 12 years now.
Even though their high-end stuff can cost thousands, they have alot of quality cables that are reasonably priced and perform better than Monster Cable.
you guys are so conserned with the quality of your screen but never with cables...... the cables are as important as any other component in your system. Because ultimatly what you're trying to achieve is a system. Cheaping out on cables in a system is like cheaping out on tires on a car. Also, there are other cables than HDMI. Toslink is still accoustically better than HDMI (but does not carry Dolby/DTS HD). Not all two cables are created equal and online discounter dont need to stand behind their products. They're ok when you're on a budget and usually better than the cheap brand at Best Buy, etc.
Quality cables, and that's what this is about right now only comes from a serious company, and at a price of course. Audioquest is a very serious company that offers products from the low end (HDMI cable at 40$) to very high end. Nordhost is very respectable as well. I find it really ironic that a site crazy about HD and performance always puts down a good portion of the equation.
markertek.com is a great place to order cables - its what most
pro audio/video shops use, and they normally dont throw
money around. for audio interconnects get canare cable with
canare plugs (or neutrik plugs or beldin/mogami cable) and
you will get a great cable - in order to get better you need to start
playing with silver braided cable & plugs, which get pretty expensive.
I order bulk quad-core canare cable and canare RCA jacks and
make my own, but the ones they make are not that much more
expensive.
they also have every video cable you can imagine.
I've ordered video cable from avcable.com as well with good results.
-hoss
I'll echo the comment that digital is digital is digital, and on top of that ANY cables that are spec compliant are just as good as the fancy cables. If they meet the spec, then the signal the cables transmit will be decoded the same if the cable costs $8 or $300. Expensive cables are for the suckers out there that are more hung up on a brand name than on technical criteria.
BlueJeanscable.com
They also have a lot of info on what to pay for, i.e; is the hdmi going in your wall? is it running more than x amount of feet?
I heard a story about the owner, an ex practicing lawyer, who Monster tried to sue.
It was an entertaining story and I was pulling for the little guy like everyone else.
Ended up in me buying some cables from him for cheap and have been happy since.
As far as I know - MonoPrice does NOT make any of it's own cables. They are decent-but-cheep imports from Asia. I have used some of their short HDMI and optical cables and they do work.
BlueJeansCables is my preferred place because I can get custom lengths and they use cable stock the industry uses. Lots of good technical information and the owner stands behind his product. It's a one-man shop - but this gets you a Belden based HDMI cable for under $40 for a ten foot length..
(I use MonoPrice cables for the short jump to my HDMI switch, then the BlueJeans cables for the long run to the TV).
markertek.com - wants to sell in bulk to TV Studios and production houses. Somewhat un-friendly to deal with as an end user. They wanted me to setup a corporate account last time I wanted a few cables.
From my experience, the best place for cables is http://www.cabletrain.com.
They have inexpensive yet high quality cables. They are always reliable with quick customer service and shipping.
I have tried their HDMI cables, toslink, speaker wire, and component video cables. I'm so impressed with the quality and cost of these cables.
I saw a 6-foot DVI-HDMI cable at Apple for $20.
Fifty feet away at Radio Shack, the same cable cost $40.