Are more expensive A/V cables better than cheaper ones?

Question

I'm just wondering if a expensive A/V cable is better than a cheap cable and what kind of improvements are there if any.

Answer 1

Ahh, the age old question.

Your question may open up a can of worms.

Generally, a cable is a cable is a cable. But there are a few things to consider, how long is the cable run, how sensitive is your equipment, what connections are you using, is there electric near your cable run, etc.

In most cases your paying for assembly or the name brand(MONSTER), in my experience people who by these cable end up regretting spending that much money.

For most systems any cable will work fine, coaxial based cables such as composite video, component video, RGBHV(5wire), subwoofer cables, SPDIF, 5/7 channel surround cables, and so on all use the same wire type, RG-59u.

You can make your own much cheaper, simply get the wire(RG-59 or better shielded RG-6) and compression ends.

You will need a tool though to put the ends on.

As for HDMI, make sure it is 1.3a/b rated and it is a Certified cable. Check HDMI organizations web site for approved manufactures. Even if it meets all these criteria, get reviews.

Even then HDMI cables are usually cheaply made and not tested properly so its a roll of the dice. I like Binary hdmi cables and they have several classes which allow you to choose the level of shielding and casing (B5,B6,B7). Check out Binary cables here: http://www.snapav.com/

also check out cables here http://www.tecnec.com/Index.asp