Is a cheap component rca cable any worse then one at a higher price?

Question

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Answer 1

The cables definitely make a difference in the system. But your system should be up to par in order for you to hear the difference (and if you do not hear - it should not spend the money).  Cable is not the first place to spend money - first upgrade your amps and source, then speakers, then speaker cables, and only then look into upgrading the interconnects.

Answer 2

Cheap component cables were likely designed for standard def video.

This has been around since the forties and the highest frequency is about 4 MegaHertz.

HighDef goes to 35 MegaHertz.

Bit of a difference.

If you are hooking up a 19" tube TV for standard def video from a DVD player - get the inexpensive component cables.

If you are hooking up a HD system - get HD rated component cables.

If the package does not tell you the cables are rated for HD or have a"BANDWIDTH" of 90 Mhz or more - dont use them for high def video.

My favorite cable place: BlueJeans. They sell cables made with Belden coax and about 100 Mhz bandwidth. This is the stuff video engineers use in the production studios and TV stations.  About $60 for a really good cable.

Answer 3

Depending upon the quality of your system it can make a difference in performance.  If you can afford it, just get some that don't look flimsy and come with gold plating on the connectors.  You should be able to find some under $20.

Answer 4

I've worked with Home Audio equipment professionally for about 10 years now, and the answer is definitely yes! However, if you are asking if it's worth the extra money, that depends. Is the equipment worth the upgraded cable? Anything I attach to my main audio system would probably be a definite yes, however, if I'm hooking up an MP3 player to my stereo in my garage, I would doubt it. No matter what you do, you WILL lose sound quality from one piece of equipment to another. Your cable will be the depending factor on HOW MUCH you lose. Everything from the gauge/thickness of the wire (the conductor), the shielding (generally how thick the plastic is around the wire to block out unwanted noise, especially from power sources) to the connections (a loose connection could eliminate any reason to upgrade your cable, and some wires can actually slip right off the connection, where others (i.e. Monster Cable) will connect so tight you really have to work to get them off. Believe it or not, gold is NOT the better connection between metals, usually the "silver" colored ends are, however, the gold ends won't corrode, which is why alot of brands have a higher price point on these. At this point you have to ask yourself how important the sound quality is to you, and can you see or hear the difference anyhow? I personally take bigger concerns when it comes to my video wires than audio, especially if you are talking Digital Coax or Optical audio cables, since these are digital, the only real difference is the shielding to protect the wire. Noise generally will not interfere with a digital audio source, at least that any human can hear. Monster Cable is by far my cable of choice, but if it's a little pricey for you, go to Best Buy and pick up some Rocketfish cables. In many cases, this stuff will work just as well (especially if you are not an "audiophile") at half to 2/3 the price!

Answer 5

Their are some "cheap" RCA cables out there,the very thin ones aren't that good but spending extra money on "gold plated" isn't necessary to get a "better" connection,standard RCA cables will do just as good as a expensive cable,mostly you're paying for "cosmetics"when buying the high-priced cables.