The Official Wirewize Blog

Some months ago, one of the IT-centric geniuses here at Wirewize sent around a link from a highly respected AV manufacturer’s web site.  It described a 1.5 meter data cable designed to pass digital audio between components without compromise.  The cost?  A mere $499, which worked out to roughly $100 per foot.  It isn’t easy to convey derisive laughter in email, but somehow he managed to do it.

Not long before that, another Wirewizeguy stopped in at the local big electronics chain to buy a DVD player selling for $99.  The salesperson dutifully tried to attach an HDMI cable to the purchase – which cost $120.  A simple “no thank you” wasn’t acceptable, so another floor jockey followed the buyer to the cashier.  “Sir, do you have a digital TV?  Did you know that without that cable the upconverting feature won’t work and you’re wasting your money?”

Actually, he did know that he needed HDMI for the player’s upconverting feature to work – he’s with Wirewize.  That’s why he went to Amazon that night and bought a perfectly fine HDMI cable for $12.99.  But another customer less interested in the subtleties of home theater (such as a normal person) probably would have done the simpler thing upon hearing that he needed a $120 cable for his $99 DVD player or else he was wasting his money.  He’d say thanks anyway and walk out of the store without buying anything.

The argument over cables and their value to the home entertainment experience has raged for decades, first in the audiophile community (bless their hearts and shrinking numbers) and now in the videophile/home theater world.   There are those that say any perceivable difference in cables is complete BS, and those who will gladly purchase a $600 “cable cooker” that will properly burn-in cables prior to use for maximum performance. Which side is right?

Let’s start with a fact that we can all agree on — the goal of any cable is to pass signal from one component to another with as little change to the signal as possible.  When you’re talking about analog signals, particularly speaker connections, cable integrity is clearly capable of affecting performance.  The makeup of the cable, the type of conductor used, the quality of the terminations (plugs, connectors, etc.) are all capable of introducing “nonlinearity” to the signal.   These can be – though not always — quite audible, if you’ve got the kind of revealing (read: expensive) components that will let you hear them.

But what about digital signals, such as those that travel through HDMI?  They’re just a stream of ones and zeroes, and like any other digital transmission, they either work (i.e., you’ve got a picture) or they don’t (no picture).  Right?

Well, yes and no.  One side of the argument says that for short distances (say less than 20 feet) there is absolutely no difference in quality in an HDMI cable.  CNET has been particularly vocal about this, saying straight out that “you should never spend more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable.”

Then there are those who would argue this point.  When you send a digital signal over HDMI where the amount of sent data overwhelms the ability of the cable to carry it cleanly, the results at the TV can be plainly visible – sparklies, dropouts, pixel blocks and all the other artifacts that make people scratch their heads when they buy a new HDTV.  This is why there are speed ratings for HDMI cables.

Further, the TV that’s interpreting the ones and zeroes at the end of the chain may not be able to accurately correct for all the anomalies that would be present when it receives a compromised HDMI signal. When the interpreting circuitry is overwhelmed by irregularities in the ones and zeroes, problems can be quite visible. Pixels that need to be associated with other pixels get misassigned, timing errors can cause missing pixels, blockiness and other annoying artifacts.

We certainly don’t want to get into religious wars here at Wirewize, and the value of cables to the AV chain are without question, a matter of faith to many.  We do think that legitimate, quality HDMI cables are important for 1080p sources like Blu-Ray and some video games.  But are the expensive ones worth the money?

Hey, there are folks out there who would gladly spend $7250 for a 12-foot length of speaker cable.  Almost everything is “worth it” to someone.

What’s your experience with high (or low) end cables?  Post your comments below!