High priced Hifi cabling

[Keryn O'Shea]

Are they worth it? Is there a big difference over just good quality gear? I understand cheap HDMI would be a false economy..

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

High price cables are the #1 scam in audio, even with respect to HDMI. Digital transmission is immune to all of the gremlins that high priced HDMI supposedly addresses.

[Bruce Weldy]

High price cables are the #1 scam in audio, even with respect to HDMI. Digital transmission is immune to all of the gremlins that high priced HDMI supposedly addresses.

+1

But that said, there is a difference between the crap and the good stuff. And, it's not price that sets them apart necessarily. In mic cables and signal/guitar cables - it's always the connectors that are used and the shielding on the cable that makes the difference with Pro Audio and Live Sound stuff.

In the Hi-Fi world - snake oil is what keeps that industry going.

[Seth]

+1 on connectors and shielding for pro stuff

In all the impressive car audio systems I've ever done (It's not a ton, maybe 10) I can't tell any difference between the "throw away" RCA cables that used to be included with every piece of audio gear and high end Monster Cable type products. Obviously, the high end stuff looks better in a show quality install. But, in a system thats not meant to be looked at, I just use the least expensive RCA option.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

There is a difference between crap and good stuff, but good stuff doesn't cost a lot. $1.50 a foot and $5 per connector gives as good a result as you can get. Where speaker cable is concerned zip cord is the performance standard in the home, rubber jacketed type SJ is in pro-sound.

[Bruce Weldy]

There is a difference between crap and good stuff, but good stuff doesn't cost a lot. $1.50 a foot and $5 per connector gives as good a result as you can get. Where speaker cable is concerned zip cord is the performance standard in the home, rubber jacketed type SJ is in pro-sound.

Absolutely!

I build mic cables all the time for local players and venues for $8 ($4 per connector) plus .40/ft....that's Neutrik connectors and Rapco Horizon cable. $12 for a 10 footer and $16 for a 20. To buy the equivalent online is at least twice that price.

Just got home from a venue that I built 32 mic cables for a couple of years back.....12 are missing and we keep 'em in a locked drawer. I think we need to change the combination on the lock. So, I've got to build some more cables before St Patty's day.

Soldering is cathartic for me......either that or the fumes get me high.....

[Keryn O'Shea]

Digital transmission is immune to all of the gremlins that high priced HDMI supposedly addresses.

Excellent, thank you Bill!

I can't tell any difference between the "throw away" RCA cables

Wow, ok!

In the Hi-Fi world - snake oil is what keeps that industry going.

So it would seem mate, quite a bit of out there

My SR9600 has sadly bitten the dust, time for a new receiver & I was thinking of fancy cables... glad I asked, thank you Gents

[Grant Bunter]

As always,
Our prices are astronomical for everything, signal leads included.

I've managed to find some half reasonable pricing on Neutrik connectors (and working on some wholesale pricing), but the higher quality cable is another thing entirely.
Mogami, Canare and Belden, even in bulk, are almost out of reach for low end players like myself.

Having said that, for home hifi, over the years for signal cables, i adopt much the same attitude as I have for unbalanced leads in my PA.
ie Short as possible, higher copper counts and good screening, with sturdy connectors.

I will make short RCA's to connect components, if they don't need to be standard lengths like 1m, 1.5m, 2m...
That tends to satisfy a balance between stupid spending and snake oil.
We worry about snakes a lot in Australia...

[Keryn O'Shea]

I will make short RCA's to connect components

Nice, can you recommend a supplier for bits to build RCAs Grant?

If I were to go the way of building a system of Toslink/Optical cable from my settop box to a MiniDSP FLex or SHD with analogue outputs, would I be losing any SQ using RCAs to a Marantz MM7025 stereo amplifier? Or should I opt for the balanced TRS outputs? Can TS cables be used in TRS input sockets? Reason I ask is if I can use male TS to RCA adaptors in the Flex TRS inputs, I can then still plug in my Dj decks/iPod.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

TRS balanced is inherently better than RCA unbalanced, but only when used with a balanced output and input.

[Grant Bunter]

I will make short RCA's to connect components

Nice, can you recommend a supplier for bits to build RCAs Grant?

Hey mate,
Funny you ask, it's been ages and when I went looking for what I used to use cable wise, I couldn't find it!

So, I would use this cable:
https://store.cliff.com.au/instrument-c ... cable.html
You'd have to heat shrink a pair together though.
And since you're there:
Get their Amphenol RCA's while you're at it:
https://store.cliff.com.au/49-rca-plugs

If I were to go the way of building a system of Toslink/Optical cable from my settop box to a MiniDSP FLex or SHD with analogue outputs, would I be losing any SQ using RCAs to a Marantz MM7025 stereo amplifier? Or should I opt for the balanced TRS outputs? Can TS cables be used in TRS input sockets? Reason I ask is if I can use male TS to RCA adaptors in the Flex TRS inputs, I can then still plug in my Dj decks/iPod.

Toslink is good up to 5m. If you need an up to 5m run, I would consider that, but if all your runs are less then 1m then get enough cable and connectors as above to custom make and link it all up. Good quality low loss short RCA's should be fine. Toslink may be a WOFTAM. Toslink /fibre optics have come down a lot in price, but you still get what you pay for.
What Bill said re TRS...

[Rich4349]

As long as we've gone down the snake oil rabbit hole: how BS are speaker cable risers? (Allegedly eliminate static charge from interference from carpeting.)

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

If you believe they do anything I'd like to speak to you about Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.

Lifting speaker cables off a damp concrete floor or wet ground outdoors has value, as they can suffer capacitive losses. But static charge from a rug? Rugs don't hold static charge. Objects that are rubbed against a rug can acquire a static charge, but even if you did so with a speaker cable it wouldn't affect the sound, since static charges are DC, not AC.