Do HDMI cables make a difference?

[Deleted member 2457]

https://www.avforums.com/article/do-expensive-hdmi-cables-make-a-difference.10801

 

[bigboss]

Yes, I was reading the article yesterday. Quite interesting!

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Yes, I was reading the article yesterday. Quite interesting!

Yep. *smile*. Just need to do one on Blu-Ray players now too.

 

[The_Lhc]

Yes, I was reading the article yesterday. Quite interesting!

The only thing that's interesting about it (because it's stating the obvious largely) is the mis-placed belief that there isn't anybody out there that wouldn't happily spend £100 on a USB cable if they thought it would improve the sound to their DAC. There are plenty of people that would.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

As I've said before on other threads, I found no difference between a £18 (I think) 2m HDMI cable from Lindy electronics, and a £64 braided, gold-plated connections, 2m HDMI cable, also from Lindy.

I also found no difference between a £75 20m HDMI cable from Lindy and a £21 20m HDMI cable from KabelDirekt.

 

[bigboss]

Yes, I was reading the article yesterday. Quite interesting!

The only thing that's interesting about it (because it's stating the obvious largely) is the mis-placed belief that there isn't anybody out there that wouldn't happily spend £100 on a USB cable if they thought it would improve the sound to their DAC. There are plenty of people that would.

The interesting bit for me was the emphasis on build quality on cables longer than 5m.

 

[The_Lhc]

Yes, I was reading the article yesterday. Quite interesting!

The only thing that's interesting about it (because it's stating the obvious largely) is the mis-placed belief that there isn't anybody out there that wouldn't happily spend £100 on a USB cable if they thought it would improve the sound to their DAC. There are plenty of people that would.

The interesting bit for me was the emphasis on build quality on cables longer than 5m.

It's because the signal is actually a very high frequency waveform, so it's more heavily degraded by distance (in a similar way that 5gHz wireless has less range than 2.4gHz, although it will carry more data), so the longer the cable the less difference in voltage there is between a "1" and a "0", so beyond a certain length the receiving equipment can't tell which is which.

 

[cheeseboy]

The interesting bit for me was the emphasis on build quality on cables longer than 5m.

thing is, that's always been known, and even those who don't buy in to the expensive hdmi cables and have argued against them have *always* recommended buying a decent build quality cable for more than 5m. It's not even limited to HDMI either, if you are running long cables you will need decent quality so the signal does not degrade, and with digitial, that's either going to manifest itself in either working or not. So visually you'll get blocks/grey screens/snow effect, and audiably you'll get drop outs or digital squelches. (please note that decent quality does not just equate to uber expensive, it just means that - decent quality).

 

[bigboss]

Yes, I know that. Until now, I considered the threshold as 10m for build quality making a difference and not 5m.

I'm looking for a 10m cable, so will restrict myself to good quality low cost brands instead of getting an unknown make from eBay or Amazon.

 

[cheeseboy]

Yes, I know that. Until now, I considered the threshold as 10m for build quality making a difference and not 5m.

yep, sorry, was meaning to add on to what you said, not anything else.

 

[macdiddy]

Hi bigboss

If you are after a good quality but cheap 10m hdmi lead, may I recommend this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HDMI-CABLES-White-Line-24awg/dp/B002EA4276/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415124296&sr=8-2&keywords=neet+hdmi+cable+10m

I use one of these between my CA 751 bluray player and an Optoma projector and the 1080p picture on my pull down screen is excellent with great clarity and colour definition.

The cable is almost the same diameter as garden hose and is fitted with some heavy duty hdmi plugs at each end.

If 10m is not long enough they also do a 15m length.

Hope this gives you some help with your new setup.

*dance4*

 

[michael hoy]

Yes, I know that. Until now, I considered the threshold as 10m for build quality making a difference and not 5m.

I'm looking for a 10m cable, so will restrict myself to good quality low cost brands instead of getting an unknown make from eBay or Amazon.

Have you ruled out the balun option now.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Until now, I considered the threshold as 10m for build quality making a difference and not 5m.

I'm looking for a 10m cable, so will restrict myself to good quality low cost brands instead of getting an unknown make from eBay or Amazon.

These are the links to the two 20m HDMI cables that I mentioned in post number five, this is the Lindy one and this is the KabelDirekt one, that (because funds were tight) I decided to take a chance with, even though it was on Amazon and it certainly was unknown to me at the time. Having just physically examined them again, I would say that the KabelDirekt one is about two-thirds or three-quarters of the weight of the Lindy cable, and it is therefore slightly thinner in diameter for the actual length of the cable (not including the end connectors, of course). But as regards build quality, I can see no difference. Neither is there any difference in the transmitted signal. Slight difference in the price though, £50 less for the KabeDirekt one! And thinner might be better for your dedicated home theatre installation. Just sayin'!

P.S. I've just noticed that both cables are described wrongly, according to the definition in Steve Withers's AV Forums article. The Lindy one is described as Standard, but it supports 1080p, 3D and Deep Colour, and the KabelDirekt one is described as High Speed, but it doesn't support 4K. So their specifications are almost identical.

 

[bigboss]

Yes, I know that. Until now, I considered the threshold as 10m for build quality making a difference and not 5m.

I'm looking for a 10m cable, so will restrict myself to good quality low cost brands instead of getting an unknown make from eBay or Amazon.

Have you ruled out the balun option now.

I think you missed my final post in that thread. Due to change in design of the cabinet arrangement, 10m cable should suffice (instead of 12-15m). I'll still leave a couple of ethernet cables in, just in case.

 

[bigboss]

Hi bigboss

If you are after a good quality but cheap 10m hdmi lead, may I recommend this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HDMI-CABLES-White-Line-24awg/dp/B002EA4276/ref=s...

I use one of these between my CA 751 bluray player and an Optoma projector and the 1080p picture on my pull down screen is excellent with great clarity and colour definition.

The cable is almost the same diameter as garden hose and is fitted with some heavy duty hdmi plugs at each end.

If 10m is not long enough they also do a 15m length.

Hope this gives you some help with your new setup.

*dance4*

?

 

Thanks! Yes, I've got a Neet 1m cable for my bedroom TV and the build quality is excellent! Almost forgot this brand until you reminded me!

 

[bigboss]

Until now, I considered the threshold as 10m for build quality making a difference and not 5m.

I'm looking for a 10m cable, so will restrict myself to good quality low cost brands instead of getting an unknown make from eBay or Amazon.

These are the links to the two 20m HDMI cables that I mentioned in post number five, this is the Lindy one and this is the KabelDirekt one, that (because funds were tight) I decided to take a chance with, even though it was on Amazon and it certainly was unknown to me at the time. Having just physically examined them again, I would say that the KabelDirekt one is about two-thirds or three-quarters of the weight of the Lindy cable, and it is therefore slightly thinner in diameter for the actual length of the cable (not including the end connectors, of course). But as regards build quality, I can see no difference. Neither is there any difference in the transmitted signal. Slight difference in the price though, £50 less for the KabeDirekt one! And thinner might be better for your dedicated home theatre installation. Just sayin'!

P.S. I've just noticed that both cables are described wrongly, according to the definition in Steve Withers's AV Forums article. The Lindy one is described as Standard, but it supports 1080p, 3D and Deep Colour, and the KabelDirekt one is described as High Speed, but it doesn't support 4K. So their specifications are almost identical.

Cheers! Lindy is one of the brands I'm considering as well.

 

[spiny norman]

Is it odd that WHSV, for so long an advocate of the 'better blacks, sharper pictures, more colourful colours' benefits of 'better' HDMI cables, now seems to have gone completely silent on the matter, to the extent of not actually reviewing them anymore? Has something changed?

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Is it odd that WHSV, for so long an advocate of the 'better blacks, sharper pictures, more colourful colours' benefits of 'better' HDMI cables, now seems to have gone completely silent on the matter, to the extent of not actually reviewing them anymore? Has something changed?

I noticed that too.

 

[simonlewis]

Is it odd that WHSV, for so long an advocate of the 'better blacks, sharper pictures, more colourful colours' benefits of 'better' HDMI cables, now seems to have gone completely silent on the matter, to the extent of not actually reviewing them anymore? Has something changed?

Probably due to the cable debates on the forums.

 

[relocated]

There was a WHF Edited by mods that spouted some complete trash about cables that caused the most reaction ever to an editorial piece, earlier this year. Can't remember if it was about hdmi but it caused hyper-howling from the masses.

 

[cheeseboy]

Is it odd that WHSV, for so long an advocate of the 'better blacks, sharper pictures, more colourful colours' benefits of 'better' HDMI cables, now seems to have gone completely silent on the matter, to the extent of not actually reviewing them anymore? Has something changed?

one guess is that there's been a few tests now that can actually prove there's no difference between the hdmi cables, and they are either faulty or not. The more of those that get released and the more people read them, the more, well, how to put it politely, ill-informed? the whsv reviews look. There's a nice not too in depth one here http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-entertainment/1292371/expensive-hdmi-cables-make-no-difference-the-absolute-proof

In the analogue domain it's quite easy for cable makers to make spurious claims and not have to back them up, in the digital world it's a lot tougher as it's easier to prove what gets sent down the cable is the same at both ends. I've noticed that even people like Chord have changed their wording to say things like "we think it makes a difference", not "it does make a difference".

 

[Deleted member 2457]

There was a WHF Edited by mods that spouted some complete trash about cables that caused the most reaction ever to an editorial piece, earlier this year. Can't remember if it was about hdmi but it caused hyper-howling from the masses.

There was a WHF what? Keep it clean this time - cheers.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

There was a WHF Edited by mods that spouted some complete trash about cables that caused the most reaction ever to an editorial piece, earlier this year. Can't remember if it was about hdmi but it caused hyper-howling from the masses.

The article (and the response to the now non-existent comments*) witten by Andy Madden is here ...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/great-cable-debate-crossed-wires

*There were (IIRC) some 90 - 100 responses (unprecedented for a 'blog' item). However the website change wiped all comments from all reviews, news items and blogs!

Wow, I've never read that before! It was certainly interesting reading. As someone who has bought expensive HDMI cables on WHF recommendations, it was good to read. Things had certainly gone quiet on the HDMI and cable front and I was wondering what your take was now, so it's good to hear you are still sticking to your guns.

 

[chebby]

There was a WHF Edited by mods that spouted some complete trash about cables that caused the most reaction ever to an editorial piece, earlier this year. Can't remember if it was about hdmi but it caused hyper-howling from the masses.

The article (and the response to the now non-existent comments*) witten by Andy Madden is here ...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/great-cable-debate-crossed-wires

Despite WHF disabling their search facility (handy in this case), you can still search for such items using Google and 'site:www.whathifi.com' like this ...

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=%22notes+from+the+listening+rooms%22+site:www.whathifi.com

... it helps if you know whether the article was a "Notes From The Listening Rooms" piece (or "Industry Insider" or "How To" or "The Week In HD" etc.) And it helps even more if you know some keywords or the author's name. Nowadays everything is lumped under "News"

*There were (IIRC) some 90 - 100 responses (unprecedented for a 'blog' item). However the website change wiped all comments from all reviews, news items and blogs!

 

[spiny norman]

Wow, I've never read that before! It was certainly interesting reading. As someone who has bought expensive HDMI cables on WHF recommendations, it was good to read.

*mosking*