HDCable Review

[admin_exported]

Without wanting to restart an HDMI war (but I probably have), I was just wondering how valid this months review of HDCables Platinum HDMI cable is on page 18. The reviewer has deemed fit to only award it 3 stars based on sound quality alone. Nowhere in the review did it mention picture quality at all.

Doesn't seem a particularly fair or balanced review in my opinion as it's only reviewing on half of the cable's ability.

How can the general public make up it's mind on a product on such a shoddy review. Once again it seems like WHF are shying away from cheaper cables but to appease us they just put in a few token words about them so that they can say that they are reviewing them.

This post isn't about the merits of the cable, just the way in which it was reviewed.

 

[Andrew Everard]

You mean apart from the paragraph saying

"To sum up, the Platinum paints a reasonably detailed picture, but if you're willing to spend just a few pounds more on the likes of QED's Performance HDMI, you'll get a clearer image with superior insight."

?

 

[Anonymous]

Is that refering to the picture quality or not though? Seeing as the rest of the review only mentioned sound quality the only thing to 'sum up' was sound quality.

It can also be said that music paints a reasonably detailed picture.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

nibbo:
Is that refering to the picture quality or not though? Seeing as the rest of the review only mentioned sound quality the only thing to 'sum up' was sound quality.

It can also be said that music paints a reasonably detailed picture.

Whoaa??????

 

[True Blue]

nibbo,

I too thought that this review was just a tad harsh. I own a 2m version which goes between my BR and reciever. I also own a 2m QED HDMI P and have swapped endlessly and cannot see (or hear) any difference, however a noticable difference is obvious when plugging back in the freebie cables.

Would be nice to mention also the excellent customer service provided by HD cable. Yes this is a "cheaper" cable but the build quality is that of a far more expensive product.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

True Blue:
nibbo,

I too thought that this review was just a tad harsh. I own a 2m version which goes between my BR and reciever. I also own a 2m QED HDMI P and have swapped endlessly and cannot see (or hear) any difference, however a noticable difference is obvious when plugging back in the freebie cables.

Would be nice to mention also the excellent customer service provided by HD cable. Yes this is a "cheaper" cable but the build quality is that of a far more expensive product.

With respect, you may not notice a difference with your excellent but deemed budget kit. It's all about balance (and I've spent more on cables than I should!) but with a £200 BD player and a £400 receiver, I would imagine that a £200 cable would not look or sound much different to a £50 one.

 

[Anonymous]

True Blue:
nibbo,

I too thought that this review was just a tad harsh. I own a 2m version which goes between my BR and reciever. I also own a 2m QED HDMI P and have swapped endlessly and cannot see (or hear) any difference, however a noticable difference is obvious when plugging back in the freebie cables.

Would be nice to mention also the excellent customer service provided by HD cable. Yes this is a "cheaper" cable but the build quality is that of a far more expensive product.

Thanks True Blue. I thought I was going to get ridiculed by everyone but nice to know I'm not the only one who thought the review was unfair, I own the cheaper Pro 2 cables from HDCable and have, like you, compared them to QED HDMI P and could tell no difference what so ever between them. Luckily I had the QED on trial so I could return it.

I also agree that their customer service is excellent unlike some of the larger companies,

 

[True Blue]

Gerrardasnails: Ouch

, unfortunately I have an excellent job with a budget salary.

 

[True Blue]

Nibbo,

Unfair - no. Unbalanced - yes, still, no more cables for me got to save up another year for some "better" kit

 

[Anonymous]

True Blue:
Nibbo,

Unfair - no. Unbalanced - yes, still, no more cables for me got to save up another year for some "better" kit

HaHa... yes me too.... you could then get a £200 cable to go with it!

 

[cram]

Gerrardasnails:With respect, you may not notice a difference with your excellent but deemed budget kit. It's all about balance (and I've spent more on cables than I should!) but with a £200 BD player and a £400 receiver, I would imagine that a £200 cable would not look or sound much different to a £50 one.

hmm, don't really want to get involved in the merits of HDcable vs Others. But with respect to the above I've yet to see a review or cable manufacturer stipulate that you you have to use more expensive kit in order to see/hear a difference with their kit.

 

[Anonymous]

True Blue: Gerrardasnails: Ouch

, unfortunately I have an excellent job with a budget salary.

Same here, which makes an accurate review even more important for us so we can spend our limited resources wisely.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

True Blue: Gerrardasnails: Ouch

, unfortunately I have an excellent job with a budget salary.

I was not knocking you at all. You have a great set up. What I was saying is that, for instance when the mag reviews a product, at the end they say, now add these. For your set up, they would possibly go for Chord Carnival speaker cable and the QED hdmi P. On a higher end set up, they might go QED XT400 and Van den Hul flat hdmi and so on. They might review a £200 hdmi cable and say now add, the latest greatest projector with the top of the range Denon receiver and the new Sony £1200 BD player.

 

[True Blue]

nibbo:
True Blue: Gerrardasnails: Ouch

, unfortunately I have an excellent job with a budget salary.

Same here, which makes an accurate review even more important for us so we can spend our limited resources wisely.

Think my next £200 upgrade will be a new pair of glasses

, oh and a free cleaning cloth.

 

[True Blue]

Gerrardasnails:True Blue: Gerrardasnails: Ouch

, unfortunately I have an excellent job with a budget salary.

I was not knocking you at all. You have a great set up. What I was saying is that, for instance when the mag reviews a product, at the end they say, now add these. For your set up, they would possibly go for Chord Carnival speaker cable and the QED hdmi P. On a higher end set up, they might go QED XT400 and Van den Hul flat hdmi and so on. They might review a £200 hdmi cable and say now add, the latest greatest projector with the top of the range Denon receiver and the new Sony £1200 BD player.

No offence taken, seriously. All I was saying is that I own both the QED and the HD cable and cant see or hear a difference to warrent the loss of two stars.

I am aware of the limitations of my reciever and BR player, this was my first dabble into home cinema, hopefully within five years I will have a much better system. Then again what will the technology (or economy) be like then?

 

[Big Aura]

speaking as someone with a 1909, I'd advise a Clearer Audio Copperline Alpha. Really makes a difference on music playback.

 

[True Blue]

Big Aura,

Thankyou, will add to my wish list, do you have to order them direct? What connections do you need? Do you plug your Denon into the Tacima or not?

 

[nads]

i still dont get how it can improve a digital sound signal over any other well made upto spec HDMI cable. Surely all the systems sound quality comes from the amps DACs?

 

[Big Aura]

True Blue:
Big Aura,

Thankyou, will add to my wish list, do you have to order them direct? What connections do you need? Do you plug your Denon into the Tacima or not?

Yep, it's a direct order via their website. On a 60 day home trial, so you can return if if you're not happy. It replaces your existing cable, simply swap it out. the tacima cleans the mains current, but the clearer audio shields that from picking up any interference (if, like me, you've got several bit of kit plugged in back there, plus speaker and sub cables, there's a lot of interference).

Also, it's a good idea to make sure that stuff is tidyied up back there, and not a spaghetti jumble.

 

[True Blue]

Thanks again.

 

[d4v3pum4]

I too am disappointed in the review. It seemed like a token effort and is this a new trend we are seeing to emphasise apparent differences in sound? Also, I thought the stars and overall review were meant to be based against similarly priced products. I would imagine most of us cannot see/hear these differences so when we come across a good quality product that is well priced, correctly speed rated by an official hdmi adopter why aren't they applauded for their efforts rather than yet again compared against a higher priced product and marked down for being bright/harsh (seriously?)? We need consistency.

 

[Andrew Everard]

The consistency is that we're saying that while this cable is undeniably cheap, the gains in performance achieved by spending a bit more are more than worth the extra cost.

 

[clearer_audio]

Big Aura:speaking as someone with a 1909, I'd advise a Clearer Audio Copperline Alpha. Really makes a difference on music playback.

Really pleased to hear that you like the Copper-line Alpha Big Aura.

All the best,
Darren

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:The consistency is that we're saying that while this cable is undeniably cheap, the gains in performance achieved by spending a bit more are more than worth the extra cost.

Not in my case, and I suspect in a lot of other peoples cases too. I
have compared the HDCable against the QED HDMI-P and could see nor hear
any difference on my system. I have a Denon 1909, Sony BP S350 and
Panny TH42PX80, playing through Tannoy F4's and M&K sub. Now, i'm
not arguing that there may be a difference on much higher end kit, such
as in your test rooms, but in the real world in peoples living rooms
with my sort of level of kit, it makes no difference between these
leads and spending the extra money on a QED lead is wasting money in my
opinion.

It would be very interesting to see what kit this lead was tested on bearing in mind it's price and what level of system it is intended for.

As for my original complaint, and backed up by others, the review was brief and too unbalanced and should have been better written.

 

[aliEnRIK]

nibbo:
Andrew Everard:The consistency is that we're saying that while this cable is undeniably cheap, the gains in performance achieved by spending a bit more are more than worth the extra cost.

Not in my case, and I suspect in a lot of other peoples cases too. I
have compared the HDCable against the QED HDMI-P and could see nor hear
any difference on my system. I have a Denon 1909, Sony BP S350 and
Panny TH42PX80, playing through Tannoy F4's and M&K sub. Now, i'm
not arguing that there may be a difference on much higher end kit, such
as in your test rooms, but in the real world in peoples living rooms
with my sort of level of kit, it makes no difference between these
leads and spending the extra money on a QED lead is wasting money in my
opinion.

It would be very interesting to see what kit this lead was tested on bearing in mind it's price and what level of system it is intended for.

As for my original complaint, and backed up by others, the review was brief and too unbalanced and should have been better written.

Is your equipment connected through a 'mains conditioner' and proper 'mains cables', or just through stock cable that came with the units (And maybe through some cheapie mains extension or suchlike)?