HDMI-Given up ??

[pioneer7]

Hi All At What-HiFi.

Ok was just about to purchase Chord Silver plus-3MTR as recomended by Clare, but went into mag shop today and saw you have reviewed the new QED HDMI-P and V.D.Hull Flat HDMI Cable, so on pure picture terms can you please advise which one to go for it will run from a pioneer LX-71 Blu-ray to a panasonic PZ-80, I am aware that all 3 cables are excellent in there own right, but there must be one that just edges it on picture, can you help Many thanks.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

101100010110001001000011111010101100011 and 101100010110001001000011111010101100011.

I don't beliieeeeeeeeeeeve it. They're the same.

A good quality cable at 3m in length shouldn't lose any of your noughts and ones. It's the longer distances (over 10m) where it may start to become lossy. Therefore if anyone can show that there is any difference at all in a 3m digital cable from the aformentioned manufacturers (all very capable) then speak now or forever stop worrying about it and go out and buy some disks and have a movie night!

 

[professorhat]

I'd wager the Chord will still be better than the QED or VD Hull cables but haven't seen them to say for sure. You could get them all on a money back guarantee if you can and see for yourself - only way to know for sure without arguments.

 

[pioneer7]

I agree will and professorhat, but you know what its like it leaves doubt in your mind and if mags give different results on different HDMI Cables either we are wrong or the mags are, but i do understand where you are coming from the chord it is then, but would have been interesting to see what the team thought, by the way will i responded to your thread.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Ahh, I better go and have a look!

I think there is an element of vested interest in both mags and dealers to inject a little doubt into all of our minds. Once in a while I have to force myself to step back and just think about it for a second. Forget the colour of the packaging, the coolness of the name and be objective.

With cables I think the main consideration is proportionality. You can too easily worry about the loss of 0.0000001% of the data down a perfectly excellent conductor of electricity, whilst paying very little attention to the quality of wiring inside the hi-fi equipment itself.

In the budget ranges we're looking at you just won't hear the difference if one bit in a million is conveyed in error. The likelyhood is that your source or your amp will degrade the sound a hundredfold more effectively than your cable. Especially if you buy one of the three originally mentioned in the thread.

This is proportionality. And this is why I don't think you should lose any sleep over it. Buy whichever you prefer. (Now for my personal favourite bit - the plug!). I can recommend Mark Grant cables. Very good and miles cheaper than the main brands. Now you really do have to trust the science over the brand marketing! Who do you have more faith in? That's the big question. Still, if you are prepared to make the leap, save a packet and not lose any packets (hehehe) then do let us know what you choose!

 

[Anonymous]

I've always used IXOS HDMI's, and more recently QED HDMI-P's - to be honest, there's no discernable difference. As Will says, over 10m - absolutely, but even if you have a *cabling disaster* behind your setup (with power lines etc) - it won't make any real difference IMHO.

 

[aliEnRIK]

I believe its down to how well its set up. If its on a decent stand/rack, wired with a good mains cable and through a mains conditioner and powered by a good 'source' then you will see a difference in them. Bare in mind though, ALL hdmi cables produce a good picture, im simply talking of a bit of a step up. My chord and wireworld produced a visably 'sharper' and more vibrant picture than my qed. I couldnt say WHY, thats just how my tests went (Though both are made of 'silver'). I recommend the chord silver personally. If your not fussed, or a none believer that digital cables make a difference then I recommend a MOLEX hdmi (Cheap). Compared pretty favourably to my qed and I believe they helped create the format!.

 

[Anonymous]

If there is any truth in whether they DO actually have any difference over a short distance, then the format should be called into question. What shoddy engineering would you need to fail to convey a digital signal down 3m of wire. We're not talking about an analgue signal. This is digital, you have to put in quite some errors to turn a 1 or a 0 into the other. So what on earth are the equipment makers doing? Isn't there any error correction in HDMI? There must be. If so, then the cable can't make a difference, only the quality of your kit should.

 

[Anonymous]

aliEnRIK:I believe its down to how well its set up. If its on a decent stand/rack, wired with a good mains cable and through a mains conditioner and powered by a good 'source' then you will see a difference in them.

HDMI controversy aside, I don't understand this. Aren't the rack/ mains/ conditioner improvements independent of the HDMI upgrade? Are you saying you need to spend up to a grand onÿrack/ mains/ conditionersÿfor a £80 HDMI cable to be worth the extra outlay?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. If you take all the spikes and noise out of the power supply etc etc, then wouldn't your connecting cables like HDMI have very little error to deal with? If you've spent a grand on filter and power leads, then by rights you should be able to use a £5 HDMI lead and lose nothing from interference as there is no interference left in the system.

Not the other way round. Or have I gone mad?

 

[professorhat]

I think everyone should follow your initial advice and either try it out for themselves or not bother worrying about it.

 

[pioneer7]

Very interesting this HDMI Saga however it still comes down to mags quoting that certain makes are better than others even short lengths which most are tested, say a MTR so what does it come down to?? is the componants that make up the cable then? as members have already said its digital so what difference should it make, however when you read reviews in mags including this issue, i am intersted what one has over the other, can the What HiFi Team throw some light on this, i would still like to know which is the better cable out of interest and why.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

I find these discussions almost hilarious. Will there ever be an end to them? No offense pioneer7, it's just these same questions get asked over and over and over again and never reach a logical conclusion other than make up your own mind. I wonder if under HDMI cable reviews there should be a note saying "take with a pinch of salt where necessary" (or alternative better wording).

 

[pioneer7]

Octopo Hi

I agree but its like anything HiFi Home cinema a big% will buy based on what the mags say so Cables are no different, me and my mate did a test on mains cables 5 in all From £40 to £3500 not much difference between them but one cable was very good and is a 5star winner in this very mag, and it was not the £3500 one, i did make a cup on tea with the expensive one and found i felt better for it so it must have boiled the water differently than the supplied one LOL.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly, which magazine is going to give you that prized hint? Maybe a ban on HDMI cable reviews should be introduced, and all the cable manufacturers should introduce the more and more common 60-90 money back guarantee. There is so much confusion out there, I think it's time somebody took responsibility for all these claims and introduce some readily available scientific evidence so people can learn before asking on the forums/ elsewhere.

 

[professorhat]

Octopo:Maybe a ban on HDMI cable reviews should be introduced
Isn't that called censorship?

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Octopo:Maybe a ban on HDMI cable reviews should be introducedIsn't that called censorship?

Not if the reviews weren't there in the first place. It is simply a choice not to review them. Censorship is extracting information by a party other than the author to hide information. This would simply be a method of avoiding colossal confusion if no other evidence can be given.

 

[professorhat]

Well, you've got me confused! So you want all existing reviews to disappear and then a self-imposed ban by all magazines and online review sites of further reviews...
How does that prevent confusion? Surely people would then just be confused as to why reviewers had banned themselves from rating them? I'm also pretty sure the reviewers themselves would also be confused as to why they had done this...

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Well, you've got me confused! So you want all existing reviews to disappear and then a self-imposed ban by all magazines and online review sites of further reviews...
How does that prevent confusion? Surely people would then just be confused as to why reviewers had banned themselves from rating them? I'm also pretty sure the reviewers themselves would also be confused as to why they had done this...

You're right, do we want confusion as to why they aren't there, or confusion because they are there? I'm confused.ÿ

 

[pioneer7]

Blimey, i only wanted to know which HDMI What HiFi thought was better out of the 3 i asked about, come on What HiFi you gave both the QED and the V.D.Hull great reviews, plus the Chord silver plus, which is the better one in picture terms only and why.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

pioneer7:
Blimey, i only wanted to know which HDMI What HiFi thought was better out of the 3 i asked about, come on What HiFi you gave both the QED and the V.D.Hull great reviews, plus the Chord silver plus, which is the better one in picture terms only and why.

Andy

Wait, so you've personally tested a range of HDMI cables (one of which was £3500!) and concluded there was very little difference between them, yet you're still prepared to pay £70/m for them?

 

[pioneer7]

No we tested Mains Leads

 

[pete321]

Save some cash, go on eBay and look for Monster 1000ex HDMI, retails at around £80 but can be had on eBay for arond £35.

It's pretty futureproof, rated at over 10gbps!

What HiFi never seem to review many Monster Cables, but I've always found them to be an excellent build and sonic quality (especially their M-Series) and good value if purchased from the US (don't buy from Hong Kong, likely to be fake).