Question on Home Entertainment systems - Page 2

mark · #11 12-31-2008, 07:21 PM

Marketplace $12 to $200+ cable the same (comparison around minute 7).

If I was running a projector and had a really long run back to the player might consider a higher end cable.

Treebeard · #12 12-31-2008, 07:21 PM

Paying $150 for an HDMI cable is a total waste of money! I am willing to bet money that if I put two identical setups side by side that no one would be able to tell the difference in PQ between a $30 cable and a $150 cable. Monster has done an amazing job of promoting their overpriced cables and the sales droids at the box stores make nice commissions pushing it.

If you don't mind waiting a few days, Monoprice has the best prices for A/V cables, hands down!

Parker · #13 12-31-2008, 07:22 PM

I would also say don't get the cheapest cables out there, there is a difference. I would stay away from Monster Cables also, not that they are bad cables, you will never go wrong owning them. They are just far to over priced. You can equal to or better performance out of less expensive cables.

It's amazing what wiring can cost you.

A good place to buy cables is
Monoprice or BlueJeans cables, they are both located out of the US, they might not be as good a deal these days with the way the dollar is.

Treebeard · #14 12-31-2008, 07:23 PM

I agree. If it is a longer run it may make a slight difference, but on a 10-15 foot run it is not necessary to throw good money away on cables.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

Marketplace $12 to $200+ cable the same (comparison around minute 7).

If I was running a projector and had a really long run back to the player might consider a higher end cable.

Slick Fork · #15 12-31-2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

Marketplace $12 to $200+ cable the same (comparison around minute 7).

If I was running a projector and had a really long run back to the player might consider a higher end cable.

Thank you very much for the link. That really does say it all.

As far as the comment made about spending large on a tv and a reef so just pay what they want for "good" cables... I don't earn huge money so like most people, I budget. I don't mind spending money on high quality things when I can or should, but I save wherever I can. Quite often you get the same quality at a fraction of the price if you just do a little research. This TV is the only one in the house younger then 10 or 11 years so you can say we've been saving for a while. For me, a blu-ray player is affordable only if I don't spend hundreds of dollars on cables. Fortunately, now I know I don't need to!

As an aside, I've got the DVD hooked up with S-Video and watching the BBC planet earth series as I type this and WOW, what a difference moving up 10 years in picture technology makes. I think I'll leave the connections as is for now until we fork out for a blu-ray player!

Thanks!!

Treebeard · #16 12-31-2008, 08:02 PM

I have Planet Earth on Blu-ray, and it is spectacular on my 50"!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

As an aside, I've got the DVD hooked up with S-Video and watching the BBC planet earth series as I type this and WOW, what a difference moving up 10 years in picture technology makes. I think I'll leave the connections as is for now until we fork out for a blu-ray player!

Thanks!!

GreenSpottedPuffer · #17 12-31-2008, 08:07 PM

My TV is also 1080p and 120hz and I did notice a huge difference when using a better cable. I know people are saying (someone even bet) that you will not see the difference but in my case it was like night and day. I actually used the cheap one for like 5 months and a friend was over watching a DVD and thought my TV was 720p. He was the one who said the cable was probably the problem and it was. Best Buy probably sold me an overpriced cable (monster) but I am happy and besides the packaging was also nice

RSM · #18 12-31-2008, 08:43 PM

Xs cargo believe it or not has cheap (price) HDMI cables. Memory express and computer rack are good for these cables as well. Stay away from s video if you can. Its hard to compare different brands because its a digital signal you cant really tell. Your paying for the name and usually better connectors on expensive cables, but how often do you disconnect and reconnect your blu ray or dvd? Never! Go for the cheapest its digital. My 2 cents.

bullit67 · #19 01-01-2009, 12:29 AM

Plane and simple DONT BUY CHEAP CABLES now that is not saying you have to spend 150 on a 6 foot cable but 20 buck cables from super store or crappy tire just dont cut it. A good example is my sub cable i was running a middle of the road monster cable to it sounded OK but it was realy missing the Mid bass as it is a PSB sub sonic 7 with a 15 inch driver I went out a spent some money on a Good Monster cable made for a sub and man what a differance np more lack of mid base I had to turn down the volume on the sub. I probably have a $1000 in cable hanging behind my system. I use my wife as a test subject when I do any upgrades as she isn't swayed by the price of the cable As I dont dare tell her

So she dosent think it sounds better just because it cost more.

If you spend any time on any A/V sites or forums you will find this is a big on going topic and it will be going on for a long time

Pan · #20 01-01-2009, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

IME a good quality HDMI cable is well worth the money...although I don't have a ton of experience.

I had originally bought a cheap $40 one from Home Depot (I think) and really was not impressed. I ended up getting a "high end" one from Best Buy (you don't want to know how much

) and I notice a huge difference. I don't think I needed to spend so much but I would recommend doing your research (as you are) and getting a good HDMI cable at least.

I have a friend with 1200 dollar interconnects for speakers from Musical Fidelity