AudioQuest HDMI 2.1 Cables finally released!!

[highfigh]

When I see something like hdmi cables pushing sonic performance to new levels I just smh. That’s just bullshitt. As far as 1’s and 0’s well yeah. They get there or they don’t. That has nothing to do with being a cheap cable or some esoteric crap. If it’s not meeting spec well why? Because its cheap? Or just isn’t to spec. If a cable isn’t delivering the data packets then it’s bad(possibly under spec or not hdmi certified). And I definitely agree with @highfigh. A bad(not necessarily cheap) cable can definitely cause problems. But a fancy overpriced one will NOT fix any. Or add any real performance gains. That’s all marketing bologna...
I will give you one thing. AQ does use nice materials on the outside. Jackets are nice, connectors are solid etc. but if you dissected one, you might be pretty surprised.

Well, they get their or they don't, but there's still a voltage component and that's one of the reasons they fail- the voltage falls below that magical threshold by too much. I have used repeaters to correct issues and they work. Well, unless ARC is needed and in that case, they need to go away because they're directional. Yay.

Look at a Vanco cable- not the ones with the fancier plugs and jacket- most of the ones I use are black, the cable is very thin and the plug is very small with little clips that grip the port to prevent them slipping out. They work and that's the only thing I care about- they come in a polyethylene bag attached to a card that allows hanging on display hooks. I don't care about the packaging, either- it does absolutely nothing for the cables' performance and has zero value. Once the equipment is in position, they can't be seen- who gives a rat's patoot what color they are or if they have a cool looking jacket?

 

[highfigh]

I think often, cheap and out of spec go hand in hand though(R&D, quality engineering and production, testing & quality control, and quality materials are expensive). I would guess one has a much better chance getting an out of spec or poor performing cable from the likes of a random Amazon company vs a premium American one but, that's just a guess and I have nothing to back that up.

With HDMI, "super fancy cables" MAY get you better all the things I listed above though and that can make a difference but, only to a point. Better materials, tighter tolerances, and better quality control can lower failure rates and improve spec compliance. Better shielding can make a cable more resistant to interference you may have in your room. Tighter tolerances on connectors can keep resistance constant and and prevent corrosion over time, as can higher quality connector coatings and base materials. Better quality control and testing can allow less duds out into the wild. Etc...

It is not just black and white and simply a matter of if it works, meets specs, or doesn't. Remember too that specs are a minimum and can(probably should) be exceeded. There is added value in some premium HDMI cables imo but, definitely a cost of diminishing returns and I think that is probably at the lower end of Audioquest's product line(just because that is who this thread is about).

Just to throw this out there too... If one was using a cheap under performing cable that was having some of the issues I described above caused by data loss then a better cable could theoretically increase the performance over the cheap one quite a bit. They may end up with an increase of some of the properties you describe as the poorly performing cable was hindering them before. Just something to think about...

Here ya go- this stuff matters, not all of the marketing crap and user theories-

https://cdn.rohde-schwarz.com/pws/dl_downloads/dl_common_library/dl_brochures_and_datasheets/pdf_1/Eye_Measurements_on_HDMI_signals.pdf

 

[Tachead7075]

Here ya go- this stuff matters, not all of the marketing crap and user theories-

https://cdn.rohde-schwarz.com/pws/dl_downloads/dl_common_library/dl_brochures_and_datasheets/pdf_1/Eye_Measurements_on_HDMI_signals.pdf

I didn't read your link yet but, none of what I said is marketing crap or user theories. I have seen various problems(likely due to data partial data loss I'm guessing) other then "no signal" with HDMI cords and so have many other users.

HDMI cables are not just a works or doesn't proposition. To highlight this, after I posted in this thread yesterday I worked a bit on my living room system(I have been upgrading cables and installing acoustic treatments) and I noticed some differences between two HDMI cables. Anyway, I had my "rack" out to change my center speaker wire, my TV's power cord(too short), and the main HDMI cable going to my TV(it was white and stuck out so I wanted to go with a black cable). So, I finished up and what do you know, once I turned my TV on there was a very easily observable change(I didn't really expect this). The whole picture was slightly less bright, the blacks are darker, and the contrast is slightly increased. I easily noticed right away as I have watched the same Amazon screen saver images for months. Both of these cables are nothing fancy, the white one was an old Monster brand from years ago and the new one was a cheap UGREEN 8K for $20 off Amazon that I just bought for using REW(decided to throw it in temporarily as the white one was bugging me).

So, apparently you can get deeper blacks with the right HDMI cable after all lol. Seriously though, there is a very easily seen difference between these two low end cables I am using so this topic is a more complicated then some in this thread think...

 

[highfigh]

I didn't read your link yet but, none of what I said is marketing crap or user theories. I have seen various problems(likely due to data partial data loss I'm guessing) other then "no signal" with HDMI cords and so have many other users.

HDMI cables are not just a works or doesn't proposition. To highlight this, after I posted in this thread yesterday I worked a bit on my living room system(I have been upgrading cables and installing acoustic treatments) and I noticed some differences between two HDMI cables. Anyway, I had my "rack" out to change my center speaker wire, my TV's power cord(too short), and the main HDMI cable going to my TV(it was white and stuck out so I wanted to go with a black cable). So, I finished up and what do you know, once I turned my TV on there was a very easily observable change(I didn't really expect this). The whole picture was slightly less bright, the blacks are darker, and the contrast is slightly increased. I easily noticed right away as I have watched the same Amazon screen saver images for months. Both of these cables are nothing fancy, the white one was an old Monster brand from years ago and the new one was a cheap UGREEN 8K for $20 off Amazon that I just bought for using REW(decided to throw it in temporarily as the white one was bugging me).

So, apparently you can get deeper blacks with the right HDMI cable after all lol. Seriously though, there is a very easily seen difference between these two low end cables I am using so this topic is a more complicated then some in this thread think...

The video through one may be more black than another but my point was that it can't be more black than the source signal. So far, I haven't seen any explanation from ANYONE, even at product training, about why the picture looks different when a cable is changed. It's obviously not the same as when an analog cable's resistance, capacitance or inductance is different.

 

[Tachead7075]

The video through one may be more black than another but my point was that it can't be more black than the source signal. So far, I haven't seen any explanation from ANYONE, even at product training, about why the picture looks different when a cable is changed. It's obviously not the same as when an analog cable's resistance, capacitance or inductance is different.

Yes, I suspect that it is a matter of not all the data getting through on some cables which causes degradation(but, not enough to cause signal drop out or sparkle). But, I am far from an expert on this stuff. All I known is that there is a very clear visual difference between even these 2 modestly priced cables even on my old 1080P Samsung. I will say that both look fine though(nothing overtly negative with either), just different.