A/V Cable Help

[The G]

I just bought this great sound system and the guy at the store tried selling me 2 HDMI cables at $250.00 a piece!? He said there is a huge difference in performance. Is there that big of a difference between a $30.00 1m cable and a $250.00 cable?

 

[Pyrrho]

I just bought this great sound system and the guy at the store tried selling me 2 HDMI cables at $250.00 a piece!? He said there is a huge difference in performance. Is there that big of a difference between a $30.00 1m cable and a $250.00 cable?

No, it is a total scam. Just make sure it is HDMI certified for 1.3 or better.

 

[AVRat]

No there is not, unless you have more money than brains.

 

[mazersteven]

I just bought this great sound system and the guy at the store tried selling me 2 HDMI cables at $250.00 a piece!? He said there is a huge difference in performance. Is there that big of a difference between a $30.00 1m cable and a $250.00 cable?

If he was trying to sell you $250 cable, I wonder how "great" the sound system really is?

 

[markw]

We have a saying for thet here in Joisey... BOHICA

Which translates to "Bend Over. Here It Comes Again"

You're wise to be skeptical. By any chance, were they Monster Cables?

 

[MDS]

Is there that big of a difference between a $30.00 1m cable and a $250.00 cable?

By my calculations the price difference is $220 and the sound quality difference is 0.0.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I just bought this great sound system and the guy at the store tried selling me 2 HDMI cables at $250.00 a piece!? He said there is a huge difference in performance. Is there that big of a difference between a $30.00 1m cable and a $250.00 cable?

Ask him to hook up his $250 HDMI cable and then swap it for a $30 one and see Have him show the spot on the tv where it is superior
Just make sure he is not messing with the hookup to alter the outcome.

 

[The G]

Thank you very much for helping me with this as I am new to the higher end of the audio spectrum. The system I got was a 5.1. Integra DTC-9.8 AV controller, Rotel 1078 Power Amp, 2-B&W CM1, 2-B&W 686, B&W ASW 700 Sub, and B&W CM Center. Let me know what you think and any advice on setting up the sub would be great. And by the way I did not buy the $250 HDMI cable and the brand was Transparent, I am sure they could not stand Monster getting all that cash.

 

[MDS]

Thank you very much for helping me with this as I am new to the higher end of the audio spectrum. The system I got was a 5.1. Integra DTC-9.8 AV controller, Rotel 1078 Power Amp, 2-B&W CM1, 2-B&W 686, B&W ASW 700 Sub, and B&W CM Center.

In my book that definitely qualifies as 'higher end'. I like Onkyo equipment and Integra is their higher end brand (although it doesn't differ all that much from the Onkyo branded components).

The thing is that cables have a huge margin. Most retailers make far more money on cables than they do selling a $3K LCD or Plasma TV. (on a percentage or margin basis). Monster and the like do make good cables, it's just that they try to sell them at extraordinary prices and rely on their name recognition for the sales pitch. I actually like the 'low end' Monster cables that are about $20 but you won't catch me spending $250 for a single cable.

Your electronics and speakers are very good, you just need a decent cable with good shielding and fortunately such a beast can be had for far less than the big box retailers want to promote. HDMI cables are more tricky than most because of the tight tolerances (and no just because it is 'digital' doesn't mean that you either get a perfect signal or nothing - that's a story for another day) but still you just don't need to spend huge sums to obtain a decent cable that will work flawlessly.