Enter to Win: 3-Play system from Impact Acoustics

[Tom Andry]

The Impact Acoustics team wants you to win. To that end, two (2) random winners will be selected from folks discussing the topic described below to receive a complete 3-Play system including one 3-Play High Performance Component Video/Digital Audio Selector, four 6ft Velocity Component Video Cables and four 2m Velocity Toslink Optical Digital Cables (valued at over $280)! Click here for more information on the 3-play system.

To be eligible to win, you must: 1) Be a registered Audioholics forum member, 2) Have USA Residence 3) Answer the following questions in this contest thread.

Contest Questions:

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

Note this contest ends on March 31st, 2006. Winners will be drawn shortly thereafter

Have fun and good luck!

 

[KC23]

The Impact Acoustics team wants you to win. To that end, two (2) random winners will be selected from folks discussing the topic described below to receive a complete 3-Play system including one 3-Play High Performance Component Video/Digital Audio Selector, four 6ft Velocity Component Video Cables and four 2m Velocity Toslink Optical Digital Cables (valued at over $280)! Click here for more information on the 3-play system.

To be eligible to win, you must: 1) Be a registered Audioholics forum member, 2) Have USA Residence 3) Answer the following questions in this contest thread.

Contest Questions:

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

Note this contest ends on March 31st, 2006. Winners will be drawn shortly thereafter

Have fun and good luck!

CL3 rated to be able to go behind drywall. A professional look. Oxygen free.

IMHO wire should be rated when you buy what maximum lenght is recommended.

 

[talannar]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
Cost. Absolutely cost. I prefer terminating my own wire, so I like to buy in bulk. Second to cost would be wire gauge...12AWG or 10AWG preferred.

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?
I'd like to see something along the lines of a bend measurement....I mean, how far can I bend this wire? In some situations I might need to bend it 90 degrees (or pretty close).

 

[jcPanny]

3-play

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
Cable quality, price, performance, durability, and customer serivice.


2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?
Cable R C and L measurements at DC and over the audio/video frequency range. Other scientific measurements and reviews from competitent sources like AH. Where the cable is manufactured. A product perfromance gaurantee.

 

[Tritonman]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

Cost of course. How well the company stands behind their product and there reputation in the Audio/Video community

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?


Distance vs signal degradation. Non-hyped performance measurements done in a "real world" scenario

 

[wilkenboy]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

Cost is the primary factor - to rated max distance specs with no performance-effecting signal degradation.

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

Distance vs real-world signal degradation - I could care less about loss, VSWR, etc. I just want to know what QUANTIFIABLE impact it will have on video or audio quality. Better is only better up to the point that you can detect it with human senses.

~Josh

 

[sy527x]

Cost, first-and-foremost. Quality of the cables is a close second.

Not meaning to copy the previous post, but I think signal degradation-to-cable length measurement is a good thing to know.

 

[Youzer]

!. Cost then quality....there has to be middle ground!
2. Scientific data on measurements produced by analyzing each cable

 

[STRONGBADF1]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

Cost & Quality

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

Distance vs real-world signal degradation - I could care less about loss, VSWR, etc. I just want to know what QUANTIFIABLE impact it will have on video or audio quality. Better is only better up to the point that you can detect it with human senses. (sorry wilkenboy, I lifted this because I couldn't say it better!)

SBF1

 

[kli]

In Again

1) Cost, Quality, Mfr reliability/cs/rep
2) Whats the real world perf. diff btwn different brands.

 

[cajun600]

1) Look at cost almost completely. A conductor is a conductor

2) I would like to see bending restraints as to how far and how much a wire can be bent.

 

[Bobby2x]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
Customer Service and reputation.

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

I'd also like to see something about bend measurement.

 

[blownrx7]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
connnector plating/base metal, strand #, gauge and metal composition

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you.
resistance, inductance, capacitance/ unit length
actual amount/type of plating on connectors and the actual purity of wire - not just a BS statement of "ultra-pure OHFC" or something of that sort...

 

[HiJon89]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

The biggest factor is price to performance ratio. I don't need the absolute best cables since my equipment isn't very high-end. I just want a solid cable at a budget price.

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

I want to see some scientific, inarguable data that shows that very expensive cables perform better.

 

[Rutlanda]

Answers

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?
Cost and build quality. I prefer to buy a cable that offers both reliable preformance and good asthetics

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?
The real truth about performance...do any cables really offer anthing better. Are we just paying for the name and the techflex?

 

[10010011]

1) Price, construction quality

2) specifications of the wire type

 

[Bodymechanic]

Factors: Size and shielding

Info I'd like to know: I'd like to see a graphic representation of degredation of signal over distance. Some runs can get quite long.

 

[Josuah]

What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

Quality of the cable (i.e. no snake-oil claims) which basically means a cable is good at what it does unless the manufactuer is saying it is better than other cables for some crazy reason. And price.

Typically, this means I buy Hosa and Home Depot cables.

What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

Technical support that can help solve my problems, and not just an answer like "this cable will get rid of the noise" or "balanced power will make everything better". I recently spoke with an engineer at Furman Sound and he was extremely helpful and honest. That is the kind of help I'm looking for.

Measurements that back up cable performance is also good. Like Blue Jeans having tested DVI cables at their longer runs to transmit video without degredation.

 

[Pyrrho]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

Price is most important. Of course, it must be able to do what is needed (i.e., transfer the signal without perceptible degradation), or it is worthless, so quality is important, but I don't need wire filled with magic pixies or blessed by the pope.

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

What are the real differences, if any, between their wire and other wire? Again, I am not interested in magic pixies or wire blessed by the pope. I want wire that gets the job done (i.e., transfer the signal without perceptible degradation), and I don't want to waste any money on anything beyond that.

 

[PSU80]

1. What factors and information play a part in your cable purchasing decisions?

Price, quality, appearance & customer service.

2. What do you want to know that the manufacturers aren't telling you?

What are the real differences, if any, of a particular cable. I'm only interested in perceptible differences in audio or video quality and don't care about esoteric measurements that don't impact the final experience.