AudioQuest Field Terminates HDMI Cables

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
According to an article in CE Pro online, AudioQuest has announced a way to field terminate HDMI cables. This is a first as far as we can tell, and means that installers will soon be able to pull raw cable through the wall and terminate it to exact lengths.The company invented a connector, appropriately named "Bayonet" which utilizes V pins that cut through the wire insulation and trim the excess wire in one action of the proprietary crimping tool.


Discuss "AudioQuest Field Terminates HDMI Cables" here. Read the article.
 
J

Josuah

Senior Audioholic
I think the biggest problem is keeping all of the wire lengths within tolerance, where the tolerance decreases as cable length increases? I can imagine this being a problem, which is where the HDMI certification comes in. Do you just keep trying until a green light goes on? Your cable will get slowly shorter and shorter.
 
S

sokrman14

Audioholic
I know you guys typically disagree with their theories on what you guys call "exotic" cables, so I am glad to hear you guys praise them for this achievement.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I wonder if they use a battery to bias the dielectric and prevent strand jumping :D
 
Hi Ho

Hi Ho

Audioholic Samurai
That is really cool if it works. However, it must be a pain to terminate! Terminating the 6 conductors in a CAT5/6 cable is bad enough; getting them all lined up and pushing them in the connector. I can't imaging doing that with 19 conductors. :eek:
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I know you guys typically disagree with their theories on what you guys call "exotic" cables, so I am glad to hear you guys praise them for this achievement.
The praise will really come from us if we get samples in and they work up to the highest resolutions without incident. As for the other cable nonsense, its great entertainment and we love them for it. :D
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
I know you guys typically disagree with their theories on what you guys call "exotic" cables, so I am glad to hear you guys praise them for this achievement.
Well, I think the two issues are totally different. Coming up with a connector that you can apply to raw cables of this complexity is a worthwhile endeavor. Claiming stuff for wires that cannot be substantiated by objective testing and controlled listening is something else, wouldn't you say?
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
According to an article in CE Pro online, AudioQuest has announced a way to field terminate HDMI cables. This is a first as far as we can tell, and means that installers will soon be able to pull raw cable through the wall and terminate it to exact lengths.The company invented a connector, appropriately named "Bayonet" which utilizes V pins that cut through the wire insulation and trim the excess wire in one action of the proprietary crimping tool.
].

And the price for the connectors and tool is.....
 
it must be a pain to terminate! Terminating the 6 conductors in a CAT5/6 cable is bad enough; getting them all lined up and pushing them in the connector. I can't imaging doing that with 19 conductors.
Two things to note:

1 - The crimper also cuts the wires, which you push THROUGH the connector - that makes it very easy, relatively speaking, and

2 - You obviously haven't used these: http://cableorganizer.com/ez-rj45-network-plugs/

Price is another issue - I have no idea what they'll charge. The big thing is that they hopefully opened the door. As far as I know you can't patent "crimping", just the shape of the connector.
 
Hi Ho

Hi Ho

Audioholic Samurai
I also wonder about pricing. Audiquest charges almost $6 per RCA connector so I imagine the HDMI connector is considerably more.

BTW, I have no idea why I typed six conductors in a CAT5/6 cable. It's eight. :rolleyes: Thank you for the link to those EZ connectors Clint. I'll have to try those!
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
The praise will really come from us if we get samples in and they work up to the highest resolutions without incident. As for the other cable nonsense, its great entertainment and we love them for it. :D
I just hope they don't start to sue others for using the word 'Audio' or 'Quest'.
 
S

sokrman14

Audioholic
All I meant by it is that I am glad your dislike of their company for their theories on cables doesnt influence your judgement that this field termination could be a great thing for HDMI.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
All I meant by it is that I am glad your dislike of their company for their theories on cables doesnt influence your judgment that this field termination could be a great thing for HDMI.
Anything that makes terminations easier and still retain reliability and durability is a great thing. $7200 for a 2 meter pair because it has six 12V garage door remote batteries and unterminated wires in the sleeve that supposedly bias the dielectric- not so much.

If Monster Cable were to come out with a product that legitimately improved sound or video with unanimous agreement in many double blind tests, it should be considered, unless the price is just too high. A .1% improvement just isn't worth big money.
 
GlocksRock

GlocksRock

Audioholic Spartan
Why can't we just use cat5e or cat6 for all of our cabling needs, that would make it so much easier. You could easily make any length you need, get it just about any color, and the wire can be had for cheap.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Why can't we just use cat5e or cat6 for all of our cabling needs, that would make it so much easier. You could easily make any length you need, get it just about any color, and the wire can be had for cheap.
Cat5e? That's crazy.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Why can't we just use cat5e or cat6 for all of our cabling needs, that would make it so much easier. You could easily make any length you need, get it just about any color, and the wire can be had for cheap.
Because they don't ask us what we would like to use, they allow the cable manufacturers to set standards and they convince the equipment makers that it's the best way. One HDMI jack on a BluRay player costs less than 3 component, 1 composite, 2 analog audio, a digital coax and an optical output with all of the necessary circuitry.
 
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