Please help in choosing hdmi cable

O

Oliverweagle

Audiophyte
Hi there! Let me give you a little background which may be of help. I have a dedicated home theater room, no windows, and will be replacing (hopefully next week) the existing JVC dla-rs4800 with a new Sony vpl 5000 4k projector. I’m using a Marantz av7706 that I wish to connect the Sony to via HDMI.

Yesterday I pulled the old HDMI cable (installed in 2012) disconnecting it from the jvc and marantz. The cable itself measures about 50 feet in length. It ran from the Marantz (which is housed in a mobile rack), to the back wall of the media room closet, up the wall behind the Sheetrock into the attic, through conduit along the attic floor, and then down through more conduit to a wall plate close to the projector. I marked the cable and measured the actual working cable length I would need assuming I followed the same route. - came out to be 37 feet.

Then I looked at cables which prompted a call to Audioquest. Their recommendation was to use a 12.5 meter Forrest active hdmi. After I picked myself up from the floor - I know cables can be expensive, but wAs unprepared for the price lol - I wondered if there may be another way. I also saw a statement on Audioquests site that read along the lines that their 48 hdmi cables are high speed up to - length of 10 meters - and standard speed for longer lengths. The idea behind this upgrade to the home theater is to “future proof” as best I can - but given the 12.5 meter length is in excess of 10 meters, seems like standard speed is the option.

So .. and thank you for bearing with me if you have read this far … then I had a thought. I don’t believe that I need to use the same path that the old cable took. That’s an awful lot of cable used in the routing between the walls. I thought that the HDMI cable could run vertically up the rack from the Marantz, through a hole I’ll drill in the ceiling of the mediaroom closet, along the attic floor and pop out by the projector thereby eliminating all of the between wall travel and perhaps need for an “active” cable. I’m not sure the length of cable needed - I’ll measure tomorrow - but I’d be surprised if it were over 15 feet.

Then I read about ln fiber optic hdmi cables- then I found this forum! Please let me know what thoughts you may have. I’m in the “buy once, cry once” camp but certainly don’t have unlimited funds.

thank you,

Ollie
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I just call that outfit "Fraudioquest". For a long length hdmi cable like you need, I'd look at active Ruipro cables, not cheap, but not based in idiotic cable claims like fraudioquest....
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
Please define the required length of the shortest route. Then we can chime in with recommendations.

I'm with @lovinthehd on Fraudioquest ! We can definitely steer you to something as effective of better for a lot less $.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I just call that outfit "Fraudioquest". For a long length hdmi cable like you need, I'd look at active Ruipro cables, not cheap, but not based in idiotic cable claims like fraudioquest....
I second the Ruipro. That is the standard and what I use. Make sure you get a voltage inserter to power it, so you don't blow your HDMI board. Active cables are more expensive as they are far more complex. They are also directional and that is NOT bogus. So make sure you install it the right way round, or it will not work at all, in fact you might well blow it.
 
O

Oliverweagle

Audiophyte
Update following remeasure of 10 Dec -

Unfortunately I am unable to access the attic in which to make the shorter run, so I'll need 35 feet of cable to run fom the Marantz to the Sony 4k projector. Is there any sense in looking for an 8 k cable? And, please help me understand if i should be using the hdmi or eArc port on the Marantz - I'm not using a soundbar. Thanks again,

Matthew
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Update following remeasure of 10 Dec -

Unfortunately I am unable to access the attic in which to make the shorter run, so I'll need 35 feet of cable to run fom the Marantz to the Sony 4k projector. Is there any sense in looking for an 8 k cable? And, please help me understand if i should be using the hdmi or eArc port on the Marantz - I'm not using a soundbar. Thanks again,

Matthew
Ruipro cables will go over 200' and they are 8K rated. Go with Ruipro and you won't regret it. Use the eARC port.

Your problem highlights that if you had put the last cable in conduit you would not have this problem. I can't keep telling people often enough, to never run ANY AV cable without putting it in conduit.

DO NOT forget to purchase a voltage inserter. These hybrid cables exceed the power draw of HDMI ports by a considerable margin. While you might get away without one, if it blows the HDMI board you will have huge expense. We had a individual report here with just this occurrence, so engineer it right from the start. Do not take cheap shortcuts unless you have money to burn. I have a 25' Riupor HDMI run in my AV room, and it works perfectly. It has caused zero problems in over three years. So do it right the first time!
 
W

Wardog555

Full Audioholic
It depends on your bandwith requirements.

I bought myself a cheap 10m hdmi cable. First one audio cut out constantly. Replaced it and it works fine.
This was a standard 18gb rated cable.

So you may be able to get away with a cheap regular cable depending on the cable itself.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
It depends on your bandwith requirements.

I bought myself a cheap 10m hdmi cable. First one audio cut out constantly. Replaced it and it works fine.
This was a standard 18gb rated cable.

So you may be able to get away with a cheap regular cable depending on the cable itself.
Not a chance of good performance with a standard cable. I can tell you a standard cable will give very poor results and be a waste of time and money. He needs to do this job properly and follow my instructions to the letter, and he will not have trouble and first class results. Like everything there is the correct way and the bad way. Using a standard HDMI cable for 4 or 8K is a non starter. Actually I now recommend a hybrid cable for any run over 12.5'.
 
O

Oliverweagle

Audiophyte
Thank you for your feedback, it is greatly appreciated. Ruipro it is and I'm off to Amazon.

Cheers,

Ollie
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top