to gold or not to gold?

[supervij]

Hello all,

I'm planning a purchase of the Pioneer DV-588A universal player and am mildly confused about what kind of multi-channel cables to get. I saw in an earlier thread that using two components or three composites will be just fine, especially as it's a budget player (only $150 CDN -- woohoo!). There's a huge selection of cables at my local Future Shop, but I would like some advice:

1. Is a gold-plated cable better than a non-gold-plated cable?

2. Is there much difference in quality between Recoton, Acoustic Research, and Monster? I know a lot of people believe Monster is over priced for the quality, and I have no problem eliminating Monster from my list. The Acoustic Research cables are advertised to have the stranded oxygen-free copper wire, directional balanced line and twisted pair construction, and the 100% overlapped Mylar foil shielding. While the Recoton is advertised to be . . . two RCA plugs to two RCA plugs.

Options (regarding this particular store):
A. 3 Recoton 6' composites -- $15 CDN
B. 3 Recoton 6' gold-plated composites -- $30 CDN
C. 3 Acoustic Research 3' composites -- $60 CDN
D. 2 Acoustic Research 6' components -- $60 CDN

So to gold or not to gold? Recoton or AR? Can anyone advice me on this, please? Many thanks!

cheers,
supervij

 

[tbewick]

I'd recommend going for gold because it will keep a cleaner connection. Try to find some reviews of cables for advice.

I've always found cables very expensive for what they do, and I'd bet that most of the money you pay is profit for the cable company/retailer. Just make sure that they are fully-shielded and you should be okay. I wouldn't spend too much on them.

 

[supervij]

So out of the options listed, the gold-plated thirty dollar jobbies are what you'd recommend? Yeah, those were the ones I'd probably have gotten too. Thanks for your opinion, tbewick. Anyone else have any advice?

cheers,
supervij

 

[shokhead]

They say if you live by the ocean,you should disconnect all cables a couple times a year.

 

[supervij]

Well, I'm glad THAT doesn't apply to me!

I've the option of using component cables. But what about those stereo RCA phono A/V cables? Y'know, the ones with one video and two audio plugs. Would those work? They're considerably cheaper than the components.

cheers,
supervij

 

[jaxvon]

Maybe, maybe not. Component video cables should have a nominal impedance of 75 Ohms. Some audio cables may have that and would be fine, but if they don't, you could get picture issues (not HUGE, but just not all the potential you have available to you). So yeah, component, or 3 composite cables (they're the same thing) would be great. I too would say spring for the gold, it's not much more, and it will help to stop corrosion on your contacts. Worth it in the long run.

 

[supervij]

Hi jaxvon, thanks for the reply. I'll be using a digital coaxial cable for the the digital audio, components for the picture, and I guess I'll get another two sets of components for the multichannel audio. Although the guy at another store told me that components aren't really designed for audio, and that I'd be best to go with the composites. Is that right? It sounded vaguely fishy when he said it, but I'm just a newb. Of course, he also said that Monster is considered the best in the industry, so I'm not sure who to believe!

cheers,
supervij

 

[jaxvon]

He's an idiot. Component video cables are just 3 composite cables stuck together. They're both 75 Ohm coaxial cables, as is digital audio coax. They're all interchangable. As long as you're using high-quality products that are 75-Ohm, they're good for any video or audio application (that is coax-based, of course).

 

[supervij]

I went to three different stores today, and all the salespeople told me the same thing: multichannel audio will sound terrible if components are used because components were made for video, and that I should use audio cables, because they were made for audio, plus they have some kind of dual wire its core. And all three stores seemed to sell nothing but Monster. They had just a little bit from Acoustic Research, and nothing that I wanted -- gold plated, but not shielded, which was strange. Sigh. Oh well -- someone told me about a discount store that's selling AR component cables for ten bucks a pop. I'll check there tomorrow. Sigh. This is turning out to be such a pain in asterix.

cheers,
supervij

 

[warnerwh]

All you need are well made cables. Acoustic Research are fine and inexpensive. You should go back to the store and have the salesman show you how much difference the sound makes. That will be interesting because he's going to have one heck of a time hearing a difference himself. Gold plated RCA's are a good idea as gold doesn't oxidize and gold plated connectors don't cost anything to speak of. Don't let the sales people run you around and if they do take them up on the test I mentioned above.

 

[supervij]

Hi warnerwh. So does it matter if the cables are not advertised as "shielded"? The cheaper ones weren't so advertised -- and they were also much cheaper.

Asking them to do that test is a great idea! If I do back there, you can bet I'll ask for that straight off!

cheers,
supervij