Which of the following unbalanced RCA interconnects is the best?

[addictaudio]

Hi folks, these are going to be connected from a Denon 4311 AVR to an Emotiva XPA-5 amplifier. Which one would you suggest, and why?:

Multichannel Audio Cables at Blue Jeans Cable

For only $2.88 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 3ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable M/M RG6U 75ohm Gold connector (for S/PDIF, Digital Coax, Subwoofer & Composite Video) | High Quality RG6 Digital Audio 24K Gold-Plated Cables w/ Fan

X Series RCA | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifiers, a

 

[j_garcia]

I use the bluejeans ICs for my XPA-3 and many other things and they work perfectly. Excellent construction and are what I normally recommend these days.

I've never tried the Emotiva ICs, but I think they'd be fine as well, and at those prices, I'd say almost a no-brainer.

The monoprice cables are likely to work fine as well, but I'd personally go with one of the other two. I've tried many cheap and expensive interconnects and I found that what you get with really cheap ones are either poor construction, cheap components, or both. While I like Monoprice, I might not go with those particular ICs. My guess is they are probably about equivalent to these, which I've used:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/PR131/ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-Pr131-Pro-II-Stereo-Rca-Audio-Cable-6-Ft/1.html

 

[Irvrobinson]

I use the bluejeans ICs for my XPA-3 and many other things and they work perfectly. Excellent construction and are what I normally recommend these days.

+1. Bluejeans is not the cheapest supplier available by any means, but they have awesome construction quality and great customer service.

 

[addictaudio]

Thanks for the feedback guys. So I will eliminate the ones from Monoprice. So in between the Blue Jeans and Emotiva, which ones are the best? If Blue Jeans, they have three models, but which one out of the three? BJC LC-1 Multi-Channel Audio Cables? Pricing between the Blue Jeans and Emotiva is about the same, so there is no real advantage price wise.

 

[j_garcia]

The bluejeans are all the same no matter which ones you order - same connectors/cable (you can spec the cable type if you want to) and you spec the length. So for running 5 ch I do think different colors for each would be a good idea. I ordered red, black and white for my 3.

 

[addictaudio]

So does the Emotiva and BJC have any adfantages/disadvantages over one another? Or is it a matter of just tossing a coin to order either?

 

[j_garcia]

Yep, I'd say coin toss. Both great companies. I've been buying cables and things from Bluejeans for almost 10 years now and they have great customer service and super fast shipping. Only used Emotiva in the last few years, but they also have excellent customer service. I will continue to use both.

 

[addictaudio]

Thanks. Why does BJC have three types of interconnects? Each one has a sligh different description for different applications. I was told that the BJC LC-1 is the best one? Emotiva only offers one model. Quite frankly, I do not know the difference between them all. Someone pointed out that the connectors in the BJC may be better than the ones used for Emotiva?

 

[j_garcia]

The connectors BJC uses are pretty much top of the line, IMO. They stay attached well without creating so much pressure that they don't want to come off and this is one of the big reasons why I love the BJC cables. If in doubt, go with the one that Bluejeans calls "our favorite" which they will list when there are choices.

They list the other two and their comments (doesn't say why or if one would want slightly higher capacitance though):

Belden 1505F is another excellent choice for analog audio; it is smaller in profile than LC-1 (.242 inch diameter versus .305), has double-braid shielding, and is higher in capacitance (17 pF/ft). View the technical specs for Belden 1505F. (smaller, higher capacitance; price is for one pair)

Belden 1694A is also an excellent choice for analog audio; its foil/braid shield, though slightly less effective at excluding low-frequency EMI than 1505F's double braid shield, provides better RFI rejection, so 1694A may provide better shielding performance if you are beset with RFI issues. 1694A is an RG-6 type solid-core cable, and so is somewhat thicker and stiffer than 1505F. View Belden's technical specs for 1694A. (less flexible, good choice if RFI is a problem; price is for one pair)