Audio Cables: Does price correspond with quality?

[rbrown409]

I am considering buying a Blu-Ray player with 7.1ch analog out to be compatible with my older receiver to get lossless sound...

That being said, cables must be purchased along with the player to transmit the sound.

I have asked probably 100 different "techies" from Best Buy, Circuit City, friends, and other local A/V stores over the years, and probably half of the time the person says that Monster Cable and other higher end cables will truly deliver a better sound quality, the other half say "Don't waste your money."

What would be the best bang for your buck in terms of RCA cables I could buy for the analog output? Is a $50 cable really going to sound that much better than a $25 cable, and is a $100 cable going to sound better than the $50 one? Gold plated, shielded, THX certified, blah blah, does all this stuff really matter?

I am looking for recommendations in terms of brand names in particular, and of course model numbers. I'd like to keep it at about $15-25 per set of 2ch RCA cables...but if you can convince me with justifiable reasons, I might be willing to spend more...

[tundraSQ]

Go to monoprice.com and price out 4 pair of decent 1meter RCA cable...my guess is you will be around $7.50 a pair. Then go to bluejeanscable.com and do the same thing...you will be about $18 a pair. Then go to accessories4less.com and see what you find.

Now, buy what you like, knowing they will ALL sound the same, and all 3 will be a better deal than BB or CC

But TRY to shop thru this site because that is after all part of the reason its a free site

[rbrown409]

Bluejeans cables are about $35/pair...
Monoprice, $2
Accessoriesforless, $7 more or less

Are you saying all three of these cables will sound the same?

[MrBoylan]

Thanks, anyone else???

You'll get lots of opinions but few hard facts. In my experience, better cables make a difference (to a point), particularly if you are in an area with some RF interference. I would never use flimsy analog cables in my system as they are subject to grounding problems and RF interference but this doesn't mean I spend $50 or more for a pair of analog RCA cables either.

The name brand cables like Monster generally are well-constructed with good RF shielding and strong mechanical connections which can help make a tight and secure fit, but there are also non-branded alternatives that can also give you good results.

I personally use Planet Waves cables in my system because I can buy a roll of their RG6 cable and a pack of RCA connectors and can create custom length cables in a matter of minutes with just a snip and a twist. But these may not be as economical to buy just for one set of 6 or 8 RCA cables. I think their cable kits start at around $250, but it's much cheaper when you buy the stuff in bulk.

Another brand I've had good luck with is Dayton Audio, from Parts Express. Depending on how long you need, you can get the Dayton cables starting from around $15/pr. for stereo pairs. So $42 or $56 depending on whether you want 6 cables (3 pairs) or 8 cables (4 pairs). Here's a link:

• Dayton Audio RCA cables (stereo pair)

Many report good results using component video cables for multi-channel analog audio. The needs of transmitting video and audio are not really that different so you can get good results with 2 sets of well-shielded component video cables (for 5.1) or 3 sets (with one extra cable) for a 7.1-channel connection. Here are some Monster Component Video cables on Amazon for about $17/set (so $34 for 5.1 or $51 for 7.1):

• Monster Component Video cables (3 conductor RCA)

You'll get good results with either of the above choices.

Later,

-Chris