HDMI cable - £5 vs £55 (discussion)

trets77

Okay i have a Full HD 37" inch Panasonic LCD TV hooked up to a Sky HD box

i also own the Following HDMI cables

A Chord Company HDMI 1.3a which retails at around £80 for 1 meter

http://www.hificables.co.uk/11526/Chord-HDMI-1-3.html?referrer=froogle

( i got it for free with a subscription to a well known Hi fi Mag)

a QED SR reference HDMI which sell for about £70 for 1 meter

http://www.avreview.co.uk/review/reviewproduct/mps/RPN/9310/prod/QED-HDMI-SR-Reference-cable/RCN/72/rgn/5/sp//v/1


And a unknown Brand HDMI lead i purchased from Asda for £15

trying all 3 out with Sky HD i have to Admit that i can see no difference in picture Quality . The £15 Asda HDMI lead is certainly a worthwhile upgrade for the Build quality and durabilty over a freebie lead , and is certainly easier to manipulate than the Chord Company HDMI which is a pig to weave around things and has worked it's way loose on more than one occasion when i have been behind the back of my telly. to be honest it is now awaiting the purchase of my 1st Blu Ray player , so it can become the audio lead to my Onkyo amp.

The QED while extremely well made , built like a tank yet light enough not to put pressure on my HDMI telly sockets ( unlike the Chord company HDMI) it is probably not worth the price if you are just hooking up a piece of equipment over a short run .

it does sit in the socket very well though and is next to impossible to shake loose and makes the awkward turns that i have in my rack very easily . Would i advise paying £70 quid for it .. no . but i also don't regret buying it as i am a bit of a geek/ sado when it comes to AV leads, and like i said it does a job well , and is what now connects my Sky HD box.

The only way to jusifty a really expensive HDMI lead is if you are going to use it for either HD audio from a high quality Blu ray Player to Similar Quality Amp or if you need a long lead or have a maze to weave around in hooking it up (like i do) .


IMO a well made HDMI lead costing around £10 -£20 is probably worth the investment if you want something that will sit well in the socket and stand the test of time.

aliEnRIK

Just my little bit
I use very expensive mains conditioners and incredibly good mains leads (Which russ andrews has PROVEN are effective at reducing RFI and do MEASUREABLY effect equipment)
I also have a 500 quid Pioneer dvd player (head and shoulders above a PS3 say for playing dvds) and my tv is a pioneer 42" (Considered the best manufacturers of tvs period)
Once all this lot is connected and 'used' for a period of 6 months (Including thehdmi leads to 'test'), I see a difference. Why? I do not know (And dont really care)
I just do

HOWEVER
I completely accept that MOST people wouldnt even consider upgrading the freebie mains lead (Which made a HUGH difference to my tv), and so I would say is part of the reason people cant see a difference. MOST people also use cheapie dvd players (Under 150 quid I call cheapie) and are sat on some shelving which is susceptible to external vibration. Their tvs are VERY rarely set up correctly and more often than not theres a problem with the house 'earthing' which can also lessen quality. I dont care if people believe me or not but im REALLY into my hifi and av equipment and ive tried most things.

People trying to connect a 100 quid hdmi to a system that clearly isnt setup correctly in the first place (Or just isnt capable of the extra quality a decent hdmi cable can cope with) and expect a better quality picture is futile (And more than a little dumb)

thescouselander

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Just my little bit
I use very expensive mains conditioners and incredibly good mains leads (Which russ andrews has PROVEN are effective at reducing RFI and do MEASUREABLY effect equipment)
I also have a 500 quid Pioneer dvd player (head and shoulders above a PS3 say for playing dvds) and my tv is a pioneer 42" (Considered the best manufacturers of tvs period)
Once all this lot is connected and 'used' for a period of 6 months (Including thehdmi leads to 'test'), I see a difference. Why? I do not know (And dont really care)
I just do

HOWEVER
I completely accept that MOST people wouldnt even consider upgrading the freebie mains lead (Which made a HUGH difference to my tv), and so I would say is part of the reason people cant see a difference. MOST people also use cheapie dvd players (Under 150 quid I call cheapie) and are sat on some shelving which is susceptible to external vibration. Their tvs are VERY rarely set up correctly and more often than not theres a problem with the house 'earthing' which can also lessen quality. I dont care if people believe me or not but im REALLY into my hifi and av equipment and ive tried most things.

People trying to connect a 100 quid hdmi to a system that clearly isnt setup correctly in the first place (Or just isnt capable of the extra quality a decent hdmi cable can cope with) and expect a better quality picture is futile (And more than a little dumb)

A few years ago I was working on an extremely sensitive piece of military equipment. One of the ideas we had to reduce the interference getting into the system was to use one of these expensive mains leads as used in home entertainment systems.

When we tried it out we found there was hardly any difference - and we were using hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of analytical equipment. The largest factor was the design of the amps within the equipment - if you design these properly the noise can be all but eliminated.

On the assumption that the high end equipment will use the best quality amps the use of expensive mains leads is probably nugatory. If anything, you would probably only notice the difference on cheapo equipment. On the other hand, it could just be your imagination.

aliEnRIK

Scouse ~
The 'braided' mains lead of which im talking about reduce RFI in even an amp with military grade components in (Of which my dad has)
Id guess that wherever you tested had a pretty damn good mains supply anyways (Unlike my home)

Russ Andrews has MEASURED (And probably using better equipment than yours from the amount hes spent looking into this) the effect it has on an 800 quid stereo hifi amp.

Hes also pulsed through 'surges' which the braided cables lessened

I completely agree that equipment can be designed to all but eliminate RFI and EMI, but at GREAT cost (Isoteks ultmate conditioners cost 1800 quid each)

aliEnRIK

For the record, im getting a little hacked off with people claiming im 'just imagining' things. My eyes and ears (And perception) are very good thank you very much.

Sput2001

Russ Andrews has MEASURED (And probably using better equipment than yours from the amount hes spent looking into this) the effect it has on an 800 quid stereo hifi amp.

Has this proof been published? All I can find is the ASA ruling that dismisses RA's claims as misleading.

aliEnRIK

Its in his latest catalogue. The ASA ruling is now nullified (Wether or not its available online im unsure)

Marty_J

aliEnRIK wrote: »

For the record, im getting a little hacked off with people claiming im 'just imagining' things. My eyes and ears (And perception) are very good thank you very much.

Don't take it personally. Whether or not we're fooled by our senses has absolutely zero to do with how good one's hearing or vision is. It's something which happens to all of us.

aliEnRIK

If my senses do fail, its only momentarily. If something is CLEARLY different you cant fool me

Its also why I test things over a period of 'months'. You might fool me for a minute, hour or even days. But not over months you aint.......

I could give LOADS of examples of differences that trying various cables and conditioners out have made (And how perceptive I am when looking at or listening to other peoples equipment)

[Deleted User]

The problem with relying on senses is that they become accustomed to change in a very short space of time. For example, if you find yourself behind a sound desk for live music then you don't spend time tweaking the levels in minute detail, you do swift changes from extremes until you settle on the appropriate settings, otherwise you end up not being able to be able to identify where you started and subsequently have no reference to base any improvements on.

Not saying you're wrong, because perception is something that is personal, but it's not an accurate guideline. Well, not in my ears anyway.