Do cables make a big diff in audio quality? Deciding between two cables

C

CountChoculaBot

Limp Gawd
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Dec 16, 2007
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Yeah, so in preparation for my new speakers that are coming in on Friday (damn holidays delaying my shipment :( ) I've been trying to look up cables to hook them up to my comp.
I'm trying to decide between two cables. One is incredibly cheap at $2.67 shipped after Google Checkout, but looks a lot worse in quality compared to these cables that cost $20 shipped.

http://www.buy.com/prod/pureav-audio-splitter-3-ft/q/loc/111/10363533.html
vs
http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?product_id=24-8991&catalog_name=MCMProducts

Will I see a noticeable difference in audio quality between the two cables? Or is it ok to go cheap on the cables and not notice anything wrong?
 
Personally i think MCM is a little off with their pricing. Here's the same MCM cable, but in a longer length, for $7 less, sorta revealing isn't it?

IMHO, for 3 foot lengths it wouldn't matter much which cable you went for, they'll both sound exactly the same. Though if you were going for longer lengths >9' or 12', the MCM cable "looks like" it has better shielding. Both cables look less susceptible to interference than cheap dollar store cables (or those monoprice cables linked in that other thread).
 
Not IMO. I just tend to go for a set of solid cables so I get mine from www.bluejeanscable.com. They're offered at a good price and are made well, in my experience. If it's speaker cables that I'm after, I'll just order the parts from them and make it myself.
 
the things you need to look for in cables change with the intended use.

interconnectors and adapters, like the on you posted, should have a solid feel, sturdy termination and fit snug while unplugging should take only a small amout of force.

speaker cable is even easier. go for the largest gauge you are willing to pay for at a given length. make sure you look out for stiff cables, they are harder to work with. speaker cables do not need termination but most people do. termination is more convenient when changing components in the system but adds complexity to the line.

for me i went for quality cables that i liked the look of.
 
I would recomend monoprice.com also, i order all my cables from them now.
 
Hurdler said:
I personally would recommend www.monoprice.com. Incredibly cheap prices, and very solid construction.
Click to expand...
While most of monoprice's cables are above average quality, their 3.5mm to RCA adapter cable are no better than the ones you get from the 99cent store. Wouldn't be a problem most of the time, but if you tug on em hard enough, or run them near sources of interference... ;)
 
As long as you buy decently shielded cables there should be no difference in audio quality between brands. Only time there would be a differnce is on long runs, then you need cables that have less resistance. That applies more to speaker wire though than interconnects as no one uses long runs for interconnects. Read this article on speaker wire to get the straight dope and don't fall for the marketing hype from esoteric cable companies. I use Rocketfish cables that you can buy at BestBuy and Futureshop as they are quite well made and are half the price of similar Monster cables.

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm
 
SJetski71 said:
While most of monoprice's cables are above average quality, their 3.5mm to RCA adapter cable are no better than the ones you get from the 99cent store. Wouldn't be a problem most of the time, but if you tug on em hard enough, or run them near sources of interference... ;)
Click to expand...

I'll agree with you on that one, however I think they're more accurately priced than the ones from Radio Shack.
 
As long as you get a cheap cable with good shielding and a good gauge, as in not too thin, it shouldnt make a huge difference. I found the only big difference between cables for me is copper vs silver/gold.
 
Tangent inc. said:
speaker cable is even easier. go for the largest gauge you are willing to pay for at a given length.
Click to expand...

Don't you mean smallest guage? The smaller the guage the thicker the wire. Which means less resistance and why the number gets smaller as the wire gets thicker. 16guage is about all anyone needs even on quite long runs.
 
my wording may be a bit confusing to some one unfamiliar with the terms, and i apologize. in that a larger gauge is still that, a larger gauge. the number while in its pure sense is smaller does not negate the fact that the cross section and or diameter is physically larger in size. i only refer to the number when being specific... 16awg is blah blah blah but 10 awg is yaduh blah blah so 12awg is larger then 22awg.

your question i am sure, will help those who may be confused.


nothing to do with my reasoning... metric gauge goes the other way.
 
Good quality cables is what you need.. as echoed by the numerous posts above mine. Boutique cables *may* alter the sound, but I'm not sure if it's for the better or different.

For me, I wouldn't bother with cables that are more than you're willing to pay.

Take me, I run $2 12ga speaker wire to my speakers and I've had people give me crap about it, but I could care less because I know I'd rather spend my money on actual components.
 
Read that link I posted. It is quite enlightening. It applies to speaker wire though and not interconnects to cd player - amp etc. Still, the principles are the same. They did quite accurate ABX testing and the conclusion is there is no difference in sound quality. I used to have a cd player to amp interconnect that cost me over $100.00 back in '92. Never again will I pay that much. The interconnects I use now did cost about $32.00 - $40.00 each so they are not cheapies either.
 
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