I love it when people get so absolute with their opinions on audio-video. How can an HDMI cable sound different than another one? Its digital they argue. And they argue wrong.
I spent some time on Friday in the listening room of AudioQuest's Irvine, California's test lab and their blind AV test was eye (and ear) opening. Despite what the nay-sayers say - you CAN in fact hear the difference in AV cables. Their system setup is modest with a Sony BDP S350 Blu-ray player, a Yamaha entry level HDMI AV receiver and a pair of (not my favorite) Vandersteen 1C loudspeakers in a large room.
Additional Resources
• Check out Wireworld's $1000 HDMI cables that get rave reviews.
• Discuss audiophile and HDMI cables here at hometheaterequipment.com
The demo is simple. They play a Johnny Cash (or something similar) recording with an acoustic accompaniment on a Radio Shack "zip chord" HDMI cable for 1:30 of the demo. And it sounds good. Open. Spacious. Musical. Really, it sounds pretty good. Then they switch in a $100 HDMI cable and - HOLY CRAP - the midrange opens up and the voices sound more real and less compressed. Anybody who cares about audio would pop for the $50 to $60 extra for this upgrade assuming they weren't lobbing shells at the Vietcong in DaNang to the detriment of their critical hearing.
Don't let anybody believe that all cables are created equal. You get what you pay for without question specifically on the audio side. Don't believe the hype with out a blind A-B test at a specialty AV dealer who knows the difference.
Additional Resources
• Check out Wireworld's $1000 HDMI cables that get rave reviews.
• Discuss audiophile and HDMI cables here at hometheaterequipment.com
